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I just scored about forty freight cars, five passenger cars, a half dozen steam engines, an F3 diesel and an F7 diesel a-b unit set, and a diesel hood switcher.   I also got two Marx tin stations, one with a bell and one with a whistle, some yard lights, and other accessories.

Some of these are in like new condition, some are garbage, and most need some work from cleaning up dirt to complete strip down and repainting.  If I can get the worst ones stripped clear down to bare metal I can get some decals for roads that Marx never heard of, like CONOCO, UTOCO, Cache Valley Dairy, Whiting Chemical, etc , but I don't know what to do nor where to begin.

The ones that I'm going to strip clear down will get a TSP bathe and wire brushing, but most the mid range stuff simple needs a bath.

I've ordered a whole mess of parts from Robert Grossman to replace trucks and couplers and some small parts.

What have any of you tried?

I also want someone to Convert some of the engines from single to double reduction drive so I can run them through Lionel switches and cross overs.

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If any of the engines are a greasy mess, dust them with plain cornstarch and let them sit a half-hour or so before you wash the shells. Grease will suck up into the cornstarch and be carried off by the wash water so you don’t have to scrub. (This also works on paper with sticky or greasy messes on it!) Old smoke fluid or over-oiling residue will turn the cornstarch yellowish-gray. Most of it will brush off with a dollar store cosmetic brush if you want to avoid water for some reason.

Just my opinion but converting a single reduction motor to a double would be a whole lot of work. This will be the place to find out but I'm not sure I have ever seen that done. With the amount of Marx equipment still available you might try to retrofit a double reduction motor into the shell of the single and see if that would be easier. Robert Grossman would be a good source to contact and discuss.

Train ON!

Jim K

I may have found a man who converts single reduction to double.  I've sent him an email to ask and, as a bonus, he lives about 25 miles from me and belongs to the same model RR club that I do.

More later.

PS: got a box of goodies coming from Robert Grossman to restore a lot of Marx stuff.

More on that later, too.

PPS: anyone have a source for a chimney for a Marx tin station?  I now have three, but one has no chimney.

For bare metal parts (wheels, frames, motors) I liberally spray them in WD-40 and then scrub with a rag. I've tried soaking in vinegar but it tends to make the parts rust again after a few days. WD-40 does the same work and keeps them from rusting again.

If I'm trying to clean and save the original lithography, I wipe on some Meguiars Cleaner Wax and then gently buff it off with a soft cloth. This will take off grime and rust stains. If the paint is badly flaking or has heavy red rust, I usually just give up and commit to stripping and repainting. A wire wheel attachment on a bench grinder makes quick work of old paint.

Here's a basket case that I redid last year, a Marx M10005 diesel. The body was beyond saving-- heavy rust, badly damaged litho, gross black paint of unknown origin. Definitely a candidate for a new paint job.

Ratty old Marx M10005

The motor was in equally sorry shape, but Marx motors are super tough-- the E-unit still cycled and the motor lurched along! I took it apart and scrubbed it down with WD-40 to get most of the rust off. After polishing the wheels and replacing the wiring it ran very nicely.

Marx M10005 motor

The nice thing about working with hulks is that you get to make something neat with them. Lots of people have Marx M10005s but I now have a Marx DL109!

Shiny DL109!

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Images (3)
  • Ratty old Marx M10005
  • Shiny DL109!
  • Marx M10005 motor
@Forty Rod posted:

I may have found a man who converts single reduction to double.  I've sent him an email to ask and, as a bonus, he lives about 25 miles from me and belongs to the same model RR club that I do.

More later.

PS: got a box of goodies coming from Robert Grossman to restore a lot of Marx stuff.

More on that later, too.

PPS: anyone have a source for a chimney for a Marx tin station?  I now have three, but one has no chimney.

Nope.  He says it can be done but it ain't gonna be cheap, so.....................On to plan B.

@Mannyrock posted:

Trainguy,

Unbelievable job on that Marx diesel!

Were there dents in the shell?   If so, did you try to push them out, or just use something like Bondo to fill and smooth them?

Mannyrock

Thank you for the kind words Mannyrock, I am pretty proud of this custom. This is the locomotive that inspired my design. If I ever come across a junker MTH DL109 I'd like to try making a scale one. (I suppose I could 3D print one... I do have the technology!)

There weren't any major dents in this particular build, although some areas like the pilot were badly bent. If I can get the body apart, my preference is to use a ball peen hammer or parallel jaw pliers to smooth out dents in straight surfaces. It's very difficult to repair complex curves though, like how twisted the grille of the M10005 was when I started on it.

Disassembled Marx M10005

I considered trying to reshape the pilot by hammering it against a rounded form, but I ended up seaming the pilot into a blunt point to better represent the DL109's nose. Here's a comparison between a regular M10005 and my custom creation that shows the differences.

Original M10005 versus Ken's DL109

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Images (2)
  • Disassembled Marx M10005
  • Original M10005 versus Ken's DL109

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