Marx Train pictures

My Rock Island diesels, great runners.  

Maybe a dumb question but - Will a Marx engine run on Lionel track?

Dewman51 posted:

Maybe a dumb question but - Will a Marx engine run on Lionel track?

Yes, Marx will run on any type of O gauge track.

But... SOME Marx locos do not like switches. Some Marx locos have a gear that comes all the way out to the flange on the drive wheels. These so called "fat wheel" Marx locos do not like switches with guard rails.

Marx fat wheel locos work with Marx switches, Prewar American Flyer switches, and any switch that has a swiveling set of rails that look like the slice of an orange. Not a very precise description of the switch, but maybe someone else will chime in with the correct terminology.

Some of these pics have been posted before, but here are a few of my Marx sets.

First, my very 1st train set, thanks to my grandfather:

Next, a nifty 999 set I picked up this past year:

Finally, a Walgreens Army set I got for Christmas:

Here is my UP F-3 A-B and a string of plastic freights going around my Grandson's lay out .  The green roof in the background is a Marx " Old Frontier" lithographed log cabin we used as a station. 

Here is my latest acquisition, Marx 999 moving out this afternoon with a 3/16" Marx scale consist.  Like most of my Marx engines I buy, this one ran great dispite being almost 80 years old...even older than me and I don't run at all!!

PALALLIN:  The picture of your 999 set posted so small I could not see it clearly, I am not sure if it can be enlarged or not. The "Walgreens Army set " is fabulous, that must have been quite a time ago as Walgreens (at least ours in here locally) does not carry trains anymore.  What was the date on the set? 

P.S. I am glad someone started a thread on Marx, while I guess I am primarily a pre-war tinplater, I just love the Marx stuff and it almost always runs and works and looks great! 

Don

Don McErlean posted:

PALALLIN:  The picture of your 999 set posted so small I could not see it clearly, I am not sure if it can be enlarged or not. The "Walgreens Army set " is fabulous, that must have been quite a time ago as Walgreens (at least ours in here locally) does not carry trains anymore.  What was the date on the set? 

P.S. I am glad someone started a thread on Marx, while I guess I am primarily a pre-war tinplater, I just love the Marx stuff and it almost always runs and works and looks great! 

Don

Don,

Here are two better pics of the 999 set on the layout; I had to repair the searchlight car, but the rest of the set was in great shape and came with the box bottom:

Here are two pics of a work/wreck train I have cobbled together out of broken cars and rejects; I have also put a Marx Switchman's Tower on the layout in place of the usual Lionel one at Notch Junction:

The Army set--#24965--is mid- to late-'50s.    If only one could buy such a thing at Walgreens today!  The box is with the set in great shape; a few of the soldiers/tents/accessories are still with it; I am replacing the ones lost as I figure out what I need (I have already replaced the flag with a 48-star US).

My pics from1989...sold my Marx collection in 1995.

The layout was all Marx equipment and was only 4’x4’...(things where tough back then.)

One of the great things about Marx is that a great deal of fun can happen on a 4' x 4' board.  Tough times were Marx's boon:  they really were economical fun.  You had some really nice pieces!

PALALLIN:  Thanks for the new pictures.  The really interesting thing with your 999 set is that the tender is a Santa Fe long coal tender.  The 999 at least most often came with a NYC wedge type coal tender.  I agree with you about Marx dominated tough times.  I looked in my compendium of Montgomery Ward Christmas toy catalogs and found something close to your set that appeared in the 1953 catalog ( exact sans searchlight car). This set,  with a transformer and a 155 inch oval outside and 120 inch oval inside (it came with a pair of manual switches and an uncoupling ramp) cost $19.75.   Equivalent 1953 Lionel set (from Sears) except no switches and no uncoupler and only a 114 inch oval cost $24.95.  Remember in 1953, 5$ filled your car with gas...TWICE.

The Walgreens set is super!  Even the box says "Walgreens".  Finding this with the flatcar loads intact is really super!

Hope we might keep this thread on Marx going, I will put some pictures together this week to post.

Don

I only own an A-B in plastic for Marx O; the rest is all tin.

But I do have an HO Marx set now. The track is "tube track" on pressboard... maybe asbestos, lol. ( seen flipped over)  Really cheap and flimsy track, but a decent runner/ decent cars.

and  it also has  a very cool little litho powerpac; good throttle  control (needed a new cord)

Marx UP freight running on the S&Y RR.

Don McErlean posted:

The Walgreens set is super!  Even the box says "Walgreens".  Finding this with the flatcar loads intact is really super!

 

3 out of 4, anyway:  the tank is a repop.  Eventually, maybe, I will find an original to replace it with.  For now, it's hard to tell as the train rolls along. 

I am trying to focus my Marx habit.  I am sticking with 8-wheel plastic with tilt couplers (to match my very first set).  I like the military sets, and I want to get the ICG work train and some Rock Island sets.  At least one Allstate set, too.  Maybe go just far enough afield to get a passenger set (Adriatic has a nice one!).  I like boxes. . . .

And then the accessories!

Drat!  I just don't have room for "all of them"!

Guys what super pictures...Franktrain - great looking RI F-3's paint still looks super.

Adriatic: Santa Fe looks super, and HO set looks interesting, don't see much Marx HO and that Power Pack is wild!!  

