Leroy Milburn Cox

There ya go Wazza just gave you some.
Oops can I call you that? It's what I call my friend over here called Warren.

nitroairplane wrote:There ya go Wazza just gave you some.
Oops can I call you that? It's what I call my friend over here called Warren.

Yep, that is what my friends call me.

cool.
It appears we use the same abreviations in the UK and Australia.

nitroairplane wrote:cool.
It appears we use the same abreviations in the UK and Australia.

Hmmm funny that... Wouldnt have anything to do with the fact that we are all descendants of convicts from England would it! OR perhaps that we are part of the Commonwealth! LOL

My Great Great Grandfather was from Kent, (Southern England) emigrated to Australia in 1878. Settled in north eastern NSW at Lismore, married, had 11 children, who each had about 11 children and each of them had about 11 children so now there are 1000's of us!

Enough about me, I could go on for hours talking about my family... This topic is about Roy Cox.

Ok I've found a few more people who know some things.. and have located Jeff Cox, Leroy's grandson. Just waiting on his approval now for me to get access to more information about the family.

Oh I'm so excited!

Interesting that MaryBelle had worked for the company since 1946 and they get married about 6 months and one day after the death of his first wife.

I assume you are aware of the article that was in Half A Magazine that Blackhawk Models is putting out?

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1469802

Hi

I suppose one could draw some conclusions there... but you dont really know the facts do you?

I was not aware of this article... I have a long standing relationship with Larry Rice as my children were used in some of his advertising material back in 2006. You can see my wife and kids building half a's on the BHM website. http://www.blackhawkmodels.com/kk.html

Larry sent me the 1st edition and asked me to write an article for "what's happening downunder" but all I had to say is "nothing is happening in 1/2A down here unfortunately".

I shall have to write to him and see if I can get a look at this article you mention.

Thanks

I just heard back from Larry and got the article... it appears to be written mainly from information provided by Dan Sitter to the Engine Collectors Journal which is summarised in the Cox Model Engine Handbook Nothing new there I'm afraid, but thanks anyway.

But I do recommend anyone with an interest in Cox Engines and their History should buy this book. Dan Sitter and Tim Dannels put a lot of work into it and it is the best Cox engine reference you will find.

warrenlead wrote:

I suppose one could draw some conclusions there... but you dont really know the facts do you?

I just think it is "interesting" timing.

Been thinking about who MudHen might be... MH... or someone from Toledo, Missouri, or someone who likes the F15 Strike Eagles... or even locomotives....

do you think leroy took some of his engines to his grave?

Let's not think about it I do not want people digging him up for that thermal hopper they think he took

i wouldn't be surprised if there are some very special engines down there...SOLIG GOLDEN BEE!!!!!!!HAHAHAAAAA!!!
or a BW with a ruby spinner???....

Or the remnance of a pee wee .010 or the engine of no name maybe a tee dee .005 or a medallion .020.

we'll never know...but the cox family sure was a very typical family company in their time.

Hi Warren,
Sorry it took so long to respond. I was away for the week.
I spoke to a close friend of mine and asked him what he thought about my sharing some info, pictures etc. He said, "don't do it." "It's your work, your investment, your time, you spent years on it. As soon as you share it, it's not yours anymore."
Some background I think is fair to point out. I’ll give the “short” version. I started the project sometime in 1991, or 1992. My intention was to write a biography of Roy Cox. My hope was to have a “coffee table” sized book containing as much information about Roy and his company. This was going to include all the products and they’re major variants from the time the company was founded with popguns, (one of which I still have,) until he sold to Leisure Dynamics. The little write-up I did for the RR-1 is a tiny sample of how the products were described. It would have had more detailed information and pictures, but you get the idea. And that type of write-up is what was intended for each product. But, it was a full time job. I worked at my regular job for eight hours and then came home and worked on the book for eight hours. This went on for years. I did ground up restorations on all the products I had. The idea was to have them look as if they just left the factory. I’ve restored hundreds of Cox products from the crankshaft out. Planes, cars, boats, slot cars, engines, everything. At the time, a friend of mine was a professional photographer and we took hundreds, (literally,) of product pictures. I conducted dozens of interviews and got to know these folks on a very personal level. MaryBelle, Mark Mier, and a few others became very close friends. Even Bill Selzer began sending me letters and Christmas cards. If you knew Bill, that would shock you. The relationships had formed, trust was developed, and the information just kept coming in. It really would have been a wonderful story to tell. My financial investment topped over $60,000. This thing just kept growing. For personal reasons which I won’t discuss, I decided to terminate the project about 2005-ish. I sold off nearly half of my collection, packed up the information, and moved on.
I can’t apologize enough to you Warren. I think your heart is in the right place. I just can’t bring myself to share any of this information. In a way, you’re starting just where I did…right at the bottom. Talk to Jeff and Larry. I spoke to Larry recently and he had some nice comments and some fond memories of Roy.
As for MaryBelle and Roy Cox - it didn’t happen. I made the same connection and asked her directly. She said, “No that never happened, we’re both dedicated Christians. But I can understand why people would think it did.” MaryBelle started with Roy when he moved to his first Quonset hut. This was while he was transitioning from popguns to metal toys. They were close friends and she knew him some 23 years before they got married. Knowing her as I did, I’m certain they did not have an adulterous affair.
Just to answer some questions:
I’m not “ Jreinert17.” Mudhen was a nickname I picked up over ten years ago. It stuck. Some peeps still call me that today.
Roy Cox did not take engines to the grave. But I will share some information that is not widely known. There was a section of the foundation for the new Warner building into which several engines were poured out with the concrete. It was said that the new factory was, “built on Cox engines.” (A very cool anecdote!)
A little known secret was that after Jerry died, Roy began to dislike his company. He was looking for any takers.
Some advice – Do your own footwork. The Cox engine handbook is not footnoted so there’s no definitive accuracy. Avoid already published information. I can tell you that, although I’m not the “book police,” there is a ton of misinformation about Roy Cox, both in book form and on the net. Some people today just seem less interested in truth. They let their collection drive the story, rather than the other way around. The story is way more interesting than anyone’s collection.
Finally, I’m half Aussie. My mom was born and raised in Sydney. My dad met her while on holiday during WWII.
Lates…
Mud

