Were have all the Marx guys gone

Steve "Papa" Eastman posted:

Gregg posted:

Anyone have a pic of my first Marx diesel..... Santa fe A A with no reverse . Came with a figure 8 track , Wabash   gon (yellow)   a box car and caboose... Single axles on each end of car with no automatic coupler....  I can't remember the engine number.  I think it had 6s or 9 in the number.  The thing would scoot though.. Probably around   late 40s earl;y fifties. Yep all metal.

Gregg

With no reverse and the description of the cars, my guess is your set was headed by a Monon, Seaboard or KCS diesel. These types came with the small non reversing motor, and also reversing motors. All the other Marx diesels were bigger and only came with reversing motors.

Steve

 

Thanks Steve,,, Is Louis Marx the same thing?  Or maybe just  a Canadian thing. ? Anyway I sure ran it a lot, Nothing like 15 straighst on each side and the corners banked with a (simpson)  sears catalog.  The good old days,,, Yes I know but they really were.

Gregg posted:

Steve "Papa" Eastman posted:

Gregg posted:

Anyone have a pic of my first Marx diesel..... Santa fe A A with no reverse . Came with a figure 8 track , Wabash   gon (yellow)   a box car and caboose... Single axles on each end of car with no automatic coupler....  I can't remember the engine number.  I think it had 6s or 9 in the number.  The thing would scoot though.. Probably around   late 40s earl;y fifties. Yep all metal.

Gregg

With no reverse and the description of the cars, my guess is your set was headed by a Monon, Seaboard or KCS diesel. These types came with the small non reversing motor, and also reversing motors. All the other Marx diesels were bigger and only came with reversing motors.

Steve

 

Thanks Steve,,, Is Louis Marx the same thing?  Or maybe just  a Canadian thing. ? Anyway I sure ran it a lot, Nothing like 15 straighst on each side and the corners banked with a (simpson)  sears catalog.  The good old days,,, Yes I know but they really were.

Lois Marx is one and the same, we just call them Marx.

Steve

  Found it,,,,

Gregg posted:

  Found it,,,,

Kind of wish I still had it... However My older brother played in the Barrie ON  high school band which made a trip to Chicago  and was  in some type of completion. He  returned with a brand new Lionel Hudson 2056?  and caboose.    Wow.  !   

Gregg posted:

Steve "Papa" Eastman posted:

 

Thanks Steve,,, Is Louis Marx the same thing?  Or maybe just  a Canadian thing. ? Anyway I sure ran it a lot, Nothing like 15 straighst on each side and the corners banked with a (simpson)  sears catalog.  The good old days,,, Yes I know but they really were.

Louis Marx was the company founder, like JL Cowan-Lionel

David from Dearborn posted:

Here is a video of my small Marx 027 layout.

That's a great layout, building and workmanship! That electromagnet crane is something else - and it's also the first time I've seen a car-dumper. Also, that car unloader sequence takes the biscuit Now, please explain that magical tunnel - I wasn't aware Louis Marx had such sophisticated technology! 

Gregg posted:

Gregg posted:

  Found it,,,,

Kind of wish I still had it... However My older brother played in the Barrie ON  high school band which made a trip to Chicago  and was  in some type of completion. He  returned with a brand new Lionel Hudson 2056?  and caboose.    Wow.  !   

They are still on eBay

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MARX-T...0:g:x5cAAOSwT~9WjdVW

Gregg posted:

  Found it,,,,

Set would have been pretty much like this one.

Steve

Louis Marx, once, by far, the largest toy maker in the world, was not unsophisticated.  He kept things simple so they would work, and many still do this many years later.  Trains (if you have followed auction prices for certain plastic diesels lately) are not the only Marx toys that can command big bucks.  Many of his wind-ups and playsets (ranch sets, western towns, and many more), not to mention tin tractor trailers with certain retail names on the trailer, are avidly sought by people waving money.

