I spend about 90% of my time in bed due to health issues. Well....ON bed would be a better way to describe it. Anyhoo I do most of my restoration and maintenance work in my bedroom so having a running track nearby sure comes in handy!
Becky
Trains, trains, wonderful trains. The more you get, the more you toot!
That would be cool! I'm also considering a bedroom layout, for the fun of running trains, but also to test and fix the pieces I get for the layout I'm building for my grandson. Seeing different trains and layouts helps me with ideas. As soon as I can get a cam I want to post some pix.
balidas PIX! We need PIX! I'd like to see a lot of these things.
PIX! We need PIX! I'd like to see a lot of these things.
I can't speak for anybody else, but I hope to get some taken and posted in the next couple of days. (Though if I remember correctly you'll have to go over to the MR side to see them.) Unfortunately my bedroom layout is wedged-in between the bed and other furniture so an overall photo doesn't work since it has to be taken at an odd angle from outside of the room. However I will try to get some shots from down on the floor and I'll pose my Vanderbilt in at least one of them.
The set has a 1666 2-6-2 smoke; reverse; headlight; die-cast metal; tender; boxcar; gondola w/load; cattle car; caboose w/track pair of switches; uncoupler, lock-on and 50W transformer. It has girder bridge; unpainted figures; news stand; water tower; 2 autos; 2 street lamps, 2 bumpers. All boxes, wrappers and even the little bag for the figures. The box is within a box and all accessories are in separate boxes inside. It is a double decker box.
The coupling system is a pain as you stated.
I also enjoyed K-Line when it came out. After Lionel took over it was different, the competion was gone.
Hey Dave, for people like me who don't know sets by numbers (lol), can you tell us the consist?
I agree that Marx made some really neat stuff, I especially love the 6 inch litho cars and litho diesels. Going to 3/16 scale was a good way of keeping Marx competitive. Probably the only thing Marx made that I don't like was their crazy coupling system (you know the one) largely because it meant you could only couple in one direction. If you have a car with one good side and one not so great side you can't just turn that one car around so the best side shows at the front of the layout. You have to flip the whole train.
I decided in recent years to populate my O & S bedroom layout with repro Mark 54mm figures during the holiday season. Out of scale to be sure, but they look fine alongside Tonka vehicles and Plasticville buildings. As long as they don't get too close anyways! lol Since the Lionel 45N Gateman and the Lionel Banjo Signal are also present, scale was pretty much out the window from the get-go! I have firefighters, civil war soldiers and boy scouts around town. The firefighters are fighting the fire at the Plasticville southern mansion and the Boy Scouts are camped out in honor of scouting's 100th anniversary. However my scouts are at the 1985 75th anniversary Jamboree since I was lucky enough to attend that event. (A 15 year old girl at a Boy Scout Jamboree? Yes boy-o's it happens!) I also have a set of badly recast repro Marx policemen waiting to be painted that I picked up at a Dollar Tree. But the Chinese firm that did the recast on those did such a bad job that many of the figures are almost flat! Oh well, in the world of 54mm plastic figures (toy soldier sized) civilians are hard to find.
Can't forget K-Line! I've always loved Kline's products. Over the summer I scored two Santa Fe streamliners mint in their original blue boxes for 20 bucks each at a store that primarily sells music boxes! Can't beat that deal! I also really love K-Like reefers, they were the best at litho!
I love pre war as well as post war Marx. I have several excellent mechanical as well as electric sets. I acquired a 50365 set in mint condition about two years ago from a client of mine. It appears to have never been used. The set has the original box with the shipping label from Marx Girard Factory. A super find!
The quality of Marx was deeeply under rated. Also many of my Marx sets have rolling stock far closer to scale than many of Lionel sets and rolling stock.
I also collect older Flyer and original K-Line.
I restored a w/u commie vandy a few years back. It wasn't much more than a rust bucket so I had no qualms about stripping it to the bare steel. For color I chose Krylon satin black instead of gloss. Since the clockwork vandy didn't come with nameplates (because of the keyhole) I decided to use self-stick repro Lionel plates from OTTP instead. I also added a repro NYC herald to the pilot, number boards to the cab and polished the stack and domes to a mirror shine using my Dremel. For a tender I decided to go with a Lionel waffle-top which is a better size match for the loco. I installed nickel ladders and a combo latch coupler on the tender so I can run with just about anything. Now I have a customized Vandy that looks even more "tinplate-esque" than the original and it's spring is strong enough to handle Lionel's 810 series cars.
I also restored 2 simple clockwork sets last year though I don't know which engines they were. (The simple 0-4-0's without the fake pony and trailing trucks. 400?) On one set I did the engine and wedge tender in gloss red, a boxcar in red, white and blue, a white tank on a blue frame, painted a flatcar the same red as the engine, made my own swing-clip from strip brass and added a tootsietoy racecar to the flat, and finished the set with a red caboose. I packed the whole thing with a figure 8 of polished O27 track in a box I bought at Staples and made labels calling it the "J.B. Flyer Racing Train". J.B. being the initials of a cousin's 3 year-old son who is now the proud owner of the set! He's also named after racer Jenson Button so a racing train made sense!
