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The
Axles on the Yesteryear models were made from
mild steel. During manufacture of the very early
Yesteryears a wheel was threaded onto an axle,
one end of which was riveted, and then the axle
was passed through the model. The remaining wheel
was threaded onto the axle and kept in place by
crimping the axle end. This crude but effective
method was used for the early releases of the
first 10 models (exluding the Fowler and the
Tram) up until 1958. Unfortunately this method
left rather sharp edges, clearly a hazard to
young children. Therefore the crimping tools were
replaced by tools to squash the end of the axle
toward the wheel to form a second rivet. This end
always shows a smaller rivet than the rivet
formed with the axle off the vehicle but produces
a much safer and neater axle end than using the
crimping technique. All subsequent axles are
found with riveted ends. |