PALALLIN - Wreck train looks great, something Marx might have made, really like the work caboose with the tank.  You mentioned a " Switchmen's Tower".  Marx actually produced two of these, one somewhat higher than the other.  The higher one, in some variations, actually had one side that was a flexible plastic (red plastic) membrane that moved to interrupt the power circuit to the tracks.  It was designed to move when you spoke into the tower, thus moving the membrane and stopping or starting the train.  So it appeared that the spoken command was obeyed.  I have seen some of these but have never tried to see if they work.  In regard to the 8 wheel plastic freight sets...I found one recently in an Antique store that is from 1963.  Picture below

Based on the data I have it is Marx set # 15765 and its all correct except it has a 25 watt transformer vice a 50 watt and is missing the log bin to catch the logs and a "Uncouple Here" sign.  It also had 2 extra straights (all track is Marx) which someone obviously put in the box sometime in its life. It does have the original "logs".

Bill T:  I love 6" cars and your set is really cool.  Did you know that the CRI&P Gondola is Pre-war?  Most likely date of mfr by my data is 1938...great find.  If you happened to have the little cardboard boxes of "groceries" that came with it, you might be able to retire early! (P.S.  I don't !!)  I did find a UP Battery set, Marx # 2508, only 2 cars (including caboose) and a circle of track.  Kind of neat, its from 1972.  Sounds recent but now that I think about it that is nearly 1/2 century ago

TaycoTrains :  Those were cool pictures of your Marx collection and the 4X4 layout.  By any chance do you have a track diagram of that?  I am thinking of putting together a small Marx lay out to complement my Lionel set up but it has to be small and that sounds about the right size.  Thanks.

Well guys that's all for me this afternoon...its cold and rainy here in Texas so I guess I will just have to run the trains and not do any work outside...(HA!)

Best Regards, Don

I'll take more pictures when I get home but 1.) haven't posted in awhile and 2.) All these Marx train pics are making me remember why I always end up with something Marx when I leave a train show

Plastic  New Haven B-unit. Was on sale for anice price. Don;t have any of the A-units or any of the Marx E-7s, though.

Marx armed forces training center. Won at auction for about $10. While initially I thought it'd be oversized, when it's next to some of MTH's buildings(their row houses, the Public works building, their work house,), certain prewar European and American items(see pic below) and/or Lionelville in prewar, postwar and modern form- it actually doesn't look bad. 

Examples of pretty good fits: 20s-early 30s Bing station. The 2 SWAT figures are O-line repro or K-line and the station workers(one next to SWAT figure on the right and one on the connecting boardwalk)are Preiser- these figures are about 1.25 inches. Notice how those figures look next to the two open doors versus the 2 AC Gilbert Flyer station workers(about 1.1 inches-porter in red hat, guy in middle by ticket window). The height and width of station doors aren't far off from the Marx building.

Same goes for this prewar AF "Flyer Town" Station on the right with the green roof next to a very "plain jane" K-line station platform and in front of that platform is 2 inch deep, 12.5 inches wide Bing platform that can either connect with it's larger platform counterpart or be on the other side of the tracks with a 'glass' dome/roof overhead. The woman in red is Bachmann)only 55-60% of door height, the closer figure in gray is Johilco(1.5 inches).

Example of what wouldn't work- from left to right- Lionel Watchtower Kit, mid-30s Karl Bub gütherhalle(good's station) and Lionel the kit. All are a bit too small for the Marx army building.

The green baggage car with gray roof is a 1934 Bing/Karl Bub(when Bing started/was forced to make items with Bub due to the Nazis) and a white roof, slightly older Bing baggage car. There have been a few times I have found ways to attach these to Marx consists via transition cars with a tab/slot coupler on one end and a Bing "hook and latch(?)" type coupler. The car on the left fitsthe profile of lower Marx cars(slightly wider) and the one on the right looks better with their 7 inch cars.

While maybe a bit off topic, I wanted to demonstrate the versatility of certain Marx accessories and an ability to blend modern with tin. More pics to come(Especially trains!)

@Don McErlean , to load pics you need to use the attachment tool that appears in the lower right of the composition box when you begin typing.

Find file, choose it, wait for "processing" to become "success", then check off "insert large size" line that appears mid box, hit finish, then finish posting.  If you forget to insert you get a second insert into text chance located in each pictures box at the very bottom.

(as is you can likely see your pics, but we can't. we cannot access the file at your house, OGRF needs a copy for that)

STEVEFROMPA: In the picture of your lay out I noticed what appears to be a Hafner lithographed station, in yellow and brown.  Attached above is my example of what appears to be the same building but in a blue/red pattern with different lithography.  The use of the same name, "Glen Ellyn" makes me think that the manufacturer is the same.  Unfortunately, I know almost nothing about my station, I was told once by an experienced collector that it was Hafner (no marking on the station) and pre-war but I can't confirm any of that.  What data do you have on your station?

Respectfully

Don

ADRIATIC:  Forgot to add this...in my response on the Hafner station I tried to use the directions you provided and it appeared to work.  Please let me know if this was done the right way...Thanks for the help

Don

Don,

The pics in your last post don't show up on my end.  

Does anyone else see them?

PALALLIN:  thanks for the heads up...I tried to put in pictures per directions on how to include the file, obviously operator error.  Here is the one I referred to in my prior post, the Glen Ellyn station.  Its obviously a different litho scheme than the one on STEVEFROMPA's layout but the building looks similar and the station name is the same and unusual.  My data (only by word of mouth) was that it is Hafner and pre-war but I cannot confirm this.  Looking for inputs.

Don

Marx bought out Hafner’s tooling and lithograph so they look the same on some cars, most of the tooling was sent to the Mexican subsidiary. So many of the Mexican Marx is very similar to Hafner and can sometimes be confused for one brand or the other.