The other set was more basic. Black engine and tender, orange log car, silver tank w/Sunoco decals and a red caboose. That one I kept. I also like to take sheet aluminum and make my own number and name boards for these cars which tend to look "blank" with their lithography removed. I simply add lettering to strips of aluminum with dry-transfers and either super-glue the plates onto the cars or attach with double stick tape. Or, if I already have holes, I go tab and slot. Pop cans are an excellent source of cheap, thin, bendable aluminum that you can cut with scissors by the way. Recycling for restorers.
I have clockwork sets from 5 manufacturers and I've found that the Marx springs are the strongest. The post-war Hornby 0-4-0 w/tender would be second best I have, but it has a hard time with the larger pre-war passenger cars like the Aurelia's and Marjorie's. Third best are the modern Schylling Rail Zeppelin and Mickey-mouse handcar. Next is my Hafner 1010, the one that looks like the Daylight GS4. I "restored" a Hafner tender for that engine this summer that was really truly too far gone. The rusting and pitting was so bad I now have daylight coming through some of the rivets! But, it will do till I can find one in better shape. The Hafner spring is pretty good, but it doesn't go around my oval too many times before it needs winding.
Incidentally, that Hafner 1010 had it's top and side streamlining made from recycled steel. When I took it apart I saw war-ration Kraft Mac and Cheese labeling! Unfortunately there was too much rust to keep this artifact in-tact but I did take pictures.
Bottom of the barrel in my clock-work collection is an 0-4-0 engine, tender and two coaches of unknown manufacture. The only marking is "Made in Western Germany". The "Western" in the marking makes me believe it's post-war. It's a simple black and red steamer with smoke deflectors, 4-wheel tender and the 2 round-roof passenger cars are lithographed: one red, one green. The only other distinctive feature is a control lever on the left side of the engine that pokes up through the running board. Anyhoo, the spring is so weak it can barely make it around my O31 oval without it's tender, let alone with it's passenger cars.
that 391 looks beautiful. I redid my 999 last winter and it turned out pretty good. need to hunt for a 391 now.
Dave
It's a TOY, A child's PLAYTHING!!! (Woody from Toy Story)
I don't want to say just how old I am but I have home movies of my Dad and I playing with a set of Marx trains. Movies are labeled "Christmas 1940" I was three at the time. Thanks to Ebay I have amassed quite a collection of old Marx tin trains mostly the CP steam engine. Only thing about restoring them is that the tabs break very easy when taking them apart. Don't have an answer for that problem. Repro parts used to be available but I haven't looked lately. Lots of parts donors on Ebay.
Grandpajd
I cannot remember where I saw it but one guy had a circular ( literally) layout just larger than the outside diameter of the track and powered it with a turn table motor underneath..the scenery whizzed by while the train looked like it was in a pacing shot. It was pretty cool and fun to watch.. I am looking forward to seeing your layout..I wouldn't mind doing another mini-me layout..myself..I never thought of the wind-ups!
Nothing is more fairly distributed than common sense: no one thinks he needs more of it than he already has.
wallyworld vsmith: OK after reading this I wont feel so bad about restoring any older stuff I find. Last weekend I pick up.an older (but not too old) battery powered Marx train set thats complete, still in the original box (it still has the $5 pricetag from Gemco on it) and looks to be in very good shape. The plastic battery engine is a cheeser to look at for sure but the 3 litho cars are in great shape, and look almost brand new so I'm happy about that. Considering that these litho cars in poor shape still garner $5-$10 a pop I'm pretty happy with what I payed for the set, any other stuff I pick up will be all Marx, litho era stuff, no Lionel. Starting to look for a wind up commodore vanderbilt to use in lieu of the battery engine and maybe the Marx streamliner if I can find one in good condition. Don't forget us with the pictures of your new layout..
vsmith: OK after reading this I wont feel so bad about restoring any older stuff I find. Last weekend I pick up.an older (but not too old) battery powered Marx train set thats complete, still in the original box (it still has the $5 pricetag from Gemco on it) and looks to be in very good shape. The plastic battery engine is a cheeser to look at for sure but the 3 litho cars are in great shape, and look almost brand new so I'm happy about that. Considering that these litho cars in poor shape still garner $5-$10 a pop I'm pretty happy with what I payed for the set, any other stuff I pick up will be all Marx, litho era stuff, no Lionel. Starting to look for a wind up commodore vanderbilt to use in lieu of the battery engine and maybe the Marx streamliner if I can find one in good condition.
OK after reading this I wont feel so bad about restoring any older stuff I find.