Steve "Papa" Eastman posted:

Gregg posted:

  Found it,,,,

Set would have been pretty much like this one.

Steve

Yeah That's it exactly....Thanks to all and the flash-back to  fifties..    Good stuff.

Hello my friends, I sure love your SP #6000 set  AA diesel locomotive set it looks in great shape too. I also have a 3 sets of them and they run great too on my small layout. I also like BO #62 set AA diesel locomotive set I also have 2 sets of them too. I run those locomotives on my layout a lot they look so nice too I love them too and they run great too. Thanks longbow57ca.

I am not familiar with Marx AA diesels.
So far, the only one pictured is the Southern Pacific.
A Santa Fe and a Monon has been mentioned.
What other road names did Marx make?
It would be great to see pictures.

Here are my Marx Rock Island diesels, they are great runners but do not like Lionel turnouts so they do not see much running time. Gotta like the screw head bumpers!

Here are two more of my Marx favorites a 999 steamer and a nice Mercury streamliner.

 

franktrain

Here ya go C.W.

B&O

Southern Pacific

KCS

Monon

Seaboard

Santa Fe

Hello my friend, Thanks for the nice photos of Marx Trains it was very kind of you. You have some very nice shape sets of Marx I just love looking at them my friend . Thanks longbow57ca. PS One day I will buy camera so I can take photos of my trains on this website. Thanks.

Gregg posted:

Anyone have a pic of my first Marx diesel..... Santa fe A A with no reverse . Came with a figure 8 track , Wabash   gon (yellow)   a box car and caboose... Single axles on each end of car with no automatic coupler....  I can't remember the engine number.  I think it had 6s or 9 in the number.  The thing would scoot though.. Probably around   late 40s earl;y fifties. Yep all metal.

Most likely it was an orange and silver Southern Pacific #6000 with seven inch, four wheel cars.

 

franktrain posted:

Here are my Marx Rock Island diesels, they are great runners but do not like Lionel turnouts so they do not see much running time. Gotta like the screw head bumpers!

Here are two more of my Marx favorites a 999 steamer and a nice Mercury streamliner.

 

franktrain

I'm with you Frank - in fact, have sold off most of my diesels for that very reason. They were just shelf queens and I finally pulled the trigger and sold em. 

 

I'm a closet Marx fan.

The only 3-rail set I had as a youngster was a hand-me-down Marx set: NYC "Pacemaker" set with a tinplate or cast steam engine, and the litho cars w/8 wheel trucks.  As I recall, this set was given to me in about 1960. It was "outgrown" by the son of some friends of my parents. Their son had graduated from high school and was off to college. I think that would put the set made sometime in the early 1950's?  Played and played with that set, then handed it off to a younger cousin of mine after I "graduated" to HO scale.

Marx trains were all about fun, scale-likeness be darned!

To this day I am very fond of Marx lithographed trains.

This is a fun thread and I LOVED the pictures of the litho Marx. (And the plastic, too!)

Marx trains are fun!

sure are

HandyAndy:

Are some of those structures/etc in the background card stock repros? If so, what a marvelous idea!

laming posted:

HandyAndy:

Are some of those structures/etc in the background card stock repros? If so, what a marvelous idea!

Thanks.

Yep. The only one that's real tin is the Marx whistling depot.

Inspiration came from this site....

https://www.bigindoortrains.co.../lackie/tinplate.htm

Hello my friends, I love all these nice photos of Marx trains they look so very cool. It is also nice to see some Marx collectors too. I am also a collector too but I first I am a runner of Marx trains over 60 years a collector second that's my way of thinking. I sure love those Marx trains and still love to run them too after all those years too my life time hobby Marx trains. Thanks longbow57ca.

a feature of Marx 6" tin i like are the variety of numbers in some series for unit trains...

NYC Pacemaker... i've since snagged all 16 numbers....

FGEX Reefers... one more in the mean time, still looking for #16...