Mud,
That was amazing.
I ask only one thing from you,
Could point me in the direction of someone who can tell me more about the pee wee .010 I know you met people involved with it I don't mind if you won't go in to details but a place to start would be nice.

Hi Mudhen

Thats good information if it is in fact true. It does sound very convincing, but you see, because we don't know who you are, and as has been mentioned earlier you could be anyone with a bit of knowledge who is just making this up. You have not provided any tangible evidence to your claims, and you're not willing to share information. What good is this information you have if no one is ever going to see it or benefit from it? What do you plan to do with this information when you die? We are just Cox engine buffs who want to know more about the history of Cox and his engines, we have nothing to gain financially from any of this information. There is only a relatively small number of us who want to know or even care about this information. You are also discrediting the research done by Dan Sitter who is a respected Cox Historian. Dan has done more than anyone with respect to sharing his knowledge of Cox history.

Unfortunately my research is limited to speaking to people who have information to share, as I am in Australia and there are only about 2 people here in the whole country who know anything about Leroy Cox and I am one of them. So therefore I can only report what I know to be true and can verify. Perhaps it is not my place to say anything, perhaps the Cox family would prefer it to be this way, who knows. It seems that nobody wants to share anything other than what is out there in the public domain. So if that is it then that is the way it shall remain until someone with some credible information publishes their story.

I have found jreinert17 and we have been emailing back and forth.. perhaps this avenue will be more fruitful.

Thank you.

Mudhen wrote:Hi Warren,
I spoke to a close friend of mine and asked him what he thought about my sharing some info, pictures etc. He said, "don't do it." "It's your work, your investment, your time, you spent years on it. As soon as you share it, it's not yours anymore."
Mud

You should publish and book and sell it. I would sure buy it. I'm not sure how many other people out there other then us cox engine nuts would buy it though. Like some of the others said before, If you never share the information, what good is it? (other then for your own knowledge)....

I admit Mud that I do not fully understand your situation but there is nothing to lose from sharing your info you will simply make a lot of us happy.
Imagine it would be like a book on our childhood
It would be great.you may even make some money.

Hi Fellas,
I have no intention to publish any of my work. The whole issue drudges up too many sour memories.
But I have been communicating privately with Warren to offer some information to help get him off the tarmac.
Hopefully, he'll make better use of the info.
Mud

Mudhen wrote:I have no intention to publish any of my work. The whole issue drudges up too many sour memories.

It's sad when an obvious labor of love comes to an unfortunate end. Money, time and effort become the victims when the passion behind the project gets snuffed out. I hope you're able to reconcile your feeling about the project over time, but I'm sure Warren is most appreciative of any guidance you can provide.

In any event, I have enjoyed your postings relating to COX and his engines.

andrew

andrew wrote:

Mudhen wrote:I have no intention to publish any of my work. The whole issue drudges up too many sour memories.

It's sad when an obvious labor of love comes to an unfortunate end. Money, time and effort become the victims when the passion behind the project gets snuffed out. I hope you're able to reconcile your feeling about the project over time, but I'm sure Warren is most appreciative of any guidance you can provide.

In any event, I have enjoyed your postings relating to COX and his engines.

andrew

i sure enjoyed and was thankful for the amounts you could share on the Pee wee .010 and other stuff its all great.