Last weekend I pick up.an older (but not too old) battery powered Marx train set thats complete, still in the original box (it still has the $5 pricetag from Gemco on it) and looks to be in very good shape. The plastic battery engine is a cheeser to look at for sure but the 3 litho cars are in great shape, and look almost brand new so I'm happy about that. Considering that these litho cars in poor shape still garner $5-$10 a pop I'm pretty happy with what I payed for the set, any other stuff I pick up will be all Marx, litho era stuff, no Lionel. Starting to look for a wind up commodore vanderbilt to use in lieu of the battery engine and maybe the Marx streamliner if I can find one in good condition.
Don't forget us with the pictures of your new layout..
I'll try and post some updated pics on the "Really Old School Layout" thread . I got my Marx M10000, mechanical version no less! Really REALLY fast around the layout, surprised how much of a grin generator these are.
Have fun with your trains
vsmith OK after reading this I wont feel so bad about restoring any older stuff I find. Last weekend I pick up.an older (but not too old) battery powered Marx train set thats complete, still in the original box (it still has the $5 pricetag from Gemco on it) and looks to be in very good shape. The plastic battery engine is a cheeser to look at for sure but the 3 litho cars are in great shape, and look almost brand new so I'm happy about that. Considering that these litho cars in poor shape still garner $5-$10 a pop I'm pretty happy with what I payed for the set, any other stuff I pick up will be all Marx, litho era stuff, no Lionel. Starting to look for a wind up commodore vanderbilt to use in lieu of the battery engine and maybe the Marx streamliner if I can find one in good condition.
Hi MadMarx,I have a Marx #333 and wanting to repaint it!Did you remove the shell to restore yours?I can not figure out how to get the shell off without removing the rivets from the rocker arms as they are attached to the shell!Which means that i can not remove the hand rails either!Did you mask everything off with tape and what did you use to clean the shell?Also can you give me any help finding the left side driver for the push rod that goes to the rocker arm,the spot where the screw goes to hold the push rod is broken off and the push rod is missing!I used to see the push rods on ebay but no luck right now!I would probably have to buy a rivet tool also!This is my most prized Marx Locomotive,I rescued it out of a old garage along with alot of other Marx trains,I was doing cleaning work for an elderly lady and she told me I could just have them!The 333 had mud daubers nest all over it and it was barely recognizable as a toy train but she cleaned up wonderful!Any help you could give me will be apprieciated!Thanx,John
I knew Marx's had rare items just like the rest. Actually I would think more of Marx's items would be getting up there as they were a lot of times just thrown in the toy box where usually Lionel's were put up. just my thought.
I have a set of Marx's freight set had to replace the fixed knuckle coupler on a few of them its actually my wifes set she found them at a yard sale and has had them now about 10 years in a plain brown box's with her name on it and saying trains lol. The engine is a Vanderbilt I have run them for her a few times when we first got them but thats it. I like Marx's but when I see a set and someone has $100.00 on it and its a common set that I can get on ebay for less than $40. with shipping and all no way hoss
Life's hard, even harder if your stupid John Wayne
http://rtssite.shutterfly.com/
If anyone thinks all Marx is cheap stuff check this out:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280548625299&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT
North of the 49th
vsmithOK after reading this I wont feel so bad about restoring any older stuff I find. Last weekend I pick up.an older (but not too old) battery powered Marx train set thats complete, still in the original box (it still has the $5 pricetag from Gemco on it) and looks to be in very good shape. The plastic battery engine is a cheeser to look at for sure but the 3 litho cars are in great shape, and look almost brand new so I'm happy about that. Considering that these litho cars in poor shape still garner $5-$10 a pop I'm pretty happy with what I payed for the set, any other stuff I pick up will be all Marx, litho era stuff, no Lionel. Starting to look for a wind up commodore vanderbilt to use in lieu of the battery engine and maybe the Marx streamliner if I can find one in good condition.
I did the same thing with a wind up Hafner locomotive that was in rough shape with no regrets.and with a little fiddling around in modifying the slot and tab couplers, the "wind up" Hafner cars fit very nicely on a string of Marx cars. I got a kick out of one orange Hafner tank car I found at a rummage sale. It must have been manufactured during world war 2 as when I turned it upside down, on the non lithographed side it was a very clearly labeled blue and white mustard tin! Creative solution to a metal shortage.I think for me personally, it's fun to be creative without spending an arm and a leg. I saw an article (where I don't remember) that showed a spring governor that the English had some later models. I looked all over for a reference to it. I thought it would be a fun exercise to retrofit on into one of my spring wound engines. Anybody who has info on this and wants to share it would be helpful and appreciated..
Really enjoyed the photographs as another fellow Marxist. I did the same for some accessories that were rust buckets. There was a guy who did wraps for the six inch cars..I don't know what happened to him.Right now I have the early UP articulated set that has a paint glob on the cab. It's been sitting and running with this paint on it. I am afraid to destroy the lithograph underneath. Any ideas for removal..I suspect it's oil based.
Nice buy! I thought the open spoke 999's were highly sought after by collectors. If so, are you sure about stripping off the original paint?
Robert
http://www.robertstrains.com/
Modeling the Baltimore waterfront in HO scale
TCA#09-63805
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