I also wanted to let you know that The Marx pieces you post don’t have to be plastic... I just thought that it would be a broad post if we see all Marx.

Don,

I should have been more clear:  it's the multiple pics in the post just above that one that don't show up.  I don't know why.

Here are some pictures of a Marx Wind Up...could be either pre or post war.  Can't tell but it works well, pulls its little consist easily. 

Regards Everyone  Don

For some reason in the above posting, one picture showed up as large size in the post and the other did not, so I will repeat

the one which did not show up.  Don

Don - That is a very nice Red Flyer set.  Those were sold postwar in 1947-48, with the '47 set having three passenger cars while the '48 set only had two (like yours).  Your Commodore Vanderbilt has the motor with black sideplates and drivers (without siderods), which is another indication that it was made in the 1947-48 range.  Thanks for posting the pictures!

James: Thank you for the information on the Marx set. I tried to figure it out but just couldn’t get the data. Now I know it’s a “Red Flyer”. Super   Thanks again. 

Din

Enjoy seeing all the Marx. Here are a few of mine.

The caboose above is an American Flyer with Marx Scale Trucks. I have a few more of the Marx Plastic freight with scale trucks, I will have to look for the pictures.

Dean

Here's a video of Marx UP tin pulling Marx plastic freight on scale trucks. 

Dean

PW53inVa posted:

Enjoy seeing all the Marx. Here are a few of mine.

The caboose above is an American Flyer with Marx Scale Trucks. I have a few more of the Marx Plastic freight with scale trucks, I will have to look for the pictures.

Dean

 

Like the South Shore caboose! Is that stock American Flyer or did you make it up?

Hi franktrain

The CSSB caboose is an American Flyer that I purchased online from a gentleman in Michigan named Rich who painted it and detailed it to CSSB. I just replaced the AF trucks with Marx scale trucks. He is a big fan of the CSSB and the EJ&E and I also have a EJ&E caboose he did that I need to add Marx scale trucks to. I started a thread here a while back for the CSSB and EJ&E and posted a few more pictures at https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/...and-ejande-railroads if you are interested. 

Thanks for sharing your pics of your Rock Island Diesels, they are sharp.

Dean

franktrain

If you would like to see more of Rich's CSSB and EJ&E work he has posted some pics at https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/clips?fileType=IMAGE here on the forum. Scroll down until you see the picture of his CSSB little joe and you will see photos of his other CSSB and EJ&E Motive and Rolling Stock. He does very nice work,

Dean

PW53INVA / Dean:  Well that Marx train pulled by the UP streamliner is really cool, it does not seem to have any problem moving that plastic freight consist...COOL!  I don't know too much about the CSSB caboose except to say its a real nice job.  However if that is a blue B&O 504 caboose in your 2nd picture along with the PC twisted worms and the red NYC you have a pretty valuable car.  The Greenberg Marx guide prices that single car as $180 for good and $230 for excellent.  That's astounding for Marx !! 

Thanks for the pictures Dean.  Really neat to see the Marx operating.

Respectfully, Don

Hi Don

Yes that is a blue Marx 504 B&O caboose. It has a broken smoke stack, chip off of one of the roof corners, and missing piece on one wheel covers. Hard to find these in any form, and if perfect then very pricey. This one is far from perfect but works for me. Must be really rare to justify the prices in the Marx guide book. 

Here are a few links to a fellow on youtube that really has some great videos with Marx trains running set to music. I really like these and maybe you will too.

This is my favorite with the 504 caboose at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKJbdLPUKBg

Marx 3/16 Tin Passenger Trains at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QETdsW3u_Xk

Marx B&O Boxcars Running at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nzn6maTlRs

He has other videos with his Lionel and Marx and they are all well done and fun to watch.

Glad you like the pictures Don. I wish more folks would post videos and pictures of their Marx as it is fun to see.

Take Care

Dean 

SHPX did, indeed, have some very small tankers (I'd post the photo I worked from, but it's not mine, so...), and the excellent 3/16"/S Marx steel tanker was so close:

Marx cheating - I've posted this here and there before. Modern can-motor K-Lionel-Marx 3/16" Pacific chassis and 2 sliced and diced 666 boilers. Some detailing, and a Lionel coupler on the Marx tender. Runs real slowly, and the 666 had a husky girth anyway, so "scale world" doesn't scare it. It really should have ERR command put in it and be used as a switcher.

Here's a couple hasty pics of accessories (which, I suppose, are fair game).

1st:  the #1392 manual drawbridge.  Really quite nifty.  You can use it on the floor with the black side stiffeners attached or remove them and actually bridge a gap!  One up; one down:

Next, a selection.  A later, plastic #0416 Floodlight Tower, a #438 crossing signal w/gate, and three #061 telephone poles.  Nothing exciting but still very necessary parts of an operating Marx layout:

Here's three pics of the early '70s Big RailWwork Train in box.  This set is not mint, but it is at least Ex (the box is a little rough on the sides).  It is complete to the inspection slip, has minimal run time, shiny track, and a full bottle of smoke fluid.  There is even a spool of thread for representing wire along the telephone poles!  I don't have time or room to set it up and the moment, but, when I can manage it, I'll post more pics here.

I started my train hobby with Marx, but the past few years have moved to primarily std Gauge tin. Still have a bit of Marx and have been running it a bit the last few weeks.

Steve

I posted this on another thread but thought others might like to see it here. This is my little Marx layout in my upstairs spare bedroom/study. Southern Pacific has a load of new Dimestore vehicles to deliver. 

