hokey smoke, Bullwinkle! a whole month without a Marx posting!
...got to do something about that!
after Marx got rid of the inherited Girard Toy Company stock, the first truly Marx trains started to appear in 1935 with simple single color w/ black detail/lettering lithography and sitting on 4 wheel black frames with silver (though in most lighting appearing as white) details. except for the #552 gondola, all cars had sliding mounted "Joy Line" couplers.
there were only about a dozen of these early car types and few are considered rare, but due to their short life of not more than a few years of sales and considering they were the first and oldest, to find them in better conditions can be a challenge. here are some trains i've managed to piece together.
Silver Litho Frame Passenger Train - ca 1935
many of these first cars had body styles and graphics that would persist, but the numbering system in this first round of 6" tin cars was a bit different than the standard numbers that would follow in later years. among those was the first three-car passenger set which included the #245 Bogota, #246 Montclair and #201 Observation cars. only available in red livery, the cars featured open windows and though the coaches were unlighted, the observation car came in a lighted drumhead version with center rail pickup.
to complete my passenger train, the early, green #1935 Mail Car adds a nice contrast to the consist. (and i'm very suspicious that the red and green livery mix was no accident!) other less seen variations of this car had red door guides and/or plain doors which are sought after by some collectors, but for me, the more common version is the best looking.
#91453 Colorato & Souther Reefer; (551) NYC Tender w/ rivet detail
in this first year only the Commodore Vanderbilt locomotive was available to head both electric and clockwork trains, and since these have already been covered, we'll start at the tender in its most basic CV (551) shape. pictured is the more common black rivet-lithographed livery. probably the rarest of the silver litho frame cars is the all silver NYC tender which was usually paired with the equally rare silver CV locomotive.
the early yellow #91453 C&S reefer is another example of a car where the graphics changed little, but had its color upgraded and renumbered as #555 in later years of production.
Silver Litho Frame Work Train
so far my small work train consists of the #1678 NP hopper, #552 C.R.I.&P. gondola and (550) NYC wrecker (which received an original replacement cable and hook shortly after this photo). again, all three cars would go on to be regular production '550 series' 6" cars in later years. both the hopper and gondola would be upgraded with multi-color details with all versions of the NP hopper graphic changing to #554.
for the picture, i slightly lowered the track clips that are unique to the wrecker frame. when rescuing a train on an adjacent track, these clips can serve to steady the car when the boom arm is pivoted off center.
i know i have a pretty nice #553 Santa Fe 'Middle States Oil' tank car somewhere, but so far that car has eluded my current inventory search.
#694 NYC caboose w/ silver litho frame (portal window version on right)
bringing up the rear, the NYC caboose design perfectly complimented the apparently slumming Commodore Vanderbilt locos assigned to Marx freight service. changed to #556 with added white detail in later years, this early version had a variation w/o front and rear facing portal windows.
these first years of prewar production saw quite a few frame designs and variations until the solid black, square frame design became a standard for 4-wheel, 6" tin, but the litho versions certainly do add another increment of charm to the Marx line.
cheers...gary
