Fellow Marxists - Unite! . . .

[Anonymous]

. . . Marx trains, that is! [:D]

Hi! I'm new to this forum but not new to toy trains. I enjoy collecting and running Marx trains and accesories as well as K-Line's updated Marx equipment. I have a 5x8 layout with three loops of O-27 track (Marx O-34 and K-Line O-27) with three sidings. Most of my buildings are Plasticville, but I'm trying to add some of the Marx tin buildings and stations. I enjoy running the wheels off of my 999, 666 and 333 locomotives.

Any other Marx enthusiasts here?

[thor]

Marx must have been a prolific toymaker. When I was a kid - in England - one of my favorite toys was a Marx howitzer that fired wooden shells and was die cast and adjustable with handscrews and even had genuine recoil absorbing shocks! Brilliant toy it would accurately fling a shell a good sixteen feet.

[marxalot]

Yo, another Marxist is present and accounted for although I'm expanding into repairing Americal Flyer and buying a Williams GG1! With that noted Marx are very rugged trains. Have you ever been to the Wheeling W.V area? There are some great museums there with trains and toys by Marx. One of my favorite photos is of this painted but rusting tank by the old Glen Dale factory..... you look at it for awhile and then all of a sudden you can see the name MARX on the side of the tank. It just sort of come through the haze there! My 8 by 13 layout is just starting but we'll be running a lot of Marx on it...... are right now actually!

Welcome.

A lot of talented folks frequent the place...........


Jim

[dwiemer]

I have had a Marx handcar from the set my dad gave me a loooong time ago. That was it until I purchased a Marx engine and passenger cars at a show in January. Bought the passenger cars as I grew up in a town called Bogota and they have one of the same name. Great to add to the layout to remind me that they are still toys.
Dennis

[choochin3]

I am a Marxist too,
My favorite loco is my good ol' 666 smoker.

Carl T.

[Anonymous]

Hey Ya'll

I'm noy a big Marx fan. It's Lionel 0 Gauge Prewar, Postwar, MPC, LTI, and Recent Modern Lionel, K-Line, Williams, and MTH for me. though I ony have 3 Lionel trains, I plan to collect all the trains I want from those eras.

However, I do like the charming little Marx Trains. Some poeple think of them as junk, but I think they are "cute looking", and would like to buy some old Marx Trains, and maybe some recent ones.

But, it's mostly the "Big Dogs" for me.

steel rails

[marxalot]

Just for future reference there is also a group on Yahoo which is dedicated to the Marx enthusiast:: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MarxTrain/


Jim

[Anonymous]

Yep, another Marx fan here. I have 2 model 21's that Robert Barth overhauled for me and they perform beautifully.
Does anyone know why Marx used so many different types of couplers?

[Anonymous]

I have a fairly large collection of the New Marx trains formerly made by the Flynns--probably 20 or more sets and locomotives and a whole bunch of rolling stock. Great little trains and ideal for the true tinplate enthusiast.

I didn't own any Marx trains when I was a kid, but they were in plentiful supply at the local five-and-dime stores back then. I did have a few accessories at the time, but those were just to supplement my Lionel layout at the time.

When I eventually move to a larger residence, I plan to give my Marx collection--most of which is still new-in-box--a suitable home of its own, along with the variety of new tinpate accessories that I've been accumulating over the past ten years or so.

[FJ and G]

I think Paul the painter does; I did as a kid & have some fond memories of them

[Dave Farquhar]

I have a lot of Marx. I like it because you still get a lot for your money with it.

[c50truck]

All I have is Marx trains, accessories, mostly prewar.

This was all past down from my Dad’s childhood. Lately, I have been adding to the collection though.

With two kids in college I echo what Dave said, "you still get a lot for your money".

Rod L

[Anonymous]

Hey - thanks for the responses. Good to know that other people are enjoying Marx trains. When you're semi-retired you look for the best bargain and I think Marx trains fits the bill. A lot of bang for the buck.

Any of you purchased any of the Ameri-Trains (new Marx) stuff? Now those babies aren't cheap! I'm glad someone is still producing the tin stuff though.

[Anonymous]

Welcome to the forum! I love your username!

I, too, am a Marxist. I collect prewar and postwar toy trains from many manufacturers, but Marx is probably the company whose products I own the most of. I have a variety of 6-inch, 7-inch, 3/16 scale, 4-wheel plastic and 8-wheel plastic Marx sets. I also have a selection of Plastimarx (Marx's Mexican branch) trains and Marx HO, plus a Joy Line set and one piece of British Marx (a 6-inch gondola car). You really can't beat Marx for good looks, realiability and sheer variety!

[cbq9911a]

I've got my share of Marx, both O and HO. The HO engines are better runners than Lionel HO engines of the same vintage (but that doesn't take much).

I've also created my share of pseudo-Marx by putting Marx trucks on K-Line's S gauge freight cars. You can swap out the frame on box and stock cars; the small frames on hopper cars.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Sask_Tinplater

Welcome to the forum! I love your username!

Thank you! Harpo and Chico aren't as enamored with it but Mom always liked me best!

