ALPS Toy Tram

Dateca. 1948

Mediummetal, tin, paint

Dimensions5 x 5 x 3 in. (12.7 x 12.7 x 7.6 cm)

ClassificationsRecreational Objects

Credit LineAlbuquerque Museum, gift of Melissa Smith and Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Ramsey

Object numberPC2001.71.2

DescriptionA toy tram with red lower half, cream upper half, and orange roof with a metalic-colored topper that has blue and red flag on its sides. The tram has people painted in the windows and the "ALPS" logo superimposed on its metal body. ALPS was originally founded in occupied Tokyo, Japan in 1948 by a former employee of CK – Kuramochi Shoten, then the largest pre-war Japanese toy company.

ALPS produced a range of tinplate / mechanical toy vehicles, space toys including robots along with numerous animated novelty animals. Many of their early toys had multiple action features which was to set Japanese toys apart from their European / American counterparts and it was this ingenuity which ensured the popularity and demand for Japanese toys in the early post war years. Many of which were either clockwork initially or later battery in operation.

This toy predates the Sandia Peak Tramway that opened in 1966 and is testament to the growing interest in tram technology as a feature of the tourist industy and as a source of amusement.

On View

On view

Terms