This is a nice little Whistling station; I think it's Marx #2890. I only say that from info I got looking at some pictures on google. Too bad it's HO scale, it was in a donation box. Still need to get a couple D batteries to test the whistle.
Does anyone know what the thing is behind the lady ? It looks like a rubber grommet with brass nut/hole in middle
@boomer0622 posted:This is a nice little Whistling station; I think it's Marx #2890. I only say that from info I got looking at some pictures on google. Too bad it's HO scale, it was in a donation box. Still need to get a couple D batteries to test the whistle.
Does anyone know what the thing is behind the lady ? It looks like a rubber grommet with brass nut/hole in middle
2890 had a red plastic awning in the front. Yours without the awning is 2898 or 2899. No difference between the two, just a number change. Also these were sold in O gauge sets.
Steve
Thanks Steve, Is it from the 50's? Any idea what the thing on the back is ?
@boomer0622 posted:Thanks Steve, Is it from the 50's? Any idea what the thing on the back is ?
The book doesn’t give a date, but 50’s would be logical. They came with plastic sets. It may be for oiling the motor shaft but I’d remove it from the base and take a look.
Steve
Got in a bunch of Marx H0 sets I will be sharing as I go through them. The first two sets I looked at are from the same time frame and have the same #20 steam switcher, but a big difference in the graphics. Fun stuff.
Steve
Looks like I'd have to bend a lot of tabs to get to it. Not sure I want to take a chance on breaking them off.
@boomer0622 posted:Looks like I'd have to bend a lot of tabs to get to it. Not sure I want to take a chance on breaking them off.
Do it carefully but only use 4 tabs when you reassemble it. I’ve done it a few times on the similar H0 Wheaton Station.
Steve
Donnie Kennedy : The plastic cars with non-operating doors but two 8 wheel trucks are often labeled "medium" cars or just "plastic 8 wheel cars" to distinguish them from "deluxe" 8 wheel cars which have additional features, like opening doors. They were made from the middle 1950's until the very end of Marx in the 1970's. By the end, they were often considered the top line available and sold in the best sets.
Based on the information I have, since you asked when they were made, here are the dates.
Green GN box - 1961-1975
B&0 Box (red) - This car was made from 1958-1973 and the red was first, followed by a blue and finally an orange. The livery and printing are all the same, just the difference in the body color. There are overlaps in dates as always with Marx
Santa Fe stock car (brown) and Santa Fe stock car (yellow) - The brown was made first beginning around 1955 and is the most common. The yellow is a later version, much less common, and dates likely from the mid 60's to 70's (I don't have definitive data). The brown version continued to be made from 1955 for a considerable period while the yellow version was also made with "scale" trucks as was the orange version of the B&O boxcar and offered in the scale line of cars (O gauge but closer to S scale) this line started before the war but was halted in 1942 and was most prolific in about 1948. It did not continue much into 1950's.
Anyway that's the best information I have...great cars and great fun trains.
Best Wishes
Don
Found these transformers in a box under the layout in the club house.
British Marx H0 Battery set with rubber band drive. eBay pictures but I did buy it.
Steve
@Don McErlean posted:Donnie Kennedy : The plastic cars with non-operating doors but two 8 wheel trucks are often labeled "medium" cars or just "plastic 8 wheel cars" to distinguish them from "deluxe" 8 wheel cars which have additional features, like opening doors. They were made from the middle 1950's until the very end of Marx in the 1970's. By the end, they were often considered the top line available and sold in the best sets.
Based on the information I have, since you asked when they were made, here are the dates.
Green GN box - 1961-1975
B&0 Box (red) - This car was made from 1958-1973 and the red was first, followed by a blue and finally an orange. The livery and printing are all the same, just the difference in the body color. There are overlaps in dates as always with Marx
Santa Fe stock car (brown) and Santa Fe stock car (yellow) - The brown was made first beginning around 1955 and is the most common. The yellow is a later version, much less common, and dates likely from the mid 60's to 70's (I don't have definitive data). The brown version continued to be made from 1955 for a considerable period while the yellow version was also made with "scale" trucks as was the orange version of the B&O boxcar and offered in the scale line of cars (O gauge but closer to S scale) this line started before the war but was halted in 1942 and was most prolific in about 1948. It did not continue much into 1950's.
Anyway that's the best information I have...great cars and great fun trains.
Best Wishes
Don
Thank you for the great information! I m really enjoying the history and the running my Marx! Recently redid the smoke unit on my 666 and that thing smokes awesome with Mega steam! Very fun and therapeutic to work on these
Not all Marx. My H0 Mantua Pacific needed a minor repair so on it’s test run, I thought I’d pull a string of Virginian hoppers. A mixture of Marx and Marx derived hoppers.
