Marx 3/16 Scale Freight Cars + Sakai

lots of great trains and a beautiful display Steve.

Nice!

for those not fluent in Marx, 3/16" scale freight cars for the most part have two different style trucks.  the first type is now known to collectors as the "B" truck...

a fair looking Bettendorf style truck that gives the cars a nice low profile.

i've got to imagine the higher riding "D" trucks gave Marx some added flexibility by being able to include scale cars with some larger locomotives.  found in the #21 Santa Fe diesel sets among other, the D-truck boosted the car heights by ~¼" though they can still couple with B-trucks...

Marx 3/16" scale "B" truck (left) and "D" truck (right)

as can be seen in the photos above, conditions of the B trucks can be anywhere from fully plated to more commonly seen, worn down to the base metal.

D-trucks with either right-hand (top) or left-hand (middle) wound springs aged better, though in later production, worn dies left little detail remaining in some instances (bottom photo).

all Marx 3/16" scale freight cars can be found with B-trucks, but not all have been found with D-trucks.

here is an oddball, scale freight car i can add...

Marx AT&SF stock car w/ PA stock car doors.

cheers...gary

Steve, you have a great collection.  Nice displays of your Marx 6" and 3/16. walterwayne

I'd like to see a close up of that Sakai diesel.  The only Sakai locos that I've seen were the streamlined steamer and the boxcab electric.

Here is the CP F3. There is a Hudson Pacific version that looks the same except the lettering. It is still on my search list.

Steve

Thanks Steve.  Very interesting, looks like they loosely copied the Lionel F-3, rather than the real thing.

John

I do not have a Lionel post war unit handy to compare with, but my feeling is it is more likely closer in size to the Alco's. It also has a cast metal shell.

Steve

I just meant in general appearance, I figured it would be smaller.  It looks more like the Lionel engine than a real F-3.  Maybe they copied catalog illustrations.

The Marx Bettendorf sideframes are very nice when compared to Flyer's 3/16ths truck sideframes; truth be told, the Marx 3/16ths tin cars look much nicer than Flyer's sheet steel cars (their diecast cars are another thing altogether, aside from the sideframes). 

Nice score on the SF stockcar with the Pennsy door... 

Red end cars, huh?  My PFE reefer with the red chassis/ends showed up at a local show in a dealer's junk box - they're out there.  I was just killing dead time while customers had slowed to a trickle after lunchtime, and nosed around a bit - right on top was the PFE. 

My elusive find continues to be the Sakai F unit - I'd like one in running condition, but after not even finding a dead one lurking about, I might have to lower my sights a tad and take whatever I can unearth.