Marx Fat Wheel

You can pick out the fat wheeled drivers by the gear teeth inside the wheel even with the wheel flange. Makes it just about impossible to pass through a switch having guide rails. Some Marx use a reduction gear motor with "normal" drive wheels where you won't have this problem. You don't say which engine is in your set but I suspect it has one of the latter mentioned motors.

Jim McClenin

Jim:

I do see what you mean, looking at it in comparison to the underside of some of my Lionel locomotives. Strange that it still runs through my switches then, forward, backwards, facing either direction and whether or not the frogs are thrown out.

I don't believe that a fat wheel Marx will have a problem with a Lionel 1121 switch.  The fat wheel Marx has problems with switches that have conventional frogs and guardrails (such as the 1122 or O22), and since the 1121 is similar in operation to a Marx switch, it should be fine.

I should have paid more attention the first time and I would have better noted the 1121 switch. This Lionel switch most closely matches the configuration of a Marx switch an, at one time, were sought after for folks running Marx trains. Nice, clean locomotive you have there.

Jim McClenin

Jim and others: Thanks for your help and yeah, I did have a little issue getting it to run to start with, but after a small cleanup it runs like a top now!
 Any idea on the year?

I agree, that is a nice 591.  According to the Greenberg's Price Guide, the electric 591 was made from 1953-60.