Dean

Guys...been under the weather for the past few days confined to bed but will try to post some pictures this weekend.  Loved the video's...OBTW if someone has a "technique" for posting video that they could share I would appreciate it, I can't seem to get my smart phone video's to transfer to the site.

D500 - super modeling and great way to take advantage of some cool Marx cars, I collect tanks (why I don't know) and I agree the Marx tanks were just about scale size for the day.

PALALLIN - neat accessories...I also have the manual lift bridge, have not found a way to integrate it into a layout yet. Big Rail boxed set is really cool, I have the box and the trains/transformer but little else, now I can see what is missing.

PapaEastman :  Well it sure looks like the Marx Mopac Eagle express wins the race!! The first train I bought for my son in the 70's was a Marx So. Pacific 4 wheel switcher and 4 wheel cars and he loved to run the wheels off it!   Still works though - those guys were made to withstand a child's playing with them.

PW53INVA - loved the layout.  figure 8 inside a loop gives plenty of action and "cookie box" houses fit in with the theme perfectly.  I am thinking a building a 2nd layout for a place the family spends the summer, since many of my nieces and nephews  who come and go all summer have little children, I think a layout like yours would really be a hit...so with your permission I may just copy it!! Tin diesels go perfectly with the theme.

Best wishes to all and thanks for the pictures

Don

Don McErlean posted:

PALALLIN - neat accessories...I also have the manual lift bridge, have not found a way to integrate it into a layout yet. Big Rail boxed set is really cool, I have the box and the trains/transformer but little else, now I can see what is missing.

 

If you have any questions, let me know.  I can make up a list and provide pics of specific pieces.

PALALLIN:  Wow thank you, even a list would be great.  You know Marx, you never could be entirely sure what went into the box sometimes it was just what happened to be handy

In the long compartment on the upper right is the station platform with its 4 upright posts.  In the small one at the top between the platform and the tender is the track trip to dump the logs.  Below it, next to the log car, is a non-illuminated bumper.  To the left of the caboose is the newsstand with 6 x 35mm station set figures and 2 x "Uncouple Here" signs under it.  There are 6 x 061 telephone poles, the lump bin, and the spool of thread below the boxcar.  A 2-connector lock-on and two connecting wires are in the compartment with the transformer cord.  To the left of the transformer are the two pieces of the all-plastic banjo crossing signal; to its left is the plastic crossing gate, both activated by the weight of the train.  Under the base of the crossing gate is the bottle of smoke fluid.  Under the switch in its cardboard tray are 6 x (3-tie) straight track, 2 x straight track with uncoupler ramps, and 9 x 027 curves.  In addition to the instruction sheet (Form IS - 634), there is a sheet on the automatic uncoupling ramps (Form IS - 118), another on the smoke unit in the loco (Form IS - 264), and, as I noted, the inspection tag/packing slip (Form IS - 71).

That's quite a bit packed into a single set that went for a very reasonable price!

Let me know if you need pics of anything.

Don

Thank you for the kind words on my little Marx Layout. I got the idea for the inside figure eight with the loop outside from fellow forum member HandyAndy. When I saw his nice Marx Layout a few years ago I thought that it would be fun to have something like that in my spare bedroom. I had a spare fold up table to use so I painted a 4 ft by 6ft 6 inch by 1 inch thick piece of foam board green and went to work.  

So Don, no permission needed, copy away, and I have HandyAndy to thank for the original idea. Wish HandyAndy would post more pictures of his layout and trains running as it is always fun to see what he has done in a small space and he has some nice looking print out buildings that look great with Marx Trains.

Happy Training

Dean

Saturday morning train running. Couple red Marx passenger sets. 

Dean

Wow guys. Still struggling with the flu here but your Marx pictures make my day!

Palallin. Thank you for the list, man Marx really packed that set, When  I am up and about I will compare with mine but I think mostly mine is just the trains  

PW53INVA  thanks for the data and your permission to copy on the layout.  The video is so cool.  Looks like I need to start assembling material for the summer project.  I have 4 nieces / nephews who I really think will love playing with it on those rainy “no beach” days 

Best wishes guys and thanks for the responses  

Don

Dean

An oval and figure 8 was the track plan of my childhood 5ft x 9ft Holiday layout.  I had to have it for the basis of my layout I build starting in 1977 and added a loop outside the oval and figure 8 to allow two train operation.

Below is the diagram control panel showing the track plan and the $10 Homemade turntable.  Layout building details are at OGR forum https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/...ra-027-layout?page=1

Here a little Marx 467110 box car, a rare train garage sale find today for me around here.  It was real cheap and is missing the plastic spade part of one coupling.  I may have one I can J B weld on.

Charlie

Guys it been awhile since anyone posted in this thread but I don't want to lose it - so send in some pictures.  This was a "find" right within my own home.  A Marx 333 die cast 4-6-2 and die cast tender (man is this thing heavy) pulling the NYC streamlined passenger cars...a coach, a vista dome, and an obs. I was conducting a search for some other items in my storage area and I encountered this set...Its from the Allied Toy Distributor Catalog of 1950.  I bought it at a train show in Sydney Ohio in 1978!!  (Yes, I leave little notes in boxes to track when I got things, OBTW I paid $40 for the set). We lived in Dayton at the time.  It got put into a box, stored, and mostly forgotten for the next 40+ years!! Moved around but never run, so today when I "found" it, i put her on the tracks to see if my view of Marx motors remained true...AND IT DID.  After all that time, the headlight came on and off she went around my layout with her consist.  Unbelievable!  Smooth as well and fun to see.  The 333 might be one of Marx's top steamers, it is die cast, has a lot of detail, 2 position reverse, complex valve gear, and headlight.  The tender is a wedge type, all die cast, and heavy enough to be a paperweight.  All run on "scale" trucks.

