Toy trains

Marx 36000 C&O gondola

Dave Farquhar Toy trains
Marx 36000 C&O gondola

The Marx 36000 Chesapeake & Ohio gondola is a somewhat realistic-looking gondola with lettering for a midwestern railroad. It was part of their short-lived 7-inch line, though it’s easy to convert to a 3/16 car if desired. The 36000 dates from 1955 to 1957, making it somewhat more scarce than the Wabash gondola. Read more

Marx Happi-Time 9617 train set

Dave Farquhar Toy trains
Marx Happi-Time 9617 train set

Marx train set 9617 was an electric train set Marx that Sears sold in 1954. But you may also hear collectors refer to it as Happi-Time train set 9617, because that’s what Marx printed on the box. Collectors call this a transition set.

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Marx 347100 gondola

Dave Farquhar Toy trains
Marx 347100 gondola

The Marx 347100 gondola is an excellent example of what many hobbyists call a cheap classic. It’s been out of production for decades, but exists in such large quantities that it still remains readily available at low prices.

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What a shake-the-box kit is

Dave Farquhar Model Building, Toy trains
What a shake-the-box kit is

You will sometimes hear the phrase shake-the-box model kit on a modeling forum or a train forum. But what does the phrase shake the box kit mean? What does it refer to? Hint: It doesn’t refer to the noise it makes when you shake the box.

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Marx Allstate train set 9816

Dave Farquhar Toy trains
Marx Allstate train set 9816

The Marx Allstate 9816 train set was a midrange train set Sears sold in the mid-late 1960s. It featured a basic plastic steam locomotive and a generous assortment of freight cars. It must have been a tempting value for consumers at the time.

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Lionel 1011 transformer repair

Dave Farquhar Toy trains
Lionel 1011 transformer repair

The Lionel 1011 transformer was a small starter set transformer from the post-war era. It only had a 25 watt capacity, but small transformers like this can still be useful on the bench or for powering accessories. Here’s how I fixed one.

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Marx Western Pacific train set 7215

Dave Farquhar Toy trains
Marx Western Pacific train set 7215

In the early 1970s, Marx sold a diesel electric train set lettered for the Western Pacific, catalog number 7215, that featured a 25 watt transformer and a distinctive green and gold color scheme. If you have one today, it’s worth more than its original retail price, even adjusted for inflation. Read more

Marx train set 4965

Dave Farquhar Toy trains
Marx train set 4965

The Marx 4965 train set spent its life a bit of an awkward place in Marx’s lineup. It was a low end 4-wheel plastic set but had a 490 locomotive with a chug chug unit, reverse, and a headlight, raising the price beyond what may have seemed competitive. Marx sold it in 1970 and 1971 and it may have had two variations.

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Marx diesel freight train set 9500

Dave Farquhar Toy trains
Marx diesel freight train set 9500

The Marx diesel freight train set number 9500 was an early 1950s electric train set featuring twin diesel locomotives pulling 7-in freight cars. It’s an attractive set and a very good example of post-war tin lithography, which was becoming something of a lost art at the time.

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Marx PRR Merchandise Service boxcar

Dave Farquhar Toy trains
Marx PRR Merchandise Service boxcar

The Marx Pennsylvania Railroad Merchanside Service boxcars are colorful tin representations of real, prototypical cars that ran on the Pennsylvania Railroad during the late 1940s and into the 1950s. Read more