Yuma Orphanage Showcases Vintage Pedal Cars and Tractors – Sterling Journal-Advocate

More than 20 pedal cars will be on display at the Yuma Orphanage from July 2nd to September 26th. They are on loan from several local collectors and the Forney Museum of Transportation in Denver.

The toy pedal car followed soon after the appearance of automobiles. Pedal cars date from the 1890s and the cost ensured early on that only the rich could afford them. Pedal cars peaked in popularity in the late 1920s and early 1930s, with a resurgence in the 1950s and 60s. Many pedal cars contained work lights and horns, movable windshields and convertible tops, chrome details, hood ornament, whitewall tires and special paintwork.

• This 1959 Kidillac from Garton Toy Co. belongs to Matt Vincent of Yuma. As a child he cycled through his hometown and his wife had it restored for his birthday earlier this year.

• This restored International 1086 pedal tractor was manufactured by Ertl Toy Co. in 1983.

• An English Tri-Ang Centurion (left) and a Soviet Moskvich are among the toy pedal cars on display at the Yuma orphanage in July and August.

Later on, toy manufacturers produced pedal toys such as airplanes, trains, trucks, fire engines, tractors, and even pedal space ships. In the 1970s, pedal toys made of steel gave way to plastic. These were lightweight and cheaper, but often failed to capture the aesthetics of actual automobiles.

Pedal cars from Italy, England, the Soviet Union and the United States are represented in the exhibition in the orphanage. An Italian car is a Giordani pedal car from the 1950s, a replica of the famous Studebaker with a ball nose. The other Italian car is a “new” VW Beetle from TT Toys from 1999. The English pedal car was made by a company called Tri-Ang. When new, it had working headlights and taillights, an opening trunk, and a dummy gear stick. The Soviet pedal car is a Moskvich built in the factory that produced the real Moskvich car.

Many of the American pedal toys are tractor designs that feature John Deere, Case IH, and White. Some of the tractors are exhibited with their original carts. Fire engines and fire engines are also well represented. The American manufacturers represented are Garton Toy Company, JW Murray Manufacturing Company, Steelcraft, ESKA Company, Ertl Company and Hill-Standard Company. Some of the pedal cars remain unknown as manufacturers.

While some of the pedal toys on display have been restored, most are in their original or unrestored condition.

The orphanage is located in downtown Yuma at 300 South Main Street. For more information about this and future exhibitions, please contact Richard Birnie at (970) 630-3360 or visit the orphanage’s website at orphanageyuma.com. The gallery’s opening times are Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The orphanage is closed on Mondays. Visit the Forney Museum of Transportation at 4303 Brighton Blvd., Denver.