Well I hope we can keep this going

Don McErlean

Picked this up at a train show $20.00 runs great.

Pulled out all my Marx Plastic rolling stock for some running time.

Nice Great Northern

Some more run time with the Rocket!

Frank train:  great pictures and video. Those engines are pulling quite a consist !  Great Northern box car is unusual as well. Thanks for contributing to this thread. 

Don McErlean

It was mentioned that any Marx could be posted, so here is my Marx set from my first Christmas at age 10 months (1947).  I added an extra gondola recently just to have it.  I need an (idler) gear between the drivers as a few teeth are stripped & it will sometimes jam & stop  Does anyone sell these?
(Too much instant reversing at high speed when I was young.  Hey! It was fun).
Dennis

The Robert Grossman Co should be able to supply the gear. http://www.trainpartsformarx.com/shoppingcart.htm

Hartman. Great set amazing you still have it that is super!!  Thanks for contributing to this thread we need more folks to show off their Marx

Don McErlean 

Here's my 999's pilot variations.

 Frank train. I never knew there were so many 99 configurations. I have 2  and considered myself lucky. Great picture 

its spring break for Tx schools so I am away from home and more or less limited to my phone. I have some sets I will post when we get home. Have a great week all and thanks for keeping our Marx thread alive.

Don McErlean 

Back in the 80s I had a large Marx collection, I sold it off in the 90s, but I just can't seem to get it out of my system. About 2 years ago I started buying again, this time I am buying the later plastic trains. Last year I stumbled on a bunch of the roadbed track at a hobby shop  and decided to build a small layout to showcase the joy of Marx trains. The layout is all Marx or Marx derived K-line items. 

Don McErlean posted:

 Frank train. I never knew there were so many 99 configurations. I have 2  and considered myself lucky. Great picture 

its spring break for Tx schools so I am away from home and more or less limited to my phone. I have some sets I will post when we get home. Have a great week all and thanks for keeping our Marx thread alive.

Don McErlean 

And there is the clockwork version as well as a number of Mexican production variations.

Steve

MILNYC. Great layout. You have some unusual pieces (hard to say rare with Marx). The white 3 dome tanker and the green PC E-7 certainly fit that description. 

Super layout.  OBTW we have a Marx Train Pictures thread under. “Misc Forums ... Photo Albums “. With your new interest you should take a look.  

Steve  I have a battery set Rock Island” 70 toner diesel powered with 4 wheel freights  It was made in Mexico and the engine clearly has a circular indentation right where Marx put it on their similar diesels but the center where the Marx symbol would be is blank. I am surmising this is Mexican Marx would you agree? 

Don McErlean 

From the modern Marx Trains era. Thor power unit and gun caboose.

Steve

A few shots of a Marx set of mine.....I took these in 2016 when we were getting ready for "classic train day" on the modular layout....

Peter

Steve Eastman:  What a super military train, I did not know that "modern Marx" had put such a thing out..  Now all you need are some 6" , 4 wheel flats, painted olive drab with a tank and a cannon on them !  Tootsitoy made a great armored car with a turret and a gun, one rides on one of my flat cars.

Peter:  The 7" cars look great and the AA Monon units are really a nice mate to the set.  The layout is really cool as well.  You know, we have some fabulous modelers in this forum and their art is so realistic that its hard to discern it from actual life.  However, the "toy train" world is also really neat and it has an "art" all its own. Its this kind of diversity that makes our hobby so cool.  Thanks for posting.

Thanks everyone for posting and keeping our Marx thread viable.

Don McErlean

Guys:  Finally got to where I can get my computer back up...we are in the Colorado Rockies vice the "pool table" of Central Tx.  Here is my Marx " Work Train" set.  The diesel and cars in the set were (I believe) unique to this set and the most hard to find is the searchlight car with the yellow generator and the yellow fences for the flat.  The crane seems to be the most common as I have seen them at a number of train shows.  The flat itself is fairly common but the yellow fences were tough to find.  The wonderful box has been mostly ruined by the plastic shipping tape, likely added by the fool now using the keyboard to secure the box in one of our many moves around the country. I tried to remove it but no joy!

Regards everyone!

Don McErlean

Don McErlean posted:

Guys:  Finally got to where I can get my computer back up...we are in the Colorado Rockies vice the "pool table" of Central Tx.  Here is my Marx " Work Train" set.  The diesel and cars in the set were (I believe) unique to this set and the most hard to find is the searchlight car with the yellow generator and the yellow fences for the flat.  The crane seems to be the most common as I have seen them at a number of train shows.  The flat itself is fairly common but the yellow fences were tough to find.  The wonderful box has been mostly ruined by the plastic shipping tape, likely added by the fool now using the keyboard to secure the box in one of our many moves around the country. I tried to remove it but no joy!

 

Regards everyone!

Don McErlean

This is one of my favorite Marx sets. I have the loco and cars but no box. Have you tried to heat the tape with a hair dryer, that may loosen it enough to get it off.

Don McErlean posted:

Steve Eastman:  What a super military train, I did not know that "modern Marx" had put such a thing out..  Now all you need are some 6" , 4 wheel flats, painted olive drab with a tank and a cannon on them !  Tootsitoy made a great armored car with a turret and a gun, one rides on one of my flat cars.