...and my Fast Mail.  haven't been motivated to complete this set for a while now.
believe i'm still at 11 of 16, but then i'm pretty fussy about the condition.

PA and BAR were also printed in 16 numbers each (Pa has a 17th non-numbered var.)

also a good study of the Marx paint dept QC.  none of these cars are faded, they're just different shades of gray, yellow/orange and blue, though it seems like brown was their most challenging color...

most collectors acknowledge Dark Brown, Light Brown & Caramel as distinct variations.

fun stuff...gary

Hello, OVERLANDFLYER, You sure have nice shape Marx cars there I just love looking at them they all look like new to me the different colors are kind of neat too. Thanks for showing them my friend they are cool too Thanks lonbow57ca.

overlandflyer posted:

a feature of Marx 6" tin i like are the variety of numbers in some series for unit trains...

NYC Pacemaker... i've since snagged all 16 numbers....

FGEX Reefers... one more in the mean time, still looking for #16...

...and my Fast Mail.  haven't been motivated to complete this set for a while now.
believe i'm still at 11 of 16, but then i'm pretty fussy about the condition.

PA and BAR were also printed in 16 numbers each (Pa has a 17th non-numbered var.)

also a good study of the Marx paint dept QC.  none of these cars are faded, they're just different shades of gray, yellow/orange and blue, though it seems like brown was their most challenging color...

most collectors acknowledge Dark Brown, Light Brown & Caramel as distinct variations.

fun stuff...gary

overlandflyer / Gary,

I'd love to talk to you directly about your sequentially numbered boxcar collection above.  

I was lucky to find a complete set of Pennsylvania Merchandise Service cars and a complete set of State of Maine cars.

I don't see a member messaging feature here to chat with you, so I'd like to exchange e-mail or phone numbers..... if you're willing!

There used to be a premium membership, though I haven't noticed it lately.

It included a more private instant messaging to others who had that service here (not everyone) I only see "members" and " OGRF members" now...???? It may have been discontinued, I'm not sure.

(And the digital subscriber note; that may be the key now?)   

yellaheep posted:

...

I was lucky to find a complete set of Pennsylvania Merchandise Service cars ...

all seventeen?  ...

oops... didn't see your photos.  i am just getting my photo booth set up again.  haven't had a good photo shoot in years.  still need FGEX 10970... someday, maybe.  if there is something you'd like to see, i'll take requests.

Overlandflyer:  Yeah, 17/17 of the Penn Merch cars and 16/16 of the Maine cars.

I'd be very interested in buying your numbered car sets if/when you would be willing to part with them.  I'm hooked on these silly things!

Email if you'd like to discuss...   yellaheep@comcast.net

yellaheep posted:

...I'd be very interested in buying your numbered car sets if/when you would be willing to part with them.  I'm hooked on these silly things! ...

this brings up an interesting dilemma about collecting...

an extremely background collection i'd been pursuing over the years was Marx speedway race cars...

only six cars... this shouldn't take long, right?  i managed to pick up four of them fairly quickly over just a matter of months.  the fifth car took a few more years to find and last one, more than two decades until i found examples in the condition i desired.  #2 - Arrow shown up front was the last a few years ago.  yes, there was a feeling of elation when it arrived and i set up this picture, but it did not take too long before the words of Spock rang true.

so am i really looking for that last FGEX car?   sure ... maybe ...

just thought i'd throw out something you should consider.
good luck... gary

overlandflyer posted:

yellaheep posted:

...I'd be very interested in buying your numbered car sets if/when you would be willing to part with them.  I'm hooked on these silly things! ...

this brings up an interesting dilemma about collecting...

an extremely background collection i'd been pursuing over the years was Marx speedway race cars...

only six cars... this shouldn't take long, right?  i managed to pick up four of them fairly quickly over just a matter of months.  the fifth car took a few more years to find and last one, more than two decades until i found examples in the condition i desired.  #2 - Arrow shown up front was the last a few years ago.  yes, there was a feeling of elation when it arrived and i set up this picture, but it did not take too long before the words of Spock rang true.

so am i really looking for that last FGEX car?   sure ... maybe ...

just thought i'd throw out something you should consider.
good luck... gary

Not to kill the thrill of the hunt for you, Gary, but what FGEX boxcars and NYC Mail cars are you missing? I have a few of each and am not in the complete set mode of Marx collecting.

