J & L Randall

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J & L Randall Ltd was a British toy manufacturer, based in Potters Bar, which was in Middlesex until 1965 and then in Hertfordshire. The company flourished in the 1950s and 1960s and placed regular advertisements in Meccano Magazine. It was one of the main competitors to Mamod for models of stationary steam engines.

The company used two trading names:

  • Merit for general toys
  • SEL (Signalling Equipment Ltd) for technical toys, e.g. electric motors, steam engines and student microscopes

An interesting product was the SEL "Dynamotor". This was a simple two-pole, permanent magnet, machine which could be run as a motor (using 4-6 volts from a dry battery) or used as a dynamo. It is believed that the term "signalling equipment" originally related to items such as Morse keys and sounders.

The company no longer exists but some of the products, especially the steam engines, have become collectors' items.

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