Attached is a photo of the windup 490. Sounds like it ought to be the most common thing
in the world, but it's not. This is the first one I've seen in 10 years. It doesn't run real well,
and by 1962 when this was made, windup trains were being phased out in favor of battery power anyway.
So not many were made and I'll bet a lot of them were discarded. They're difficult to find, and I
understand a lot of them you do find have broken parts.
The windup 400 looks just like it, so always look closely at plastic windups. Every once in a while
you may get lucky. Oh, and this variant isn't in any of the books. So if you do manage to find one,
there's a pretty good chance it will be priced the same as an electric.
- Dave Farquhar
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Marx 490 Windup - Photo Dave Farquhar
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Marx Bashed 490 - Photo Bill Porter
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M10005 Diner. Considered the hardest of the M10005 cars to find.
Only came in Yellow/Brown
- Steve Eastman
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Photo by Steve Eastman
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Could use a reference photo
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933 Cockwork with battery headlight. Thumbscrew on the side is actually the on/off mechanism. Very uncommon.
- Steve Eastman
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Battery Compartment - Photo Steve Eastman
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Side view showing 'switch' - Photo Steve Eastman
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All Black 391. Late pre war when tin was difficult to get.
- Steve Eastman
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- Photo Steve Eastman
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944 With Number on side. Not very common, may have come in only one set
- Steve Eastman
Photo Steve Eastman
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Long Nose E-7. Probably made in large numbers, but by now few with unbroken pilots are around.
Also note the one on the left has no yellow stripe. Rare unpowered unit used in one set only.
- Steve Eastman
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E-7 Pilot Variations - Photo Steve Eastman
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There are two distinct second tier decks for the DeLuxe Auto Carrier Car . Variation No 1 The uprights on
the ends have No Gussets where they meet the floor . Variation No 2 There are Gussets where the floor
meets the uprights . Variation No 2 is not as common ans No 1 although now that I have "discovered them I
seem to see them a little more often but still not as plentiful as No 1.
- Adam Boksz
Photo Adam Boksz
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Gun Metal Gray 666. Only 3-4 have been found. Marx never made 3-4 of anything, they just have not publicly surfaced yet.
- Steve Eastman
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Photo Steve Eastman
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Clockwork 666 actually used a 999 open spoke casting. Pilot on this one is broken. Thought to be only about 65 made.
- Steve Eastman
Photo Steve Eastman
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One of those not readily known to non specialist collectors is the 1666 plastic loco made
for trestle sets. It does not have an E-unit. It also has a traction tire. That is because
it had to be forward only. Climbing a trestle and losing connection would have made it
reverse........with the obvious calamity to follow! That 1666 was different from the average
version. It came with no front trucks, and sometimes no rear trucks. Because of the missing
front trucks, Marx actually molded a whole different shell for it.
- Pete Miksich
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I believe there were two mountain climbing trestle sets. A large one with two loco's and a
small one with just one loco. Not 100% sure though. - Al Schindler
Photo Pete Miksich
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Reference Photo Bill Porter
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Marx 400 electric puffer - DR motor with no reverse as that's where the puffer is located.
- Rob Cunfer
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Photo Rob Cunfer
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Photo Rob Cunfer
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Rare closed spike 999. Note the pilot - or cowcatcher - has raised bars and the area behind them is filled in. This one was restored
from a basket case pile of junk by Todd Hein with plenty of help from Al Osterud and Steve Eastman.
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Photo Todd Hein
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Repainted plain pilot 999 - Luckily it was not the rare version
Photo Bill Porter
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Marx Canadian Pacific locos are often referred to as CP's for obvious reasons. They are also often called
'Jubilee' by long time Marx collectors due to the historical part the 4-4-4 Jubilee loco played
in the development of the model. There are plenty of variations in trim, features and wheel arrangements.
The catalog numbers commonly associated with the types are 494, 495 and 3000.
Any of the 3000 side board jubillee locos are HTF and probably should be kept whole if possible, but of those
these two are likely the most rare...
- Rob Cunfer
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Photo Rob Cunfer
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Photo Rob Cunfer
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Here's one more rare variation of a Jubilee loco... It's not the shell that's rare as much
as the early style double reduction motor with spoke drivers... Note the weights, one on front and
there's another in the cab...
- Rob Cunfer
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Photo Rob Cunfer
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Ad for the Marx Jubilee train.
Photo Dan Schievelbein
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Here's Some information on the prototype Jubilee
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Dan Schievelbein
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Photo Dan Schievelbein
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Photo Dan Schievelbein
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In 1939, Marx made some 4-wheel frame cars with frames plated with zinc rather than painted or lithographed. Not all are
well-documented or even mentioned. The zinc base cars are somewhat rare and worthy of preservation. The metallic surface
changes over time and may be anything from bright to dull.
- Rob Cunfer
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Very rare (undocumented - surprise!) zinc-frame tender
Photo Rob Cunfer
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Here is a set of freight cars with zinc frames. It may well be that only 4-wheel cars had zinc frames.
Photo Rob Cunfer
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One more odd ball, they're probably not "rare" but you see the southpac diesels with the white bottoms much
less than you see the version with the silver. And being that they're older they're usually more beat up??
- Rob Cunfer.
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Southern Pacific Diesel - White Bottom.
Photo Rob Cunfer
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Need a Reference Photo - Silver Bottom
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If you find anything with this motor - do not disturb... it's the rare DC motor.....
- Rob Cunfer
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Photo Rob Cunfer
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Photo Rob Cunfer
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Plastic bodies with the scale type "B" trucks. Very nicely proportioned and not too numerous. It appears
there are a total of 8 original items of this sort including cranes in two colors (gray and red), a B&O caboose and a Pennsy
gondola in addition to the ones pictured here. - Several contributors
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Permission granted by the seller on eBay. She did not provide a name for the credit, but, did grow up not far from where I did.
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You can probably figure that this photo shows the undersides.
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These tinplate 6-inch cars were made in the late 1930's. Some were on 4-wheel chassis.
Some had 8-wheel trucks. There were 8 different car names:
246 Montreal,
247 Toronto,
249 Ottawa,
250 Winnipeg,
253 Hamilton,
248 Quebec,
251 Vancouver
and 253 Calgary.
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These one-way couplers were not original. All cars were made with tab-and-slot couplers.
Photo Bill Porter
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Photo Bill Porter
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