Peter:  The 7" cars look great and the AA Monon units are really a nice mate to the set.  The layout is really cool as well.  You know, we have some fabulous modelers in this forum and their art is so realistic that its hard to discern it from actual life.  However, the "toy train" world is also really neat and it has an "art" all its own. Its this kind of diversity that makes our hobby so cool.  Thanks for posting.

Thanks everyone for posting and keeping our Marx thread viable.

Don McErlean

I am selling a number of Military cars. Cutting way back on my Modern Marx.

Steve

milnyc posted:

Don McErlean posted:

Guys:  Finally got to where I can get my computer back up...we are in the Colorado Rockies vice the "pool table" of Central Tx.  Here is my Marx " Work Train" set.  The diesel and cars in the set were (I believe) unique to this set and the most hard to find is the searchlight car with the yellow generator and the yellow fences for the flat.  The crane seems to be the most common as I have seen them at a number of train shows.  The flat itself is fairly common but the yellow fences were tough to find.  The wonderful box has been mostly ruined by the plastic shipping tape, likely added by the fool now using the keyboard to secure the box in one of our many moves around the country. I tried to remove it but no joy!

 

Regards everyone!

Don McErlean

This is one of my favorite Marx sets. I have the loco and cars but no box. Have you tried to heat the tape with a hair dryer, that may loosen it enough to get it off.

The Work Train was the later version. The year before it was the Yard Master. The two were identical. 

Steve

Milnyc. Good idea about hair dryer. Might work. Will try. Sure would like to get it off but pulling it did not work for sure. Will let you know if it works. 

Steve thanks for the data on a prior name. You know when I learn stuff like that you have to wonder why Marx changed the name?  Likely never know but Mr Marx was a superb businessman so I bet he had a reason. 

Regards everyone. Don McErlean 

Don McErlean posted:

Milnyc. Good idea about hair dryer. Might work. Will try. Sure would like to get it off but pulling it did not work for sure. Will let you know if it works. 

Steve thanks for the data on a prior name. You know when I learn stuff like that you have to wonder why Marx changed the name?  Likely never know but Mr Marx was a superb businessman so I bet he had a reason. 

Regards everyone. Don McErlean 

I wonder if it was to avoid confusion. Other makers had used the name Yard Master.

Steve

Well everyone how are you doing in this world of semi-quarantine!  Me, I have been doing some layout construction (posted to "what did you do on your layout today?") and today I think I will just run some trains.  milnyc your little lay out really interests me, as best I can tell it is almost "pure" Marx, not just the trains but the buildings and accessories as well.  COOL!

Well here is a picture for what is likely a slow Sunday morning.  It is a Marx set# 4316 likely from the 1960's due to the plastic knuckle couplers.

Here are the contents, including track and a 25 watt transformer.  The # 490 has a mechanical "chugger" for sound, pretty unsophisticated compared with today's sound. 

Here are a couple of Marx plastic sets...

I believe I received this as a gift in 1974.  It uses a 6 volt battery in a controller, connected to conventional 3-rail O27 track.  Yes, the box is a little worse for wear:

This is a #530 mechanical set.  This set would typically come with a yellow gondola, but they can occasionally be found with the green Erie flatcar, and some of the sets with the flatcar have the orange/yellow Penn Central caboose and Penn Central tender.  Marx certainly provides a lot of variations to collect:

I know that very few people pay attention to Marx plastic body mechanical steamers, but there are some hard to find variations in this niche of Marx collecting.

For instance, the 400 version of the mechanical "puffer" is pretty common... it utilizes a rubber bulb that is pumped by a flap on the motor to puff a white powder out of the stack.  However, the 490 version of the puffer was reportedly only made one year, and was made out of a brittle plastic that tends to crack and break easy:

Although Marx 401 mechanicals are probably one of the easiest locomotives to find, the puffer version - like the 490 puffer - was also reportedly only made for one year, and it is also hard to find:

I received a marx trolley and trailer for my 80th birthday. I have a trolley but had never seen one with a trailer. Here it is running on the trolley line on my layout.

I hope you had a great 80th birthday, David! Thank you for posting, I really enjoyed watching the action on your trolley line, they look great!

Rusty

Dave :  Happy 80th Birthday ... I am getting close (76 next Oct) and I will admit I have never seen a Marx trolley - with or without a trailer.  I have a Marx RDC which I think is sort of common but that is as close to Marx Rapid Transit that I get.  It really looks like a neat toy.  Thanks for posting

Don McErlean

Most of my Marx was packed away so I finally found some wall space to put up some shelves from Glenn Snyder Display Systems. Excellent product and service, and very fast shipping!

Loving the photos! Well I’ve got a lot of Marx in my own, too many to photograph. But here are a few:

Love the pictures, keep them up!

p.s., happy birthday David!

                                              Trainfam 

Hi Guys...milnyc that is a super display.  I agree about the Glenn Snyder display systems shelving.  I just put up a segment of shelving in my train room and concur about a great product and great service from the company.  I loved the Marx display.  We share many of those trains except I have a "hole" in my collection for the "Wild West" trains, I just have never encountered an opportunity to secure those.  Trainfam...same there, thanks for posting.  We also share some of the same trains except the grey NYC 70 Tonner.  I have the NYC version in Maroon with Yellow lettering and Black with white lettering but do not have the grey color variant.  I personally really like the small diesels, there were many variants and they are normally modest in cost for us collectors.  In addition, they usually work well as well.  As an additional sentimental fact, the green and gold WP set was my younger son's first train and we ran it a lot on his bed room floor nearly 40 years ago.

