New Train!! pictures!! 1930's Marx Streamliner
- Thread starter Marxed
- Start date
Cav, as a kid a good friend of mine had marx train set with lots of extra track and when I used to visit him we had tracks going everywhere until his Mom set the limits. In those days, all I had was a Triang clockwork train set.
i just cleaned off the wheels and my track on my trains rather nicely today, and lack of dirt on the wheels of it has reduced grip... the whole train is rather light and when the power is applied quickly, the wheels would easly spin.... and now that it's nice and clean, it's even slicker.... does anyone know of one of the drive wheels on these were rubber coated or anything??? the whole train is really light and it only has one drive axle... i'm going to add more weight to the engine soon, and see if that works, but theres no easy place to put any
A fascinating train. As some of us (like me) are not familiar with toy trains, could you give us some history behind this particular model? And how you acquired it?
Zman said:
i found this sitting on the self of a local train hobby shop, it caught my eye, called over the guy who worked there, pointed to it, and didn't even give it a second thought
this model was one of the last streamline tins marx made before the war, soo it was produced most like between 1937 and 1942this perticual train in real life was yellow and orange, and therefore i do beleive most of the trains of this model were that color, the silver and red color theme that you see on mine is harder to come by today
i bought my commodore vanderbuilt from e-bay, i got the stream line steam type as a complete set, box and all, from a hobby shop, one is my dads from when he was young, and the rest i got from hobby shops, my dad has tons of the post war marx trains, we have about just as much post war plastic train cars as we do tinplate, even though i havn't really pictured much of them on here, since i love tinplate soo much
and here's a history lesson or you guys
Back in the 1930s. Electric trains were toys. Scale models were scarce. Marx trains were more toy than model. They were small O Gauge trains, packed with O27 track. Stamped metal and tin litho locomotives came packed with an assortment of four-wheeled, tin-litho cars. Marx's trains were a bit smaller than Lionel or American Flyer, and they certainly sold for less. That was part of their success. A Marx train could be had for a fraction of the cost of those by larger makers. To boot, Marx trains were built to last. Though cheaper in cost, they were sturdy! Many collectors aver that it is easier to get a Marx train running than any other brand.
Part of the genius of Louis Marx was his urge to make things cheaper, yet maintain quality. He worked to improve his toys while cutting costs. This meant a lower price for customers, which meant more sales. One part of this was the Marx motor, an open-frame motor that was the basis of all the company's trains. Variations were few and subtle. A standardized motor made it easier and cheaper to make trains. It helped that this same motor is one of the most reliable ever made. Marx had his engineers improve it for better operation and more durability.
(ill personally say this is soo true, my trains still run like new, i've never even need to replace a part or anything, they all just work sooo soo good
)The trains of the 1930s were a blend of steam locomotives and streamliners. Marx produced its own versions of the popular trains of the day. These were stamped steel and tin lithographed toys all the way. One of the first was the Mercury, based on a New York Central streamliner. Soon after came the Commodore Vanderbilt streamlined locomotive, a design that remained in the catalogue for decades. The M10000 and M10005 streamliners of the Union Pacific were reproduced in several color schemes. So, too, were the stream-styles Canadian Pacific Royal Hudsons.
The cars they pulled were bright, attractive toys. There were boxcars, stock cars, gondolas and cabeese. Marx produced operating searchlight and crane cars. For the line side were operating crossing lights and signals, plus tin litho stations and switch towers. Marx trains offered the customer an assortment of products at very affordable prices. One could afford an entire Marx toy railway for the cost of one Lionel train set.
A truly fascinating history indeed! And to think that you found this jewel languishing on a shelf in a hobby shop!!!
It has some of the "art deco" qualities that are so collectible in pieces of that period.
BRAVO on a great find.
I've occasionally come across somthing wonderful on a dusty shelf, but I think you've won the prize!
It has some of the "art deco" qualities that are so collectible in pieces of that period.
BRAVO on a great find.
I've occasionally come across somthing wonderful on a dusty shelf, but I think you've won the prize!