The Marx #21 diesel is one of those wonderful tinplate trains that Marx only offered with electric motors. However, being a clockwork kind of guy, I wanted a windup version to run on my layout. I used two Marx Riser Gear windup motors that were spliced into one unit, which I dubbed the Marx Mutant Mechanical Motor. It was installed in an old #21 shell. The red litho on the sides of the shell had faded over the years, and a previous owner had started touching it up with red paint. I took over where they left off, finishing the touch-up with Testors Gloss Red. It is good enough for the 10-foot rule... besides, this thing is a runner, not a museum piece. The locomotive was finished with repro truck frames and air horns from Grossman's. The finished diesel pulls a 15 car train of Marx 6" and 7" tin cars without a problem - even around the O27 curves.