Steve
Getting my Marx flats loaded and in running order. Most of the reels are Marx knockoffs by Model Power and the small dozers are Matchbox 18A’s which is what Marx used. The large dozer is just one I had.
Steve
Found this 1829 on the bay for a reasonable price. I think it's because it looked like it was stored in a dirt pile for like forty years. Took her apart,cleaned and shined the shell. Cleaned up and lubed the motor. Replaced the headlight socket and cleaned up the weight and the motor frame so it would have a ground again. Had a headlight lens from a 333 I saved parts from and it fit perfectly. Runs very well! Now if I could just find the tender and caboose for it.....
Donnie Kennedy : What a great job. The "1829" along with the "333" were Marx's only 6 coupled engines. The 333, a 4-6-2 (Pacific type) and the other the 1829 4-6-4 (Hudson type). You can run just about any tender that looks good, Marx made a number of 8 wheel tenders and although the 2731 was most often paired with the 1829 the 1951 type is much more common (even if slightly smaller) and I think it would still look good. An additional advantage is that Marx made the 1951 in many, many road names plus "Allstate" so you can pick your RR or in fact have several. I keep multiple tenders around and just match a tender with a caboose and your off with a new RR. Your engine really looks good, great work.
Don
That is the beauty with these. I've been mixing and matching my rolling stock. Right now then1829 is pulling a UP slope back and rolling stock, while my 333 is pulling a Santa Fe tender and lighted passenger cars. Not going to stress about finding the matching tender. Just blessed to have the ability to purchase,fix, and enjoy my hobby!
Got a chance to run some of my Marx rubber band drive H0 sets at todays TTOS meet. Fun to run these very low end sets along side my high end MTH.
Steve
Marx H0 set 16450, 1960.
Steve
Gerald Winski asked how long a H0 loco will run with the battery shack so I gave it a shot. I only ran the engine plus the batteries are 10000ma rechargeables. First video is when I started, the following video clips are at one hour increments.
Steve
WOW Steve based on your experiment, some 6-7 hrs as the engine alone, likely at least 1/2 that pulling a trian. Amazing!
Don
Just arrived from across the pond. Somewhat rare British Marx H0 battery powered rubber band drive passenger set.
Steve
Thought if anyone was interested I'd do a side by side of the Marx 333 and 1829. 
@Donnie Kennedy - that is really quite a comparison, the "family lineage" of the 1829 from the 333 is certainly apparent even down to the drive linkage. I have a 333 but do not have (yet) an 1829 so clearly this has to go on the "list" Thanks for showing.
Don
Green Giant Premium mail order set made by Marx. A cheap o that used 3 D batteries in a little house. I do have the mailing box with the Green Giant tape on it.
Steve
Blue Tuesday. Marx blues are all over the spectrum.
Well Steve has been showing us a wide variety of Marx HO sets, all of which he has returned to operation. I admire both his skill and patience. However, I thought I would return to O gauge Marx this afternoon with what I think is a fun car. It is what Mr. Marx called an "operating car" although it is nowhere near as complex as those offered by either Lionel or American Flyer. It is pure Marx, simple, inexpensive, and containing no complex mechanisms. This is the # 249319 Marx Marlines operating box car. It dates from about 1955.
Here is our train delivering the car for "unloading". Note the type #1951 "Allstate" tender and the # 490 loco.
Here is an overall view of the car and the "blue man" with the box on his shoulder handling the unloading efforts.
Here is a close up of that unloader, moving out from the car onto (not present) the unloading platform. That poor fellow, he has to ride in that boxcar (like "Charlie on the MTA") forever and can't ever put that heavy box down. He is activated by a mechanical trip or lever on the side that opens the door and springs the man out. Just one trip and one box is all you get with Marx 
!!
Best wishes to all, hope you are having a pleasant week.
Don
Marx H0 made in Hong Kong, not sure of the date, but 60’s is my guess. I needed the shims from under the table legs so it was struggling coming up hill.
Steve
Steve - I wouldn't apologize for that Marx HO slowing down a bit on the "uphill" portions of your oval. After all its likely how we all feel at the beginning of the week as we move uphill towards the weekend. 
Thanks for posting, I am awaiting delivery (should be today) for my first Marx HO piece...a New Haven switcher and I thank you for all the postings on Marx HO. I am not likely to start a new collection but at $5.99 I couldn't pass it up (and it runs!).
Best Wishes
Don
Well Steve Eastman has been showing us some really great operating Marx HO pieces. So despite my "promise" not to get involved in collecting another gauge, I saw this piece of Marx HO and could not pass it up since it was going at auction at $5.99 . This is the Marx Type 6910 "Industrial Switcher" locomotive. Marx put this out first near the beginning of his move into HO gauge, in 1958. In '58 it was offered as a Western Pacific, in '62 a Rock Island, and in 1963 the #1621 New Haven. It re-emerged in 1972 as an unmarked industrial engine. For its time, it was a reasonably quality engine using a a gear drive (fiber gears). I have another non-Marx switcher of the same size from my own HO period (1957-62) and it used a rubber band drive with the rubber bands functioning as drive belts to rubber cylindrical drum axles that drove the wheels, not nearly as robust. OBTW this little fellow still works.
