Small Steam Engine Purchase Advice

[Anonymous]

Hi All

I really like the tinplate 6 inch 4 wheel Marx cars (new or old, doesn't matter). I'm looking for a smooth and quiet steam loco that would match up well with the size of these cars. My dad has an old Marx 666 with that giant pick-up shoe that makes all kinds of racket going around the track. Any suggestions for a loco?? (especially concerned about the size looking right)

Thanks!!

CH

[Anonymous]

Chris, welcome to the forum.
You could get another marx engine, or you could replace the shoe on it with rollers if you savvy enough. For the most part my Marx aren't as noisy as my Lionels. Probably because of the size an weight difference. You would probably look for O or O27 guage trains if you wanted to replace your engine. Those two guages would fit your cars well. You could probably get one on ebay really cheap. Just put marx in the search. I don't think you'll find a quite running engine, unless you went to smaller guage. The smaller guages are lighter and less noisy.
Good luck
Angelo

[Anonymous]

Ebay is a good place, like NYCentralPA says. Many of the more common Marx 6-inch sets can be found very cheaply. There's a neverending supply of common Marx sets on ebay at low prices. As for good engines to go with 6-inch cars, anything thats made out of tin will do. Marx also included the plastic 490 steam engine in some 6-inch sets (with a plastic tender). The 666 will work with 6-inch, but it is perhaps a bit large for them. It was only sold with 8-wheel plastic cars. The only diecast engine that was included in some 6-inch sets was the 999. As for noise, most Marx trains are quite noisy and even if the engine itself is quiet, 6-inch cars rattle a lot as they are pulled.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replies! Since I have very little experience with O, I appreciate the assistance. I was thinking maybe another brand of loco besides marx to match up with the cars. I took a look around the internet at modern-day steam engines of different brands, but was put off by the unbelievable prices. Seems cheaper to just buy a starter set and swap out the cars with the marx tin. Of course I don't know the quality of the engines in the starter sets. I also didn't want to buy an engine that looks huge compared to the cars behind it. Appreciate all responses!

[Anonymous]

Most trains of other brands really aren't compatible with Marx. 6-inch trains are smaller compared with other trains. The couplings on the cars do not go with each other. The only way you could use a modern engine (or even an old Lionel engine) with Marx cars is if you put a steam engine with a Marx tender and didn't use the tender that came with it. Otherwise you would have to be creative in finding a way to have them couple with each other. In my opinion it would look rather large and out of place. There are actually brand new tin Marx trains being made that are compatible with the old ones. Their website is http://www.marxtrains.com/ . They are pricey when compared to the more common vintage Marx trains. Old Marx trains are very reliable and I would definetly say that there is no advantage at all in getting a new engine as opposed to them. Vintage Marx trains are extremely reliable. I often buy old Marx train sets that haven't been run in decades. 99% of the time, all I do is clean the gunk off the wheels with sand paper and the engine will go so fast that it nearly flies off the track! When Marx first developed their standard motor design in the 1930's, one was continuously run non-stop at the factory for several months straight before it finally broke down. It was then looked at to see why it had stopped (I can't remember exactly what the reason was) and it was then altered so that it wouldn't happen anymore. For the next 40 years, almost all Marx engines used that same basic type of motor. It is no challenge to find old Marx trains in good condition at low prices. I would say to try picking up old Marx 6-inch train sets and just using them the way they are.