WOW folks what a line up! Frenchtrains, Fatman (loved the Brimtoy), SNCF231E, Robert Butler, Arne - what marvelous new items you posted. I can't come close but will provide some pictures of an outfit I had fun putting back into operation today.
I "discovered" the pictured Marx 333 Die Cast 4-6-2 and Die Cast tender and 3 NYC streamlined tinplate cars in my own storage area where they have likely stayed in a box for 40+ years!. When I finally opened the box today as I was trying to do some inventory and sort out things in the train room I found a note saying I had purchased the set in 1978 at a train show in Sydney, Ohio (we lived in Dayton at the time, I was at WPAFB). It is a set that was offered in the Allied Toy Distributors, 1950 catalog. I have always maintained that Marx motors were nearly indestructible but today even amazed me...after a little lubrication I put her on the tracks, the light came on and off she went with her consist. Smooth, valve gear all working correctly, and the reverse was working as well. Could not believe it... The 333 was one of Marx's best and most realistic steamers. It has a lot of die cast detail, complex not toy like valve gear, and is very heavy and robust. The matching tender is a NYC type wedge also die cast and heavy enough to be a paper weight. It is almost out of scale (too big) for the cars.
Anyway no where near as rare as some of the things on today's post, but it was fun watching her go around the layout today!
Best wishes for a great weekend
Don McErlean