Here is a "medium" plastic box car for the B&O in red withscale type trucks and plastic pickle fork couplers.  It is not all that rare or unusual, but I purchased this one at a local hobby shop due to its condition.  It appears that it has never been on the track, it is nearly perfect as though it was right from the factory.  So...of course I took it home and ran it around the track!!

Sincerely Don McErlean

milnyc posted:

The Robert Grossman Co should be able to supply the gear. http://www.trainpartsformarx.com/shoppingcart.htm

Thanks milnyc for this info.  I ordered the gear, & replaced it today.  I set it up on a section of track with no switches and it ran great!  (Its loop for Christmas is put away.)
D.

Hartman posted:

milnyc posted:

The Robert Grossman Co should be able to supply the gear. http://www.trainpartsformarx.com/shoppingcart.htm

Thanks milnyc for this info.  I ordered the gear, & replaced it today.  I set it up on a section of track with no switches and it ran great!  (Its loop for Christmas is put away.)
D.

 

That's great! I'm glad you got it going!

PW53inVa posted:

Enjoy seeing all the Marx. Here are a few of mine

I used to have one of those hoppers that I put on Lionel MPC trucks. I’ll have to see if I can find a photo somewhere

Found that photo of the 4 wheel Marx hopper I put on MPC trucks, and apparently it was next to one of the Lionel ones as well when I took the photo. Think it went to a forum member along with 4-5 of the little Lionel hoppers. Some patching was done with pipe glue and scraps of an MPC boxcar I had turned into a single door car. When I’m feeling a little better I’ll dig some of the Marx I have in the collection currently out

Most of my Marx is the later plastic, but I do have some tinplate too.

The four Marx streamers of the apocalypse (or at least of my collection):

New Marx Prototype PRR 4-4-4 Electric

I was able to pull out some more Marx today. The picture below is of the finest example of a number 0416 light tower that I have ever seen. It is in mint condition with original box, packing insert, and what I believe to be the original lightbulbs. Overall the accessory is in excellent condition and I was very lucky to have purchased it.

                                             Trainfam

TrainFam:  I would agree, i have not seen much if any Marx that is that "pristine" ad original. Normally I count it as a victory if even the box shows up and of course much of Marx (6" cars especially) were sold at Woolworth's for 25Cents and where just gathered up on a section of the counter and had no box.  What a great find!  milnyc - great display in front of the bill boards, liked the Juke boxes in the  background too!  What do they play, country or rock and roll?  Robert S. Butler - that is about the strangest 4-4-4 I have ever seen although it resembles "old rivets" one of the early PRR electics (before Lowery got the job of designing the streamlining).

Well, I'll be switched.  Growing up, I thought all my equipment was Lionel, but based on the picture of the light tower above, it seems a Marx piece somehow found its way into my acquisitions.  Now, I will have to learn a little bit more about Marx.  As if I didn't still have enough other stuff to learn about.

Chuck

OK I messed up and posted the above response too soon.  Here is a set that I have that dates from about 1965, in fact it was in the 1965 catalog.  It is set 4353 and as you will see contained an unusual tank car (Rocket Fuel) that was  normally associated with the Cape Canaveral Sets but with Marx what is unusual is normal!!

Here is the top of the box and it (sort of) illustrates the "village" that was originally packed with the set.  It was all cardboard and had to be assembled (of course) and alas is long gone at this point.

Here are the contents packed in the box, including track and transformer.

Here is the envelope that (at one time) contained the village.  Note the big "34" which was the fact that the village contained 34 pieces.  This number of pieces was common marketing at the time, and you often saw advertisements especially at places like Sears and Montgomery Wards about an "X-Piece" train set. To boost the number of pieces I have a few sets where seemingly at the 11th hr a half dozen telephone poles were thrown in the box.

More paper work that is part of the set.  The instructions and an order form.  Wow it would be great if I could order today, especially at those prices !! I note you cannot read the numbers but you can see that most of them are only 2 figures...!

Here is a close up of the trains.  They are nearly new even if not all that rare.  The set still has the lock on and a set of wires although they may not be original.  Hey they are 65 years old and still run with their original transformer. 

Thanks for posting on our Marx thread guys.

Don McErlean

PRR1950 posted:

Well, I'll be switched.  Growing up, I thought all my equipment was Lionel, but based on the picture of the light tower above, it seems a Marx piece somehow found its way into my acquisitions.  Now, I will have to learn a little bit more about Marx.  As if I didn't still have enough other stuff to learn about.

Chuck

Chuck...Welcome to the Marx fan club.  You know growing up in the late 40's and 50's many a kid (I know it included me) found a Marx item under the tree instead of a Lionel one.  Marx's prices were considerably below those of Lionel and the quality was excellent, in fact from a durability perspective equal or better.  They sometimes didn't have the detail or the "heft" of Lionel and the operating cars lacked the complex mechanisms (sometimes being hand operated - but I can remember that increased play value).  Things like light towers and beacons would be an easy substitute.  Now, go get yourself one of the many many steam powered freight sets - Marx motors almost always run- and enjoy the show !   "Welcome Aboard" as we used to say in the Navy !

Don McErlean

Don McErlean posted:

OK I messed up and posted the above response too soon.  Here is a set that I have that dates from about 1965, in fact it was in the 1965 catalog.  It is set 4353 and as you will see contained an unusual tank car (Rocket Fuel) that was  normally associated with the Cape Canaveral Sets but with Marx what is unusual is normal!!

Here is the top of the box and it (sort of) illustrates the "village" that was originally packed with the set.  It was all cardboard and had to be assembled (of course) and alas is long gone at this point.