Re: the cars. I always found number 1 was the toughest find (don't have a set of those either).

Jim O'C posted:

...

Not to kill the thrill of the hunt for you, Gary, but what FGEX boxcars and NYC Mail cars are you missing? I have a few of each and am not in the complete set mode of Marx collecting.

Re: the cars. I always found number 1 was the toughest find (don't have a set of those either).

in the Navy, the first ship built gets the honor of being call the "class ship", as in "Nimitz-class" carrier, so in a way i agree finding the first number of a series is always an added smile, though most times it's simply a matter of luck since the same number of each number was always litho'ed on a single sheet before being cut up.

for a few years in the Marx Yahoo group i alternated between offering a finders fee just to point to an auction and a 2-for-1 deal... ie: you send me the car i need, i'll send back another two numbers (and pay shipping both ways!), but frankly i'm not that sure anyone really took me seriously.

as i said above, i've since nabbed all 16 of the NYC Pacemaker cars, and the one missing FGEX is #10970... HOWEVER (*sigh*), i had #10961 (the class car!) on display at a museum for a few years, i know i got it back, but ever since i've not been able to find it.  currently going through a massive clean-up so i'm hoping for the best.  have to say scoring the last NYC car wasn't as much of a letdown as the speedway cars.  i know the hope of finding a #7 racer is little to none, whereas with 6" tin, saying you have them all is a foolish statement...

an olive drab B&LE?  maybe... but who knows what else is out there!
cheers...gary

Gary, How about a number 11?

Jim O'C posted:

Gary, How about a number 11?

ah, the "open engine graphics" class... similar but different... i believe i have one or two of those.  there were a number of other racer types in the speedway sets, but as far as i know the named cars (#1 - Ace, #2 - Arrow, #3 - Bluestreak, #4 - Racer, #5 - Comet, #6 - Whiz) only have six consecutive numbers.

i LOVE the Daredevil toy though... never have seen that one.
do you have a vid of it running?

fun stuff! ... gary

overlandflyer posted:

Jim O'C posted:

Gary, How about a number 11?

ah, the "open engine graphics" class... similar but different... i believe i have one or two of those.  there were a number of other racer types in the speedway sets, but as far as i know the named cars (#1 - Ace, #2 - Arrow, #3 - Bluestreak, #4 - Racer, #5 - Comet, #6 - Whiz) only have six consecutive numbers.

i LOVE the Daredevil toy though... never have seen that one.
do you have a vid of it running?

fun stuff! ... gary

Couldn't say, Gary, got outbid on that one. Most of the daredevil track sets had different cheaper-built racers, numbers 44 and 3.

I have found the Automatic Toy Company Captain Marvel race cars are tough to come by as well.

But that is a whole different story for another time.

Neat!

Production era?

Firewood posted:

David from Dearborn posted:

Here is a video of my small Marx 027 layout.

That's a great layout, building and workmanship! That electromagnet crane is something else - and it's also the first time I've seen a car-dumper. Also, that car unloader sequence takes the biscuit Now, please explain that magical tunnel - I wasn't aware Louis Marx had such sophisticated technology! 

David--The layout is fantastic --conception and execution.  I particularly liked the automobile delivered

right to its parking spot. 

 

Lew Schneider

David has other train videos on YT you folks should check out as well. He is very "Musical Crafty" . (read his YT name ). His posting has been sparse for a while, but he was great influence on some of my micro layouts early on here. Ace too.

A note on private messages: both members need a digital subscription. Rich posted about it in another thread.