All About Aurora Postage Stamp Trains
Part 8: Bus Sets & Accessories
Imported from Faller in Germany, Aurora's Postage Stamp Bus System was introduced in 1968, the same year Faller released it in Europe. However, mysteries about this product line abound: a number of items appear to have never reached the market. Some items included in sets that are listed in the instruction booklet as being available separately, such as the terminal track and speed controller, have been impossible to find outside of the sets. And the N Scale traffic lights and crossing signals shown in the instruction booklet appear to have never even been manufactured.
Consequently, Aurora's Postage Stamp Bus System product line is virtually impossible to define accurately. I've used these sources of information to compile the product index below:
- 1968 Aurora Postage Stamp catalog version II
- 1969 Aurora Postage Stamp catalog version I
- 1969 Aurora Postage Stamp catalog version II
- Bus Set Instruction Booklet
- C.J. Bubla Order Sheet (ca. 1970)
- Faller Bus System Mailer (ca. 1970)
Some mysteries may forever remain unsolved: there's the question of when Aurora stopped selling bus sets. A special dealer offer from Polk's Model-Craft Hobbies of Jersey City suggests Aurora ended bus sales in 1969, whereas some bus sets came with an instruction sheet copyrighted by Aurora in 1973. This coincides with the re-release of train sets, which may have been related. As it is, Faller began to phase out the bus system around this time, most likely because of poor sales, but also slot cars in general were beginning to fade in popularity. The bus sets were not to be found in Faller catalogs after 1973 or thereabouts. Naturally, much of this is speculation. As always, I welcome feedback.
Bus System Demo
The demo layout that appears in Faller's and Aurora's catalogs can be seen running in a YouTube video. Note that the layout looks different in each of the three examples: either the original was modified, or more than one was built (I suspect at least two were built).
Bus Sets and Accessories Index
- Items in white rows are currently the only ones confirmed to have been released as Postage Stamp products
- Items in yellow rows appear in one or more catalogs but, to my knowledge, were never released as Postage Stamp products
- Items with pink highlights were removed from the second 1969 catalog
- Items in grey rows appear only in the instruction booklet; they were made by Faller but, to my knowledge, were never released as Postage Stamp products
- Items in tan rows appear only in the instruction booklet and, to my knowledge, were never manufactured by Faller
- Items in green rows were announced in 1969 but, to my knowledge, were not available until 1970
- Item in the blue row was only announced in the C.J. Bubla Order Sheet
- Last 3-4 digits of the catalog number is the MSRP
|
BUYER ALERT
The original bus system is actually part of a much larger product line, Faller's out-of-production Auto Motor Sport (AMS) line, which has its own collector's market; thus it tends to be a bit more sought-after than Minitrix trains. Greyhound buses in particular fetch good prices. That said, it's really down to what these items are personally worth to the buyer. More recommendations here.