 

Here are the contents packed in the box, including track and transformer.

 

Here is the envelope that (at one time) contained the village.  Note the big "34" which was the fact that the village contained 34 pieces.  This number of pieces was common marketing at the time, and you often saw advertisements especially at places like Sears and Montgomery Wards about an "X-Piece" train set. To boost the number of pieces I have a few sets where seemingly at the 11th hr a half dozen telephone poles were thrown in the box.

More paper work that is part of the set.  The instructions and an order form.  Wow it would be great if I could order today, especially at those prices !! I note you cannot read the numbers but you can see that most of them are only 2 figures...!

Here is a close up of the trains.  They are nearly new even if not all that rare.  The set still has the lock on and a set of wires although they may not be original.  Hey they are 65 years old and still run with their original transformer. 

 

Thanks for posting on our Marx thread guys.

Don McErlean

That’s what I love about Marx, they were cheap and had so much play value. To think of it... the fact of a whole town being included in the set. Along with a engine with an immortal motor. If only the box, houses, stamps, plastic shells, and the people who played with them when they were new were immortal too. 

                                                  Trainfam 

Trainfam: Agree with you.  There is a story about Mr. Marx.  It goes that during one year of the famous New York toy show he directed that one of his trains be put into operation at the beginning of the show (it was 5 days long) and never turned off, it was to run continuously.  Well the story goes along near the very end of the show the loco gave out and stopped.  Mr. Marx summoned his Chief Engineer into his New York office and demanded to know what went wrong.  The engineer told Mr. Marx that after all that time the brushes in the motor just wore out.  It is the story that Mr. Marx looked at him sternly and simply said..."Build better brushes ! ".  That to me about sums up Marx and the fact that no matter how ratty or bad a Marx engine looks when I see one at a show or an antique store, I bring it home, put it on the track, and "off she goes".  Sparking and bobbing around the layout.

Don McErlean

I’ll have to figure out how to post some pics of my Marx train set

They might have been overshadowed by Lionel, but the Marx Toy Factory produced its own kind of toy and train magic.

Some, not all, of my Marx pieces.  How many times have I regretted giving my Marx sets to neighbor kids in the '80s so, they too, could run trains of their own.  Sounded great at the time, then found out how they really tore them up and parents threw them away.  Oh well...…..   I do have quite a bit more, but only have inventory pics, and to show everything would be too much...…  I enjoy anything in O Gauge.  From Bing and Hafner, to Marx, KLine, Lion, MTH, Atlas, Williams, Weaver, AmFlyer Pre, Unique, and more.  It is all TRAINS!!!  And run on the same layout!!  All diff makes from many diff years for the past 100 years...……   Hope to have more display pics, but need to do a lot of work on layout scenic and ballasting.

Jesse

texastrain posted:

Some, not all, of my Marx pieces.  How many times have I regretted giving my Marx sets to neighbor kids in the '80s so, they too, could run trains of their own.  Sounded great at the time, then found out how they really tore them up and parents threw them away.  Oh well...…..

Jesse

That's a nice collection you have there! 

John

JBuettner:  Thanks for posting the pictures of the Marx toy factory. In another segment we were talking about the dilemma of Schrodinger's Cat and I have that dilemma with my Marx factory.  It sits on the shelf in an unopened box and I have debated with myself for years about what it looks like and whether or  not I should open it...NOW I at least know what it looks like.

Thanks !  Don McErlean

JBuettner posted:

texastrain posted:

Some, not all, of my Marx pieces.  How many times have I regretted giving my Marx sets to neighbor kids in the '80s so, they too, could run trains of their own.  Sounded great at the time, then found out how they really tore them up and parents threw them away.  Oh well...…..

Jesse

That's a nice collection you have there! 

John

Agreed. I love the New York central F-3’s. Been looking for a pair or just one for about a year now. Marx made in my opinion the best F-3’s, don’t get me wrong, Lionel had a great highly detailed line of F-3’s too. But Marx was the best because of all the different road names and beautiful toy like appeals. And that could be said about every toy they made too. That’s what made Marx the toy king.

                                                   Trainfam 

Don McErlean posted:

JBuettner:  Thanks for posting the pictures of the Marx toy factory. In another segment we were talking about the dilemma of Schrodinger's Cat and I have that dilemma with my Marx factory.  It sits on the shelf in an unopened box and I have debated with myself for years about what it looks like and whether or  not I should open it...NOW I at least know what it looks like.

Thanks !  Don McErlean

Hi, Don,

I got mine in a roughed up original box with the original instruction sheet about 10 years ago at Seaside Hobbies in Bethany Beach, DE, during a vacation. Traded some trains, got some store credit for them, and picked this little dandy up along with some other things. As it turned out, I think it is mostly complete and in great condition. There are 5 or 6 other figures with it as well as other little pieces such as, hand trucks, crates, etc.

The ****ed thing about this COVID-19 is that I can't go out now, hunt and find all these little toy treasures at train shows and shops. But I can bring out the stuff I have stored in my own collection. I like used books stores and trading old books in for credit towards others--can't do that now, either!

John

J.Buettner:  Ha! had to laugh, you and I seem to be in the same place.  Most of my recent posts to OGR forum are actually "finds" from my storage area that I haven't touched for about 10 years (our last move into this house).  So I am "discovering" all kinds of neat stuff that I had forgotten I had!

Don

Here’s one of my more obscure Marx accessories, a number 403 marker light. I was lucky enough to find one with its original box and original light bulb. Take a look:

                                                  Trainfam