Marx Operating Boxcar

I like it Dan....hope you got it at a good price....joe

I did a quick search on Youtube, because one can find anything there, but no Marx operating boxcar was to be found.  I'm sure with more time spent, it would surface.  

The lever sticking out of the car is spring loaded and articulated. When the train goes forward, the lever slides past the platform. When the train is reversed, the lever catches on one of the platform pylons and the man comes out. Marx always figured out how to make things cost less, so they could sell them for less, so more kids could have a train.

One of these Marx operating box cars came in the first set I received back in 1959.  I loved the action and it was my favorite car int the set.  It was  Sears Allstate set with Allstate E diesels.  The boxcar only works if you have the proper platform because the platform goes under a tie on the track to keep it in the proper place to allow man to come out of the boxcar when it is backed past the platform.  It still works flawlessly 60 years later!

Although I am a huge Lionel fan, I really appreciate Marx for making trains that were more affordable for the average working family!

Happy railroading,

Don

NICE FIND: Does the figure toss anything out of the car?

Tinplate Art posted:

NICE FIND: Does the figure toss anything out of the car?

No, nothing is thrown out.  When you back the train to the platform, the door opens and the man comes out of the door.  Once you move the car forward or back past the platform, the man goes back in and the door closes.

Don

There's one on Ebay at a starting bid of $29.00.  Someone has placed a bid.  I can imagine something like this could fetch a higher price than the starting price.  

The 54099 Stock Car also exists- a cow comes out when run past the platform.

Here's a Marx cattle car: (not sure why the box shows a different number)

Jim

i’ve been looking for one of those, nice find! 

Royboy and DGJones, thanks so much for your input. Back in the day when there were train shows in my area, I'd see those cars, but never understood how they worked. Or why that activation lever was articulated as it is: I'd always wondered if they were broken.

And I've never seen any video of them in operation. But now I know the answer. Thanks again.

I'd always wondered too, how much of the former MARX tooling and dies K-Line took possession of when they bought it? So I did ask the powers that be, and without getting a specific list, was told they indeed had more tooling. Which was proven when they later brought out the former MARX bay window caboose.

But who knows where it all is now? Some vast storage room at the Kader Sanda Kan facility, assuming it all went to China? 

The dumping log car had the same trip mechanism, but no loading platform. It had a wire trip that laid flat until you flipped it up when needed. Simple but effective. They did also make a log car with an electronic activator.

Steve

Steve "Papa" Eastman posted:

The dumping log car had the same trip mechanism, but no loading platform. It had a wire trip that laid flat until you flipped it up when needed. Simple but effective. They did also make a log car with an electronic activator.

Steve

Grossman has repro trips; the plastic is 3D printed, I think.

"Simple but effective" pretty much sums up Marx's approach to trains.  The more I look into Marx's history, the more I appreciate that approach.

I like that cattle car! MARX apparently had some clever inventors on their staff!  ☺