Cheap O-Gauge Christmas Train

Thanks for sharing this, Andy. The set does make for a very in expensive Christmas train. On another note, way back in 2012 you posted photos of a Marx 666 you customized. The photos can no longer be viewed. Would you please post some photos again as I really like what you did to the 666 and would like to try to copy it. Thanks in advance. Jerry

Hey Jerry, thanks for the comments. Here's a few pictures of the custom 666...

Hmmmmm......my WM says they have them in stock......may need one!!

Hey Andy, thank you so much for the custom 666 photos. In your original post back in 2012, you mentioned what all you had done to your 666 in the way of customization. Any tips you could share on how you did the work (cutting off air horn, etc.) and what you usedfor the sand pipes, air tank and vertical pieces on the pilot would be appreciated. A friend gave me a 1666 side smoker a couple of years ago. One of the ladders under the cab was broken. Another friend told me I could put a 666 body on the 1666 motor, so that is what I ended up doing. Then I saw your post and photos of your 666 and liked it so much that I would like to duplicate what you have done. Thanks again for sharing your photos. Jerry

Passenger cars aren't bad looking.  It looks like the couplers would work with other O brands.  Are the trucks and wheels plastic?  I wonder how they would track behind some Lionel and MTH engines?

coach joe posted:

Passenger cars aren't bad looking.  It looks like the couplers would work with other O brands.  Are the trucks and wheels plastic?  I wonder how they would track behind some Lionel and MTH engines?

Trucks and wheels are plastic. The couplers are body mounted so swapping them out might not be too painful. A little weight in/on the bottom of the cars would help with the bit of wobble they do while rolling down the track.

Jerry Johnson posted:

Hey Andy, thank you so much for the custom 666 photos. In your original post back in 2012, you mentioned what all you had done to your 666 in the way of customization. Any tips you could share on how you did the work (cutting off air horn, etc.) and what you usedfor the sand pipes, air tank and vertical pieces on the pilot would be appreciated. A friend gave me a 1666 side smoker a couple of years ago. One of the ladders under the cab was broken. Another friend told me I could put a 666 body on the 1666 motor, so that is what I ended up doing. Then I saw your post and photos of your 666 and liked it so much that I would like to duplicate what you have done. Thanks again for sharing your photos. Jerry

Jerry,

The air tank was something I found in the scrap box. It may have been something from a 1/24 scale truck model I had years ago. Not sure.

A Dremel tool, hacksaw and files were used for the metal work. The sand pipes and pilot details were done with styrene strips. The turbogenerator was from a beat up 1666 shell.

AMCDave posted:

Hmmmmm......my WM says they have them in stock......may need one!!

I'm thinking of getting a second set for a longer train!  

Andy, thanks for the additional info. I am going to give it a shot at duplicating what you have done to your 666. Jerry

Drove 45 minutes to WalMart........no train sets. Online said in stock and employee said they might be on the way or in storage....but not on shelf.

Poking around I found the manufacturer's site, EZtec. ( www.eztec.hk/en/products/ts )

Their train offerings are mostly 'G" gauge, but there are a couple of battery-operated train sets running on 'O' gauge track. (judging by the identical 0-6-0 locomotive). They look like Marx sets in that the cars have two axles and fake trucks molded as part of the body (like the tender in the above photo). The passenger set appears to be a recent offering, and possibly a Wal-Mart exclusive since it's not listed on their site.

---PCJ

Was at the local Wally World and they had one of these in stock so I thought I would bring it home and give it a try on my not completed under the tree layout. For 10 bucks it is a neat little train that reminds me of the battery powered Marx trains. The engine runs with 2 D cells and is a little noisy and at the end of the video got stuck on the back of tree track. Could be track problem, not engine. 

Thanks Andy for sharing this with us and I always enjoy your postings on your well done Marx trains and layout.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Dean

interestingly, the locomotive on the box cover appears to have a "circle x" on the center of the smokebox door. 

In case anyone doesn’t know, you can check stock at Walmart.com by searching for your neighborhood store. Ours says these sets will be in on Tuesday. If you have multiple stores around, you can check those too. It could save some aggravation.

handyandy posted:

My wife picked this up at Wally World as a joke for my birthday. For $10 you get a an engine (mine doesn't work) tender, two passenger cars, track and signs and electric poles The train is O-gauge and have knuckle couplers that work with vintage Marx plastic knuckles and tab and slot couplers. The passenger cars run great with my Marx locos. I imagine they would work with smaller Lionel as well.

I may go back and get another set so I have four passenger cars for my Christmas train!  LOL

Here's a video of the cars being pulled by a Marx 666 and a knuckle coupler tender...

 

I was in walmart this past tuesday and saw this set.As you come into the store.I remember seeing a set like this at a gas station.I checked it out it was battery powered and was compatible with lionel.It had a 4-4-2 steam locomotive with working head light and smoke.

I was in the store this morning to get another set, but couldn't find any. But then the store was all rearranged in preparation for the Black Friday stuff starting later today. Maybe in a day or two I will find more.

They had a whole pallet of them Saturday. Guess maybe inexpensive O gauge train sets are still popular?

I went ahead and ordered one......free ship to store.

Greg Nagy posted:

interestingly, the locomotive on the box cover appears to have a "circle x" on the center of the smokebox door. 

That actually represents a handwheel that was/is used to open the smokebox door on some European locomotives.

Thanks HANDYANDY for sharing this!

I will try to make a review video on this tomorrow. It is clearly a knockoff of Lionel's Polar Express set, with the same font being used for "North Pole Express." There are two variations of this set: one with green cars and one with brown cars. I purchased the one with brown cars. The set was tucked away in the back of my Walmart's holiday section. For $10 it is a nice set. The passenger cars are very nice. 

I consider myself to be a traditional O gauge hobbyist, but I like the Chinese knockoff stuff (mainly for the laughs). 

Lets see who will be the first to repaint a set of these cars.  Or do some kitbashing. I have a bunch of similar car bodies from years past I was going to do something with but never did.

Got mine today. Marx scale for sure. I thought  the cars might be near old Lionel short passenger cars but are smaller. Worth the $10.60 it cost delivered and might be fun to play with. If the cats don't stop wrecking the trains under the tree I may use this one there!!!

AMCDave posted:

I went ahead and ordered one......free ship to store.

That's what I did.  There are four Walmarts near me and I was able to order online and then pick up in the store.  that is not a bad little set for 2 d batteries and ten bucks.