Cranko
made by Movie Models
Donald Cranko
Trading from 1946 to mid 1956 in Havelock North in the North Island of New Zealand
Donald Cranko was born in England and immigrated to New Zealand. He worked as a real estate agent in Wellington before moving to Havelock North where he not only ran a dairy farm and made ice cream, but also an engineering workshop where he made steam toys. Trading under the name of Movie Models he produced a range of Cranko steam toys.
He had school children paint and assemble the steam toys. Donald Cranko retired to Kerikeri New Zealand in the mid 1956.
The old factory burned down in 1959.
When his stock was disposed of Auckland Model Engineers acquired some and released two engines, a Horizontal and a Vertical.
The Cranko range of toys consisted of:
Tractor
Roller
Vertical
Horizontal
Trains
Launch
Horizontal
There were two versions of the horizontal engine.
The first with bent steel engine bracket.
The second with a cast engine bracket.
There appears to have been a range of colours.
Steel Engine Frame
Cast Engine Frame
Vertical
The first version has a lead type cast round base and Red and Black, with port block separate from the crank shaft bracket .
The later versions are green bent tin base to fit Meccano with red high lights and use the same 1 piece engine bracket as the Rollers.
The chimney is common between Verticals and Rollers.
Steam Roller
The Roller has 6 versions.
The first has tin wheels with spokes Red and Black with brass boiler.
The 2nd and subsequent versions have a solid center disc in back wheels.
The rollers have a secondary shaft to gear them down to a more realistic speed.
Tractor
The first version of the tractor had wooden wheels and the second version had pressed tin wheels.
Tractor has a burner that fits in from the front.
Railway & Locos
All Cranko locos are O Gauge both live steam and 3 rail electric versions. Trains were marked with the letters "CMR". Donald also made his own tin plate track.
Steam Locomotives
The first engine made was a 0-4-0 twin cylinder with forward and reverse.
The smaller locos had a 2 axle tender and the Mogul had a 3 axle tender.
The smaller locos were also predominantly green with red trim, while the Moguls were black with red trim.
The first loco was a 0-4-0 twin cylinder with forward and reverse. This model was discontinued and replaced by the Mighty Atom.
The Mighty Atom is a single cylinder in cab design,
also 0-4-0. The rear wheels are cast lead, while the front wheels are aluminium to withstand the heat from the burner.
The Mogul 2-6-0, was also a twin cylinder with reversing.
This is a one off specially made 2-4-0 Tank engine that Donald made for a customer that drove steam locos for NZ Rail.
Cranko Rolling Stock