Yesteryear Collection - 1907 London E Class Tram

The London County Council "E" Class Tramcar was introduced in 1907 for the electrification of the routes north of the Thames and one survived to be rebuilt and renumbered 1597 and ran for 44 years until the end of the tramways. This type of car became the standard and they continued to be built right up to 1922. The L.C.C. were in advance of any other town in the design of their tramcars and these cars were totally enclosed on the top deck from very early days.
The overall average speed was 10 m.p.h. - the highest in the country and 30 m.p.h. was quite common after the advent of higher power motors.
The last tram ran in London on 5th July, 1952, with full ceremonial honours.

The (Y3-1) 1907 London E class tramcar was introduced in 1956.

Livery: (Transfers)
Upper panels: 'BEST SUNDAY PAPER', 'NEWS OF THE WORLD', 'WORLDS RECORD SALE' in dark blue on cream or white panel.
Lower panels: 'LONDON TRANSPORT' in yellow.
End panels: 'BUY LESNEY TOYS' in black on white square below stairs.
Destination boards: 'CITY' in black on white or cream with black border.

Variations/Rarities: It was always painted red but shades can vary.
It could have a cream or a white roof with hand applied silver or gold trim to the drivers controls and headlights.
The front and back had "City" decals which can have either a white or a cream background because two different sets of decals were used.
Underneath each end is a grey cow-catcher except for the final run which had a white cow-catcher. The early versions had a very thin cow-catcher which was soon thickend up with the addition of a plate that was cast in at the rear.
The wheels were grey metal but from around 1959 black plastic wheels were used instead. Both types had the wheels cast as part of the axles.
The baseplate is usually painted black but a very short run was fitted with a grey baseplate.

This is one of those MOY models where you really have to know what you are looking for. It stayed in production for 9 years so there are some subtle variations that affect value. The first thing to be aware of is that the colour does not change significantly, but there are a series of changes to the casting to watch out for. The biggest is being able to see daylight under the staircase. The other biggie is whether or not the cow-catchers have a strengthening brace cast into the back.

Look out for open space under the staircase (as you look at the tram side-on) with the thin cow-catcher, then you have a valuable model. The rest, as it was around for so long, are not worth so much. You should also look out for light grey baseplates, they are rare too.


News Of The World				Recess under stairs


Access to upper deck	Decal background, lights & cow-catcher colours	Cow-catcher type	Wheel type	Baseplate colour

Information as from "The Yesteryear Book 1956-2002"
Issue	Year of Release	Colour	Roof	Access To Upper Deck	Lights	Wheels	Recess Under Stairs	Cow Catcher Type	Baseplate Colour	Baseplate	Rarity	Box
1	1956	London Transport red body	Cream	Open	Silver	Grenodised solid	Yes (Open)	Grey thin	Black	LESNEY No3 ENGLAND	R	A
2		London Transport red body	Cream	Open	Silver	Grenodised solid	Yes (Open)	Grey thin	Grey	LESNEY No3 ENGLAND	VR	A
3		London Transport red body	Cream	Open	Silver	Grenodised solid	Yes (Open)	Grey thick	Black	LESNEY No3 ENGLAND	S	A
4		London Transport red body	Cream	Open	Gold	Grenodised solid	Yes (Open)	Grey thick	Black	LESNEY No3 ENGLAND	S	A
5		London Transport red body	Cream	Open	Silver	Grenodised solid	Yes (Open)	Grey thick	Grey	LESNEY No3 ENGLAND	VR	A
6		London Transport red body	Cream	Open	Silver	Grenodised solid	Partial fill in	Grey thick	Black	LESNEY No3 ENGLAND		B/C
7		London Transport red body	Cream	Open	Gold	Grenodised solid	Partial fill in	Grey thick	Black	LESNEY No3 ENGLAND		B/C
8		London Transport red body	White	Open	Silver	Grenodised solid	Partial fill in	Grey thick	Black	LESNEY No3 ENGLAND		B/C
9		London Transport red body	White	Open	Gold	Grenodised solid	Fully filled in	Grey thick	Black	LESNEY No3 ENGLAND		B/C
10		London Transport red body	Cream	Open	Gold	Grenodised solid	Fully filled in	Grey thick	Black	LESNEY No3 ENGLAND		B/C
11		London Transport red body	Cream	Closed	Gold	Grenodised solid	Fully filled in	Grey thick	Black	LESNEY No3 ENGLAND		B/C
12		London Transport red body	White	Closed	Gold	Grenodised solid	Fully filled in	Grey thick	Black	LESNEY No3 ENGLAND		B/C/D1
13	1962	London Transport red body	White	Open	Gold	Black plastic solid	Fully filled in	Grey thick	Black	LESNEY No3 ENGLAND	S	D1/D2
14		London Transport red body	Cream	Open	Gold	Black plastic solid	Fully filled in	Grey thick	Black	LESNEY No3 ENGLAND	D	D1/D2
15		London Transport red body	Cream	Closed	Gold	Black plastic solid	Fully filled in	Grey thick	Black	LESNEY No3 ENGLAND		D1/D2
16		London Transport red body	White	Closed	Gold	Black plastic solid	Fully filled in	Grey thick	Black	LESNEY No3 ENGLAND	D	D2
17	1965	London Transport red body	White	Closed	Gold	Black plastic solid	Fully filled in	White thick	Black	LESNEY No3 ENGLAND	D	D2
Rarity: D - Difficult; S - Scarce; R - Rare; VR - Very Rare; ER - Extremely Rare
Box: A - Line drawing, black number on end flap; B - Blue number on a white circle on end flap; C - Red number and white lettering on end flap; D1 - Plain yellow background to front panel illustration; D2 - Pictorial background with MOY banner