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Marx Toy Trains
At the end of World War I, in 1919, Luis Marx started a toy
company. The company was called Marx and Company and was
co-founded by Louis brother, David Marx. The company's motto was
to, "give the customer more toy for less money." The company
enjoyed a long run of success, surviving the both the Great
Depression and the second World War, before it closed its doors
in 1978, six years after Louis Marx sold the company to Quaker
Oats. During the Great Depression the Marx Company had over
$500,000 in debt, a debt that was more then covered by its $3.2
million in assets.
In addition to several international plants, Marx had three
plants in the United States, two in Pennsylvania, and one in
West Virginia. One of the places that they sold their toys was
in the Sears Roebucks magazine.
Some people feel that during its heyday, Marx and Company
actually sold more toy trains then any of the other toy
companies. The first train they sold was the Joy Line, which
they sold on commission for the Girard Company. Shortly after
his company started selling the Joy Line, Louis Marx arranged
for the Girard Company to design a toy train specifically for
Marx and Company. Eventually the Girard Company was purchased by
Marx.
In the marketplace, Marx trains were noticeable because they
were normally smaller and cheaper then the ones made by the
Lionel Company and American Flyer. The Marx Company designed
electric toy trains that featured an open frame motor, this
motor features a gear that is fixed to one end of the axle of
the armature. The company seldom varied from this design. Post
World War II, Marx and Company started to make trains out of
plastic. More expensive versions of Marx toy trains included a
smoker that heated smoke fluid to produce smoke.
Marx trains typically have a copper shoe pickup. On a Marx
motor, the center rail pickup, is typically made out of copper
strip.
Until the late 1950's Marx made their toy trains with a fat
wheel. This fat wheel makes it virtually impossible for Marx toy
trains to negotiate the switches and crossovers of Lionel
tracks.
Older models of Marx trains feature open switches. Marx and
Company designed their switches so that the wiring was similar
to the wiring in two rail switches. Three wires, red, green, and
black, go directly to the the switch.
Most of Marx scale freighters featured a a low truck with small
wheels. Marx used a dovetail design for their tilt couplers.
Marx tilt couplers are incompatible with Lionel couplers. The
tilt couplers were one single molded piece. In later years, Marx
made one piece knuckle couplers that have to be coupled by hand.
Most of the original Marx and Company motors have a metal frame
and metal gears. A few of their later designs have frames and
gears that are made out of plastic. Some of the cheaper toy
trains that Marx designed can't reverse, they can only go
forward.
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