Amesville Shops was founded on the belief that early-period modelers (1875 to 1910) need good, accurate and prototypical cars for their layouts in numbers and at reasonable prices. We don't believe in producing unusual and unique cars that are easily recognized over and over again on the layout. The cars we offer are purposely common and ordinary, so that they will join your railroad and become 'just another car' in any train. While they may not be eye-catchers, we strive to make them prototypically accurate and represent real cars that would have been common through the 1880's to the beginning of the 20th century. And we work had to keep costs down so you can afford to build a roster of cars that look 'right' instead of just one at a time.
What does this have to do with Amesville?
The Amesville shops in Amesville, Connecticut were the primary erection shops of the Housatonic Railroad from the 1870's through the 1890's. The facility was originally an iron works that made heavy cannons for the Union Army before and during the civil war. When the war ended the iron works fell on hard times, and was taken over by the Housatonic Railroad in the 1870's. The complex was expanded and converted to a locomotive maintenance and construction center, and repairs to freight and passenger cars were made there too. In that Yankee pioneer spirit, we hope to continue their work and make and sell model railroad kits of good quality and fair prices.