[otftch]

I used to buy marx delux cars and add Lionel sprung metal trucks to run them with my shorter Lionel cars.As my collection grew I started to appreciate them for what they were.I now have one Marx boxcar and one switcher with Marx couplers on one end and Lionel on the other.Now I can run them all together but can still run my Marx by themselves as they should be.
Ed

[Anonymous]

Hi, I'm new to Marx. After getting my mothers Southern Pac. F3's running for the holidays I got bit by the Marx bug. They sat for about 40 years! Have always been a Amer. Flyer man, but I wont let to many flyer guys know I'm running trains with that third rail down the middle. I also built a small portable layout for Marx trains that was featured in the July 1998 issue of Classic toy trains. Thanks

[JamesPH1966]

Been into Marx since I started collecting as a teenager (and coveted my older brothers Santa Fe E-7's as long as I can remember). I tend to mix in Lionel pre-war O27 tinplate and found a Marx/Ameri-Trains Thor (finally!) to add to the fun. I have plans to build at least a 4x8 using Marx track (O27 and O34) and tin buildings.

btw - I usually go by vanderbilt or CommodoreVanderbilt on other forums...

[Anonymous]

I've got the marx UP articulated M10000 streamliner. Looks a tad ratty - obviously was well-played with. But still neat. A family hierloom.

[tsgtbob]

Well, the secret is out, I am a closet Marxist!!!
I came across a few of the short tin cars and a wind up loco a few years ago. cute as a button, but no serious threat to the 2 rail O scale empire!
Actually, this also gives me the excuse to find out "who has replacement couplers for Marx?"
For that matter, who carries repair parts? I have the die cast steamer (666?) that needs a pilot truck and a tender. Are there any parts vendors that attend York?

[Dave Farquhar]

Robert Grossman at www.trainpartsformarx.com has Marx parts. Some of the parts from Ameritrains/Marx Trains at www.marxtrains.com will also fit. Both sell several styles of couplers so between the two of them you can probably find what you need.

I know there are dealers at York who sell Grossman parts but I don't know if Grossman himself is there.

Grossman sometimes carries used repair parts, but for things like tenders and pilot or trailing trucks, I usually scavenge under the tables at train meets. Often you can find a locomotive that's missing parts, hopefully the parts the one you have has, and you can build one good one from the pair. Loose tenders are somewhat easier to find. And in a pinch, you can use a postwar or modern Lionel tender.

[philo426]

What do you guys know about the Marx E-7s that they produced in the '60s and'70s?Were they semi-scale or smaller.I have seen them pictured(Mostly in NYC )livery and wonder if they run well.What can they pull and what is the going rate for a good ,used example?

[tsgtbob]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Dave Farquhar

Robert Grossman at www.trainpartsformarx.com has Marx parts. Some of the parts from Ameritrains/Marx Trains at www.marxtrains.com will also fit. Both sell several styles of couplers so between the two of them you can probably find what you need.

I know there are dealers at York who sell Grossman parts but I don't know if Grossman himself is there.

Grossman sometimes carries used repair parts, but for things like tenders and pilot or trailing trucks, I usually scavenge under the tables at train meets. Often you can find a locomotive that's missing parts, hopefully the parts the one you have has, and you can build one good one from the pair. Loose tenders are somewhat easier to find. And in a pinch, you can use a postwar or modern Lionel tender.

Thanks Dave!!!!
The Marx stuff has been REALLY bottom of the rountuit list for several years, I'll now have to bump 'em up higher.

Just one other question, why should Marxists untie?
(read it carefully, you will get the gag. Especally if you, like I, are dyslexic)

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by philo426

What do you guys know about the Marx E-7s that they produced in the '60s and'70s?Were they semi-scale or smaller.I have seen them pictured(Mostly in NYC )livery and wonder if they run well.What can they pull and what is the going rate for a good ,used example?

I own some and consider them to be very reliable good-quality engines. As for scale, they fit in with O27 trains, so I guess they would be classified as "smaller". In any case, they were built as toys and not scale models. They were sold mainly as A-B or A-A sets, but some were sold by themsleves or as A-B-A sets. They have the Marx fork tilt couplers for coupling to the train, but couple together with metal tab and slot couplers. As for value, it depends on what roadname they are. Some are harder to find than others. Anyway, here's a list of all of them, with values taken from the Greenberg Marx priceguide, arranged from most common (cheapest) to rarest. Note that for all of them the powered and dummy A units have the same value unless otherwise specified.

Santa Fe:
-A unit: $30 good condition, $50 excellent condition
-B unit: $25 gd, $40 ex

Rock Island:
-A unit (powered): $35 gd, $70 ex
-A unit (dummy): $40 gd, $80 ex
-B unit: $40 gd, $75 ex

Western Pacific (green & yellow):
-A unit: $40 gd, $65 ex
-B unit: $40 gd, $75 ex

New Haven:
-A unit: $50 gd, $75 ex
-B unit: $40 gd, $75 ex

Western Pacific (grey & yellow):
-A unit: $75 gd, $100 ex
-B unit: $90 gd, $125 ex

New York Central:
-A unit: $75 gd, $125 ex

Allstate (made-up roadname for Sears):
-A unit: $110 gd, $150 ex
-B unit: $100 gd, $160 ex

Union Pacific:
-A unit: $110 gd, $150 ex
-B unit: $100 gd, $160 ex

Penn Central:
-A unit without stripe or white-painted grills: $150 gd, $200 ex
-A unit with stripe and white-painted grills (powered): $250 gd, $350 ex
-A unit with stripe and white-painted grills (dummy): $300 gd, $375 ex

[Anonymous]

Sask_Tinplater,

Thanks for the list of Marx E-7s. I only have Marx steam and some K-Line S-3s, but I've thought about getting an E-7 set. I've noticed that the Santa Fe's are pretty common. I'm surprised the Allstate version is valued so high.

[philo426]

Thanks for the info I too am surprised that The Sears Allstate has the highest value.I will check echo-bay to see whats available.