Lone Star Products Ltd. was the brand name for the toy division of British company Die Cast Machine Tools Ltd (DCMT). DCMT was based in Welham Green, Hertfordshire, north of London.
In 1957, DCMT started a range of trains called Lone Star Locos. These were a newly developed gauge (000) “push-along” and included locomotives, rolling stock, track and accessories die cast in zamak. Zamak is a white metal alloy of zinc, aluminium, magnesium and copper pioneered in Germany.
In 1960, an electric powered Lone Star Treble-0-Lectric range was introduced, modelled to the slightly wider N gauge. This required an alloy track on plastic insulating sleepers. Locomotives modelled for this were only diesels, whilst remaining rolling stock came from the same moulds as 000.
With the demise of both the push-along 000 gauge and electric powered N gauge, a push-along N gauge was introduced, with a limited range of rolling stock on N gauge plastic track.
The premier retail outlet was Woolworths, though many small local toyshops of this era stocked Lone Star Locos. Although production ceased in 1971, unsold stock was still available for sale for a while after that. A warehouse clearance led to an influx of unsold stock for collectors in 1988. Now, both new and second hand stock can be found at auction sites, such as eBay.
