Quaker Oats Archives - The Silicon Underground

Why do Lionel trains have three rails?

Dave Farquhar — Thu, 10 Aug 2017 11:00:35 +0000

Why do Lionel trains have three rails? After all, real trains usually have two. This unrealistic feature is a legitimate drawback for Lionel and other makes of O gauge trains, but the decision made sense at the time. Lionel didn’t

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The Marx factory fire in Girard PA

Dave Farquhar — Wed, 13 Jul 2016 11:00:21 +0000

The birthplace of scores of classic toy trains fell victim to the Marx factory fire in Girard, Pennslyvania. The old Marx factory stood at 227 E Hathaway in Girard, Pennsylvania. For a time in the 1950s, Marx was the largest toy

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Marx vs. Lionel

Dave Farquhar — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 12:00:42 +0000

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

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Estimating the value of a Marx train

Dave Farquhar — Tue, 23 Feb 2016 12:00:40 +0000

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

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Lionel in the non-hobby media

Dave Farquhar — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 11:00:33 +0000

Cnet took a field trip to the official Lionel repair facility and wrote a feature story about it. It’s nice to see the attention outside of the hobby press, since it’s frequently news to people that Lionel is still around

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