Marx 666 Questions

[8ntruck]

I know somebody here will have the answer.  I've been mucking about looking in Google tonight without much luck.

What is the proper headlight bulb for a Marx 666 loco? 

Does anybody have smoke unit troubleshooting advice?

I started talking trains with a co-worker the other day.  Turns out he still had some of his childhood set.  I offered to take a look at it for him.

Turnd out to be a Marx 666 and a couple of freight cars.  I dropped the motor out of the shell, cleaned the commutator, oiled where oil should go, greased where grease should go, and cleaned the wheels.  Found that the headlight was broken. 

I reassembled it, put some smoke fluid in the smoker.  Off she went, forward and reverse.  But no smoke.  I suspect that the element in the smoker is bad.  I have to dig it out and take a more detailed look at it.

This is the first Marx locomotive I've messed with.  I am impressed with how well it pulls. 

I put one of my Lionel tenders behind it and made a consist of 3 MTH boxcars, three 40 ton Lionel stock cars (these 6 cars are not lightweights), 3 lionel 6464 type boxcars, and a caboose.  Except for a little wheel slip on starting, the 666 hauled all this around my 027 loop without complaining.

Thanks in advance.

[rtraincollector]

If you need a smoke element call jeff at train tender WWW.TTENDER.COM  as he will have it and be able to tell you the correct bulb for the engine and have that also.

[8ntruck]

Thanks.

One of these days I will remember what a good resource he is.

[cpsteamer]

Another source is a CTT advertiser. Robert Grossman has an ad in the classified section. He carries all parts for Marx, many which he reproduces himself, as well as an excellent repair manual. You often see the manual listed on ebay for a ridiculous price by sellers preying on the uninformed. He's also a great guy to deal with.

 

Ken

[brianel027]

8ntruck, I'll second Jeff at the TrainTender.

MARX doesn't get a lot of respect from some, but when you work and run these old trains, you quickly see the ingenuity and simple design quality these trains were made with. And you quickly understand the threat that postwar Lionel faced in the low end of the starter market. MARX Trains were priced to sell and built to last. And YES, the 666 were great pullers and great smokers too when the smoke units work. If yours did, I think you'd marvel at that too.

Often, when the topic of affordable starter trains comes up, some will chime in with a comment like "well do you want to go back to the bad ol' days of MPC?" (which I don't t hink were really so bad).

Recently I had a discussion where this very comment came up. Sarcastically, I agreed and said "Alright, let's not go back to MPC... let's go all the way back to MARX!" To my surprise the other guy agreed and said that isn't such a bad idea.

[8ntruck]

An update on my Marx project.

 The smoke unit does not appear to be easily serviceable.  It looks like it is staked together.  To get into it, one would have to grind and drill, then reassemble with 2-56 screws and nuts. 

 Anyhow, I did not have to go that far to get this smoker working.  The element checked at 39 ohms and on closer inspection, the solder joint to the power lead for the smoke unit had come loose on the side of the motor.  Re-soldered it, and it started smoking.  I packed a bit of fiberglass insulation in the smoke chamber, as the original packing (wick?) looked a little thread bare.

Jeff at Train Tender lists two light bulbs for Marx locomotives.  We guessed that it was the big globe bulb.  Turns out we also guessed wrong.  I'll get another bulb coming tomorrow, or maybe a number so I can try to find one localy.  I live in a small town.  Not much choice.  We have Radio Shack, Lowes, Ace and NAPA.  Sometimes I luck out and find what I want, sometimes I don't.

[lionelsoni]

If you have a miniature bayonet socket, try a number 53; if a screw socket, number 52.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103782

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103783

[8ntruck]

Thanks.  I'm going to stop by the NAPA store tomorrow to pick up a #1449.

 

[lionelsuperotrack]

For those who are interested in the Marx 666 & its brother, the 1666 here is an article I wrote:

 http://reviews.ebay.com/Marx-quot-Steamer-quot-Guide-2-4-2-Steamers-666-amp-1666_W0QQugidZ10000000001234906

Marx can be a great deal of fun as it is generally inexpensive and runs pretty well with a minimum of maintenance. Certainly no worry about electronics!

