Wagner and Son Manufacturing

Wagner and Son Manufacturing of Plainfield, Illinois, was a manufacturer of amusement locomotives.

The Wagner Story
The Wagner Story

The Miniature Locomotive, November-December 1953

More than 50 years in the miniature railroad business makes the firm of Wagner and Son of Plainfield, Illinois, one of the interesting concerns connected with Live Steam. Although the firm has, throughout the half century, been engaged in different fields of engineering, it has been well known for its locomotives and equipment.

One point about the Wagner policy departs in a way from some ultra-orthodox Live Steam philosophy. The Wagners do not scale down their locos from large ones, but lay greater stress on appearance. Standard railroad engineering practice follows in design and construction. In other words, the Wagner policy gives greater emphasis to creation of a replica in miniature without being tied to the task of reproduction in exact scale.

Wagner and Son do the designing and custom building of many types and sizes of locomotives and equipment, from old-timers to late streamliners. Gauges on which they work vary from 7-1/4 inc to 24 inch. Albert J. Wagner said, "We try to maintain standard track gauges, but once in a while we turn out an odd one for a customer in order to be used with the equipment he may already have."

The Wagners have facilities for supplying castings, rough or machined, for those who build their own. They also have an engineering department that supplies drawings.