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A reverse lockout switch for Marx trains

Dave Farquhar Toy trains March 9, 2016January 18, 2018amps, marx, marx trains

The only thing I don’t like about Marx trains is that most of them don’t have a switch to lock the locomotive in one direction. Fortunately it’s not hard to add a reverse lockout switch for Marx if you don’t want to do a temporary lockout.

It’s a cheap project–all you need is about a foot of wire, a toggle switch, some heat shrink tubing (1/4 inch or smaller) or electrical tape, and your soldering iron.

Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in 1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St. Louis with his family.

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Wire a Lionel motor without an e-unit

Dave Farquhar Toy trains March 7, 2016January 31, 2021e-unit, lionel, marx, marx trains

Sometimes you may want to remove an e-unit from a Lionel locomotive and rewire it to run in forward only, whether as a temporary measure while you repair the e-unit, or as a permanent modification.

It only requires a few splices to get the job done.

Dave Farquhar

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Marx train sizes

Dave Farquhar Toy trains March 4, 2016May 19, 20231:64 scale, 1950s, 1980s, HO, ho scale, Japan, Joy Line, lionel, marx, marx trains, Model Power, o gauge, o27, s scale, sakai, tin, WWII

Over the years, Marx made electric and clockwork trains in no fewer than seven sizes and two gauges. Depending on how you count Marx train sizes, you can say it was more than that. Here’s an overview of what they made.

If you go to sell Marx trains, correctly identifying the size definitely makes them attract more bids.

Dave Farquhar

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Marx vs. Lionel

Dave Farquhar Toy trains March 3, 2016March 2, 20231:64 scale, 1950s, 1960s, 1980s, 1990s, boxcars, christmas, electric trains, HO, ho scale, Korea, lionel, Louis Marx, marx, marx trains, Model Power, New Jersey, New York, New York City, o gauge, o scale, old trains, postwar lionel, Quaker Oats, sears, tin

In the 1950s, Marx and Lionel took turns being the biggest toy company in the world, largely riding on the popularity of O gauge trains. Neither company particularly liked the other, but both owed some degree of their success to being compatible with one another. Because of their interoperability, the two makes of trains are frequently compared and contrasted even today. Let’s take a look at Marx vs Lionel.

Dave Farquhar

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The indestructible Marx motor

Dave Farquhar Toy trains February 26, 2016February 25, 2016marx

Want to hear a Marx story? Of course you do. Early this month I bought an early basket-case Marx 999 and some scale cars that obviously were stored for decades in a garage or attic exposed to humidity and temperature extremes. There was rust all over the place, to the point where the rust had bound some parts together. Paint was flaking off.

The locomotive itself had all of those problems too. Plus two driver wheels, their bearings and axle, and a gear were missing. What was left of the motor felt seized up. I spun the armature with some pliers to free it, and then I put a bit of oil on the parched, dried-out felt wick around the armature. You know what I was thinking.

Of course this poor, neglected motor wasn’t going to run. Motors this neglected and abused never do. But still, I had to see if it had any life left in it. I got out my spare transformer and clipped two test leads to it. I clipped the black terminal to the frame of the motor and the red terminal to the pickup shoe. I applied power, and that motor proved me wrong. It ran really well.

It doesn’t happen this way every time, but it does more often than not.

So what did I do with this motor? I had another 999 motor that was missing some parts, so I was able to combine the two to get one working motor.

Dave Farquhar

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Estimating the value of a Marx train

Dave Farquhar Toy trains February 23, 2016November 25, 20181950s, american flyer, Baby Boomers, Joy Line, Kansas City, lionel, Louis Marx, marx, marx trains, New York, New York Central, pbs, Quaker Oats, tin, Union Pacific

One of the most frequent questions I see or receive directly about Marx trains is what a Marx train is worth, or the value of a Marx train. Of course without seeing the train, it’s nearly impossible to give a good estimate, but there are some general rules that you can follow, either to protect yourself as a buyer, or to keep your expectations realistic as a seller.

Dave Farquhar

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Fix a Marx 999 that derails a lot

Dave Farquhar Toy trains February 22, 2016January 24, 2019electric trains, locking pliers, marx, o gauge, tin

Marx’s most popular locomotive might be the 999, because it can pull anything Marx made–6-inch tin, 7-inch tin, 3/16-scale tin, 4-wheel plastic, and 8-wheel plastic–without looking out of place. It really only has one problem: The front trucks on many 999s are prone to derailments.

Counterintuitively, the fix for a 999 is the opposite of how you fix the same problem on many other O gauge electric trains.

Dave Farquhar

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The Marx 21 Santa Fe diesels

Dave Farquhar Toy trains February 19, 2016May 5, 20241:64 scale, lionel, marx, o gauge, tin

In 1950, Marx introduced the largest locomotive it ever made, the Marx 21 Santa Fe diesel. Marx made both powered and unpowered versions, and they were dressed up in the same warbonnet scheme as Lionel’s iconic F3 diesels, but unlike Lionel’s effort, they were nearly 1:48 scale (proper for O gauge) and made of metal.

Marx only made them for two years.

Dave Farquhar

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Lionel 2034 locomotive repair

Dave Farquhar Toy trains February 5, 2016December 29, 2017american flyer, electric trains, lionel, Lionel Postwar, marx, metal polish, old trains

I have a Lionel 2034 that had a bent cab I fixed, but it ran poorly too. It would run, but only in super slow-mo, and that was when it would run at all. If I was really patient, sometimes I could get it to run a little after a few minutes, but it had minimal pulling power even then. So I took a shot at Lionel 2034 locomotive repair. It was successful.

The motor needed some maintenance, but it didn’t need any parts. Here’s how I fixed it in less than an hour.

Dave Farquhar

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Marx train light bulbs

Dave Farquhar Toy trains February 1, 2016November 15, 2018license plate, marx, marx trains

I don’t come across burned-out light bulbs in Marx trains very often, but it can happen. When you need to replace a missing or dead bulb, you have some options.

Marx, like its competitors, used a standard E10 screw base in all of its trains and accessories that I know of. It’s best to never say never with Marx, but standardizing on E10 was cost-effective so I doubt there’s any variance. The question is what voltage.

Dave Farquhar

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