 Mike Spanier

[Time_Traveler]

Mike:

Found your helpful article on eBay and then discovered this forum. I dug out my old Mark 666 set yesterday that I used in the late 50's.  Still pretty good shape and I am in the process of going through everything, cleaning, oiling, etc. I need to replace headlight bulb in the engine (screw socket).  The wire is soldered to the screw socket but the other end has come off and I am not sure where it was soldered.  Any idea?  Looks like the bulbs are available online or perhaps Radio Shack, etc. Not sure what the trick is to getting a bulb screwed in and out of that socket as can't get my big hand/fingers in there to do it. Let me know if you have a easy way. My wife and her smaller fingers might work.

Thanks for the links as I have started bookmarking various websites and and parts suppliers. I like antigues and old stuff and looks like I held on to the 666 long enough that it's now old and I am too!  

John

[ADCX Rob]

Check Thor's Trains for more Marx Tips & Tricks.

[Time_Traveler]

Thanks Rob.  Looks like a very informative site that  I will be checking out in detail.  After more cleaning and freeing up the screws (I was being overly cautious yesterday), I finally got the boiler nose off without any problem today. So I can now change the bulb.  Still need to figure out where the lose wire goes but one step at a time works for me and is part of the fun.  I have to get some track cleaned up and in usable condition before any test runs.   John

[8ntruck]

It's been a while since I was inside the 666, but I believe that the wire to the headlight connects to the center rail pickup slider.

Good luck.

[jimtone]

I'm thinking the headlamp wire solders to the bus bar on the side of the E-unit where the smoker also solders.

[Toy Trains FTW]

8ntruck

An update on my Marx project.

 The smoke unit does not appear to be easily serviceable.  It looks like it is staked together.  To get into it, one would have to grind and drill, then reassemble with 2-56 screws and nuts. 

 Anyhow, I did not have to go that far to get this smoker working.  The element checked at 39 ohms and on closer inspection, the solder joint to the power lead for the smoke unit had come loose on the side of the motor.  Re-soldered it, and it started smoking.  I packed a bit of fiberglass insulation in the smoke chamber, as the original packing (wick?) looked a little thread bare.

Jeff at Train Tender lists two light bulbs for Marx locomotives.  We guessed that it was the big globe bulb.  Turns out we also guessed wrong.  I'll get another bulb coming tomorrow, or maybe a number so I can try to find one localy.  I live in a small town.  Not much choice.  We have Radio Shack, Lowes, Ace and NAPA.  Sometimes I luck out and find what I want, sometimes I don't.

 

i am also having smoke unit issues. the packing doesnt look burned or anything but its not getting hot or smoking.  the motor part gets really hot to where you cant even touch it. i did clean it and oil and everything but still the same on the heat issue. also on the bulb subject. i found that mine didnt have one at all and i just found a spare buld to put in but when i tried to put the engine back in it wouldnt fit so i took the boiler front off, then replace the engine and put the front back on and it fits like a glove. also thanks for any help on the smoke unit. sorry for being so late

[8ntruck]

FTW - I've been on vacation and did not see this post.

If your smoker is not getting hot, it probably is not getting any power, or the heating element in the smoker is burned out or broken.  If you have an ohm meter, check the resistance across the heating element.  The last one I measured was about 39 ohms.  If the heating element checks out, then the next thing to check is that power is getting to the heating element.

Your motor getting hot indicates there is something wrong there.  There might be a short somewhere in the motor that could be causing a voltage drop at the smoker, preventing it from getting hot enough to smoke.  Questions to ask about the motor: does it run? Is the commutator clean? Are the brushes in good shape? Are the brush springs in good shape?  A little harder to check, but are the armiture windings electrically isolated from the armiture shaft? Is there any mechanical binding?  Are the wheels quartered properly? Are the front and rear drivers in time?

It has been several years since I had my 666 apart, so I'm working from memory.

If you get it going, let us know what you found.

Good luck

[sir james I]

This thread was posted in 2009....Still good advice though.