MARX 333 ENGINE ANYONE KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THIS ENGINE PLEASE?

[Anonymous]

Hey , hope its a mellow Thanksgiving weekend for you. Since I got my vintage Lionel train up and running, I dug out my old Marx 333 engine that my dad gave me for Christmas in 1953 and it runs great!! My question is , if anybody knows, is the Marx 333 the best engine Marx made or the worst? I have had heard conflicting opinions. I know this engine has about a million miles on it and I just put it one the track as is, not being run for maybe 40 years and away it went!! Any comments or answers greatly appreciated!!

[RR Redneck]

It is MARX, enough said.

[lionelsuperotrack]

The 333 is the top of the line Marx engine and known to be very reliable and a good puller. One of the versions has a rubber traction tire that adds to its pulling power. Whether you have the smoke or non-smoking version, the plastic or die cast tender you have a wonderful Marx piece that is known to be a winner ......however..... make sure it has been properly lubed.

If fact K Line updated the 333 with their own version which visually had a nearly identical engine, but, has a can motor and 2 traction tires.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery so people say....................

Should you be interested in Marx here are a couple of links that should be of interest interspersed with some others which are too cumbersome to remove:

http://search.reviews.ebay.com/members/lionelsuperotrack_W0QQuqtZg

Very best, Mike

[CSXect]

The 333,  666 and 999 are the 3 Marx engines that people talk about the most that I have noticed I have a 999  and like you said it runs well and is dependable.

[dennyblock]

Most of the marx engines I've got run great and all seem to share parts so if you do need something you can rob it off any old clunker.Can get them cheap to!

[Dave Farquhar]

I've heard about finicky 333s but I have to wonder if the bad ones are in need of a clean and lube. And most of the complaints I've heard aren't that they don't run, but that one doesn't have as much pulling power as another.

All of the Marx locomotives used essentially the same motor and the design was ultra-reliable. True story: When Louis Marx found out in the mid-1930s that the motor could "only" do about 132,000 laps around a table, or 800 miles, he had his engineers tear down a worn-out motor, find the parts that wore out, and replace them with longer-lasting parts. They continued to find and make small improvements to the design until they quit selling trains in 1975.

I know some people equate "quality" with "scale fidelity," and in that regard most of Marx's product line was deficient, but if you define quality as "will run essentially forever with basic maintenance," Marx was as good as anybody, sometimes better.

And like dennyblock said, when a Marx engine has problems and needs parts, you can get poor-condition locomotives and rob parts from them. Most cosmetically bad Marx locomotives have good motors inside.