Marx started building toy trains in 1934 after he took ownership and re-tooled Joy Line Trains. Marx had already been building toys and would become the world leader in toys through the 50s. As with most things, Marx started to decline through the later 60s and finally was bought by Quaker Oats in 1975. Over 40 years of wonderful memories for millions of American kids and kids around the world is a testament to the man that made the toys. Louis Marx. I mostly collect trains from 1934 until WWII. All tin toys are attractive but pre-war tin trains are the tops. I have a pretty good example of most all of Marx's pre war production. Things were pretty good until the early 50s when they started tinkering with injection molding plastics. Though I do have a pretty good example of this production on to the end, tin is my favorite. With plastics, tin started being considered dangerous and to protect us from ourselves, we started a long downward spiral of dumbing down toys and they lose their appeal to me. I collect kid killers.
My layout is 8x10 and I can run five trains at a time. Everything on the table is Marx including the transformers. I'm not into scale buildings and scenery on my layout. If Marx made it, it can go on the table. Not enough room left anyway for any fluff and glitter.
So if you have any questions, feel free to ask. Who else plays with toys?
Gobbler
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