Front view, only fault on this engine is the front coupler is broken. Easy replacement, standard HO (hook and horn) coupler.
Rear view, there is some detail inside the cab as well, hard to see in this picture.
Top view, good detail in the plastic casting.
Well there is my (current) Marx HO "collection". Best wishes
Don
A few more Marx H0 switchers.
Steve
It followed me home from todays Train N Coffee meet. Correct box but no inserts, track or transformer but got two extra long domes. These are a lot less warped than normal. The set with green diesels is much harder to find than the gray diesels, but not nearly as desirable.
Steve
Steve - great looking set. I have a WP (green) A B A and the cars but no box (oh well). Here is my A B A just for something to add to the post.
Great find Steve. Curious though, in your post you mentioned that you thought the green diesels were harder to find than the grey although not as desirable. I agree, the grey are more desirable but at least from my perspective they are also much harder to find and far more expensive if you do find one. Well great find in any case
Best Wishes
Don
@Don McErlean posted:Steve - great looking set. I have a WP (green) A B A and the cars but no box (oh well). Here is my A B A just for something to add to the post.
Great find Steve. Curious though, in your post you mentioned that you thought the green diesels were harder to find than the grey although not as desirable. I agree, the grey are more desirable but at least from my perspective they are also much harder to find and far more expensive if you do find one. Well great find in any case
Best Wishes
Don
The green diesels are easier to find, but not in a passenger set. The green were usually in freight sets, the gray in passenger sets.
Steve
Steve - GOT IT....I had not thought of the differences in set usage in fact I did not know that...THANK YOU for the information. Great to know.
Best Wishes
Don
@Don McErlean, that’s a beautiful Marx set of F units, very colorful, so cool. I do not have any Marx trains at this time, but will see if there will be any at the next train show in Nashville, July 2022, TCA, LCCA National Conventions.. Happy Railroading Everyone
Getting ready to sell my 999 collection. Thought I’d share an odd ball. Brass plated with reversible coupler.
Steve
Marx H0 set 9961, 1960.
Steve
Hi Marx fans. Today I have a slight repeat of my post on 5/31 when I posted the RED with white lettering Marx " Marlines" operating box car. Well it turns out that this car also came in WHITE, with red lettering. In both cases the car has a mechanism that upon encountering a trip, opens the door and out comes a man holding a box on his shoulder. The white color, although it seems a little bit more scarce than the red in the Marlines box car livery, this same basic car also came in the same white body color but with the livery of Pacific Fruit Express (red lettering) and Farm Master Brand Dairy Products (red lettering) but are listed with different numbers as refrigerator cars not box cars (although the casting is about the same). So like much of Marx, its confusing!! 
. Note even perhaps more confusing, ALL of these cars came 2 ways - both with the operating man / door and without it.
Well before I get so confused I forget to insert the pictures, here is the WHITE, Marx # 2349319 Marlines operating box car. The red car dates from 1955 and this white car from 1959.
Here is the non operating side.
Here is the operating side with the blue man and box exiting the car. The mechanism is purely mechanical using a lever that intersects a trip on the loading platform. This mechanism only controls the door on one side and the man only exits out that one door. As I mentioned in my post of the red car, Mr. Marx loved simple, inexpensive, and mechanical mechanisms--- no fancy vibrating belts or electric solenoids etc to push out boxes---nope with Mr. Marx you get simple and reliable BUT you get one man, one exit, and one box...that is all
Well best wishes everyone, hope you have a great weekend upcoming.
Don
Well Marx fans, I guess I am going to follow myself in this thread. I encountered an interesting variation of the "scale" NYC crane car which places it in the category of more scarce than normal. This is the Marx # 3550 "scale" NYC crane car but with the red cab / boom vice grey. The cab / boom are similar if not identical to the plastic freight car # 5590 and its variants but it is mounted on a scale black caboose base and has scale (Type B) trucks. This example has plastic tilt couplers, dating it from 1953 or later.
Best Wishes
Don
I picked up 2 Marx-Tronic switcher sets last year. It is quite a piece of engineering. It required a lot of tweaking and adjusting. The 2 locomotives had battery damage and 1 needed a new reverse switch. There are 2 different versions of the loco. On one the hood slides off to gain battery access, on the other you have to remove the body from the frame by removing 2 screws and nuts. I made this little layout by adding some spare plastic track. I have no way to take a video, but if you look on Youtube there are some videos showing how it works.
Access to this requires an OGR Forum Supporting Membership
