Lets see your Marx Tinplate Locomotive and Cars

The Louis Marx 3/16 scale series is very collectible in my house.  Here is perhaps my most ambitious effort on one of them, a baggage car made from an ATSF coach, the variation with windows that were only indented and lithographed.  The windows were filled in with putty, except for the ones that were needed.

The tender in the second photo is a Lionel coffin tender mounted on 6-wheel trucks made of Lionel Scout, American Flyer and Marx parts.  The Marx 333 loco needed a beefier tender, IMHO.

A British Marx tender and a Japanese floor toy with a Marx 333 motor stuffed inside. The color match of the engine and tender is near perfect.

Got this custom made engine and tender off the bay. I thought it was a custom Marx CV, but it turns out it is all hand made from wood with a Marx motor and Marx tender.

The Marx Goose, A cheap Paya knock off front end and frame with a Marx caboose shell on the back. It is powered by a K-Line speeder power chassis. It also has a diesel sound unit for a BUDD RDC.

Marx never made a wrecker in 3/16 so I created my own. Everything is Marx except the side grills.

Looks great

Really like the crane

my 999 pulling some 3/16

my Marx collection, showing the NKP tender with 666 that I added four wheel trucks, and the PRR Merchandise Car that got 3/16 trucks.

That crane looks fantastic Steve.

Here are a couple of ours and a few of the start of our layout . Gary Lisa and the Girls

A couple more. Gary Lisa and the Girls

Trying again Gary Lisa and the Girls

Not trains but a few of the train room . Along with my fireman and conductor .Gary Lisa and the Girls

Here's a freshly repainted Commodore Vanderbilt pulling a string of 4 wheel 6" cars on our modular club's layout. I think that curve is a 10' diameter:

This is my Marx layout with a way too long passenger train on it:

J White

Awesome

I love the whimsical 6" series.  The common caboose can be made into attractive passenger cars.

Marx powered

Three sixteenths scale tank cars:  The black, brown, white and red ones are customs.  Six inch tank cars:  The red and green ones are customs.

very cool

It's amusing what all these people find to put Marx motors into.

Custom 591 and American Flyer caboose modified to match and run with 3/16 scale.

Looks great

Out of all the cars and engines I own twenty out of twenty-six are Marx and they're still running. But there is one Lionel hiding in this picture, kinda like where's Waldo

That's an awesome wrecker!!

Nice ones

Seven-inch cars, simulated trucks removed and replaced with scale trucks to run with 3/16 series.

MONON equipment.

very nice, I want to do a Sate of Maine too.

Thanks.  They fit right in, especially with the New Marx, as they are a bit higher but shorter than the scale boxcars.  The State of Maine was always my favorite boxcar.  I saw them years ago running through Binghamton, NY.

I'd like to thank all the members who have been giving me "likes"!

Here are four New Marx boxcars.

Very nice

Floodlight car, side dumping car, two variations of crane car.

Hoppers and gondolas.  The brown Rock Island gondola in the middle of the last picture is a custom.

I keep seeing all this great Marx, and I realize I better find some place for more shelves.....

Yes, Dave.  I thought I ran out of space long ago for more shelves, but seem to keep finding odd places to put them.    (I refuse to box things up to store under the table).

Here's something a little different - a kit-built factory error - or maybe I should call it a shy Sears boxcar... I recently purchased the shell, ends, doors, and guides as an unassembled unit on e-bay from the Flynn's. It needed the frame and trucks and couplers. An inexpensive purchase at York provided these components and then time and a little effort provided the rest.

It was bent backwards in manufacturing, i.e.inside out, eh?  I have bought most of my New Marx from the Flynns.  They're great people to deal with.

Yes. Actually it was stamped and bent backwards - the roofwalk detail, roof ribs, etc. all go in the direction of the undecorated side.

Very cool I like it

Here's my Marx tin, original and customized...

3/16" Scale cars including a couple of 7" converted to scale trucks

6" and 7" tin

Custom locos

Nice originals

Home-brew tinplate prewar style electric loco powered by Marx

The Marx motor is the perfect transplant for many applications.  I like to use them to restore the old American Flyer cast iron locos.  

I restored this one with a Marx one way motor.  I thinks it is an AF#14

This is an AF #3195 I restored with a Marx Double Reduction motor.

I try not to modify the shell to the point that it can not be put back to original given a good AF motor.

They look great

This Rock Island 8251 followed me home from Cal-Stewart today. I now have 4 of them. Two 0-4-0 and two 2-4-2.

Steve

I like that, don't believe I've seen that one (at least in color) before.

I purchased these at York a few years ago.  The shipping address on the box has them being sent to the Higbee Department Store.

that's one of the few times I'd like to have just the box! Big Christmas Story fan.

awesome great find

Picked up this batch in the auction at Cal-Stewart for $56.00. I really only wanted the 8 wheel frames and trucks, but some of the cars will clean up too nice to part out. The 999 bench tested good also.

Steve

That looks like a nice solid buy.

These are all 4 and 6 inch Marx tin cars with die-cast or tin Marx locomotives.  I have individual shots of each if there is something you are searching for.

The collection has happily grown since this photo.  I hope to get caught up on the photos over Thanksgiving...ESPECIALLY the collection of the Modern Marx (aka: Flynn Marx) North Pole Express cars I've collected over the past year.  I hope to be posting those in OGR Forum soon with video too.

no please no! must resist the urge to look at more Marx....fighting urge to search the bay of e for all these treasures....

That auction site is just full of 'em, isn't it Dave?

well they can't all follow Steve Eastman home....

