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Operating Gravel Conveyor
-No.922 (1979 and 1980)
TYCO's Operating Gravel Conveyor (No.922) joins the company's product line in 1979 along with the
similar Operating Gold Mine (No.936). The Gravel Conveyor is lettered for "Moorestown Gravel Co." which is the hometown
for TYCO Industries in New Jersey at the time this item was produced.
The Operating Gravel Conveyor, as well as the Operating Gold Mine and Operating Grain Elevator, is a non-electrical
Action Accessory. Beginning around 1980, TYCO moves away from the typical accessory item that required wiring to the
power pack for operation and introduced items that did not demand much effort to put them into action. The "gravel"
provided with this item is actually a very common looking jewelry bead complete even with the same hole drilled through the
center for stringing on a necklace. TYCO uses the same bead cast in a gold-fleck color to serve as "gold"
in the Gold Mine.
Considering TYCO produces three variations on this same base model, none survive for very long in the company's product
line. Introduced in 1979, the Operating Gravel Conveyor is in business in the '79 and '80 catalogs only.
The Gold Mine gets a three year run from 1979 to 1981; while the Grain Elevator is listed in catalogs from 1981
and 1982 only.
Look closely at the picture of the box for the Gravel Conveyor above and you'll notice a white sticker is blocking out
something on the contents listing in the upper right corner of the package. One assumes it must be calling for the Dump
Car or Trackside Bin that is neither pictured, not ever part of the contents of this item.
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TYCO utilized the same base model for at least three different entries in the Action Cars and Accessories line.
The plastic model of the overhead bin with conveyor belt operated by a hand crank in shed is the same for TYCO's Operating
Gravel Conveyor (No.922); Operating Gold Mine (No.936); and (No.870) Operating Grain Elevator. The 1979 TYCO catalog
is the first to introduce this model with both the Operating Gravel Conveyor and Operating Gold Mine as new items for that
year. The third entry using this base design, TYCO's Operating Grain Elevator, arrives with the 1981 product catalog.
The 1982 TYCO catalog features the Operating Grain Elevator and is the last catalog to feature an Accessory with this
base model. The Operating Gold Mine is the most deluxe of the three selections, as this item also included an Operating
Dump Car and two-piece Trackside Bin. The Gravel Conveyor and Grain Elevator items do not include a freight car, nor
do they have the separate Trackside Bin.
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