Cont...
It fell to OGR's Marx enthusiasts to dangle the lure in front of me that caused me to go for the bait. With their help, after all these decades, I was able to learn exactly what Marx 3-rail "hand-me-down" train set I had been given as a youngster when I was 7 or 8 years of age (in 1959 or 1960): It was a Marx "25225" set.
Perhaps it was mere coincidence, or perhaps something more, but of all things, a very nice "25225" set was on the Bay that was an exact fit with my memories (or so close I don't know the difference)... so I went for it! With a point/click... the boxed set pictured below was on its way to me, complete with a Marx 50w Model 729 transformer and some track.
(Note: The above story is all told in detail in the "Marx Train Pictures" thread here at OGR.)
Alas, when received, there was not enough track that remained with the set in order to set up a loop or oval. So, I simply cleaned up the engine and cars, lubricating where needed, and fixed the transformer issue (broken wire connector). Now the little 999 engine purrs like a kitten when powered at the workbench!
When the Marx track bundle I purchased arrives, after right at 60 years, I will again see a very familiar Marx set racing around an oval of track, with it's little side rods in a blur. It will be doing exactly what Louis Marx en company designed it to do: Bring pleasure to its owner.
Oh, it should come as little surprise that additional Marx items have already arrived at my doorstep. 
But Marx is not my only interest. No, Marx is just the mfg'er that is responsible for my return to 3-rail.
The other siren call for me has been Lionel Postwar. I have long admired select Lionel postwar items. I am already watching for reasonably priced items that I hope to eventually obtain. Though my most basic interest within the Postwar era are the products of Lionel and Marx (and possibly AF, Kusan, and such), in addition I will also be interested in "traditional sized" (similar to postwar) types of newer offerings, as time and opportunity afford.
The Scent Of Ozone...
Back in my Lionel collecting years (1990s), it all started with a humble little boxed Lionel 202 UP diesel set that I purchased for about $45. It was my intent to simply have a small oval of track running under the Christmas tree, for the Christmas season had arrived. I threw a white sheet down, placed the tree on it, and set up the oval of track around the base of the tree. There our the little pumpkin-colored Lionel Alco FA resumed its Christmas Tree duties that no doubt it had performed in the past. (We nicknamed the little 202 "Pumpkin"!) No sooner had "Pumpkin" made a few circles, than that magical ozone smell began to drift into our nostrils. My daughter (I think she was 12 at the time?) noticed it too.
Like an aphrodisiac intoxicating us with the desire for more, we both laid down to get an eye-level view of our little Pumpkin, and as it neared we would raise our head up from eye level and sniff that wonderful sweet smell of ozone as it passed under our noses! She loved that aroma! Of course, so did I. With each whiff of that wondrous aroma, memories of childhood times gone by wafted through my mind! (Scenes of my little Marx set from my childhood... a friend's little Marx Monon FM set... some friend's and their Lionel sets... oh my!)
Within a day or so, I had the idea to get some of those cheap, illuminated, ceramic buildings at Walmart. We soon had a "Main Street" scene for Pumpkin to hum past, complete with snow-flocked spruce trees. This grew into a tradition that lasted for several years as our Christmas Tree trains grew in length and variety, and the town kept growing. By the next Christmas, I had some Postwar Hudson's to add to the mix for running. Much more 3-rail "stuff" followed over the ensuing years.
Those were special times, and to this day, my daughter (now in her early 40s), still talks of the fun we had laying on the floor during Christmas and enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells, of Lionel Postwar circling our Christmas tree.
Dare I hope to have that wonderful aroma of ozone to be filling my olfactory senses again after so long?
From that magical Bantam Book: "The Signal Tower operator watches as a mighty Hudson locomotive storms by on its way out of town, while behind him a hard pounding freight on a nearby track, also leaving for parts unknown. Soon, those Engineers will be pulling those throttles open and hooking their Johnson Bar's back... and the race will be on!"
To be continued...
Andre