Good one, Dave.

Here are a clockwork steamer, a clockwork FM diesel, and a battery-powered steamer.

(Have you had enough yet, Khayden?)

nice collection

I took my time replying to this thread, simply because I was trying to sort out what I should post here.  For the sake of brevity, here are a couple of pictures I took tonight of some of my favorite Marx tinplate... some original, some restored, some customized... All Windups!

This first picture is of my favorite Marx tinplate windup locomotive, the Commodore Vanderbilt!  From bottom left to upper right: Customized Gray CV, Original Red Mechanical Whistling CV, 1935 Black Swing-peg w/ Silver Litho on black frame 6" cars w/ Joy Line couplers, Restored black Reversing Mechanical CV (1936-37) w/ same era cars, and a 1935 Green Swing-Peg.

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Some of my customized Marx tinplate, from front to back:  Mercury customized in Frisco Firefly colors, a Marx windup Zephyr that was customized from some rusty Marx articulated cars utilizing a Marx riser-gear windup motor for power, and finally a Marx 6000 diesel - the 6000 only came with electric motors, but I retrofitted this with a Marx riser gear windup motor, the motor itself being customized by converting it from just 2 wheel drive (all Marx windup motors are 2WD) to a 4 wheel drive motor for extra traction.

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Sharp eyed Marx guys will note some common Marx accessories on the layout too!

"One of many Marx Toys... Have you all of them?"

Very nice collection

James, you really like clockworks!  I was especially struck by your Mercury in Frisco trim.  The shape of the nose really lends itself to that design.  It looks great.

WindupGuy that should be a Dealer Display!

Marx 591 and 898 steamers.

Refrigerator and boxcars.  Middle and right cars on top shelf are custom.

New Marx scale cars and custom made rocket carrier made from an AF car.

Awesome custom rocket carrier

yes it is, I really like the depressed center cars.

Here is my collection of the 533 Marx locomotive (windup version of the 591).  I'm not sure what the proper number of the "D" cell battery version is:

From top to bottom:  Locomotives 1 & 2 are both the "D" cell powered battery versions, just with different tenders.  Locomotive #3 is a 533 w/ Riser motor, "C" cell battery powered headlight and stamped steel drivers.  Locomotive #4 is the same as #3 except it has the later diecast 17 spoke drivers.  Locomotive #5 is a 533 with the older style ratchet motor w/ 17 spoke diecast drivers (no headlight).  Locomotive #6 has the riser gear motor w/ 17 spoke diecast drivers (no headlight).

I just love all the variations of Marx locomotives!

TrainsRMe, LOVE that custom Monon boxcar!  How did you do it?

Love the Copper Queen!

Amazing collection I love the Zephyr and the Frisco Mercury!

This is a homemade streetcar made from a plan in a Model Builder magazine dated about 65 year ago.   There is a Marx motor installed.

Here is my custom electric Marx Commodore Vanderbilt.

My custom painted Marx Commodore Vanderbilt windup.

My all original Marx M10005.

The Ameritrains Milwaukee Road freight set my Dad gave me.

Dan

that is a beautiful locomotive. Are there matching cars?

This is what the set looked like.

thanks Steve

MarxTinMan - Apologies for taking so long to reply.  Been offline with Thanksgiving guests, one of whose cat played Godzilla on the layout.  Damage repaired quickly.  See the photo of the work crew.

The MONON was done with a printed photo paper applique that was once available.  You painted the top of the car to match the applique, and then wrapped it around the lower body.  I'm not going to mention the "gentleman's" name, because he went out of business owing me money for my last unfilled order.

Probably my favorite of the New Marx/Ameritrains engine and tenders, and most likely the hardest to find.

Steve

now that's a beauty, another one I never knew about. There was someone..I think on the yahoo group that had made one, but never knew there was actual production.

My brother is selling a few nice Marx and Ameritrains freight car items on Ebay right now.His seller name is :mooselots.

Dan

Here is a photo of the Ameritrains MR ballast car and NYC caboose from the the mid 2000s.Someday I will repaint the NYC caboose into a MR caboose.

Dan

This is my entire tinplate collection. I found these at an estate sale recently and had to bring them home.  Not really sure what I have here or if any of them even belong together.  I probably wont be switching away from my more modern trains, but seeing these in person and on tracks, I get it now.  There is something almost magical about tinplate. They just feel like Christmas.

Thomas, your locomotive appears to be a Marx 933, the non-reversing windup version of the Electric 994.  There was also a reversing windup version, the 943:

There is also another rare variation of the 933 with a battery operated headlight.

The 933 could be found in sets with either 7" tin 4 wheel cars, or 6" tin four wheel cars.  It appears that your cars - at least the tank car and caboose - have one-way couplers, which would make them too early to have been included with this particular locomotive.  Regardless, you have some nice Marx items!  If you would like to look for a tender, either a 7" tender or a 6" wedge tender would be appropriate.

Here is a cropped illustration from a 1950 Wards catalog of a 7" tin set:

And finally, a 933 heading up a 6" tin set from the 1951 Wards Catalog:

James,

Thank you for helping to ID my trains and including the catalog pictures! 

Looks like I need to start searching for that tender (and a wind-up key).

Grossman's has windup keys, or you can make your own with 1/8" keystock from a hardware store.  Although some people wind the motors with a small screwdriver, I don't recommend it because the screwdriver blade inevitably puts a lot of stress on the weakest part of the hub and can cause it to crack and fail.

Wedge tenders are pretty common, but finding a 7" tender might take a while longer.