I found this Marx lithographed tin Union Station channel train layout on eBay quite by chance. Although it was missing its train, I went ahead and placed a bid on it even though I wasn’t exactly sure how I could make use of it. Surprisingly, I was the only bidder and got it at a reasonable price.
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Here’s the layout’s opposite side.
According to Eric J. Matzke in Greenberg’s Guides to Marx Trains, Vol. II, Marx’s first channel train appeared in 1937 and might have been influenced by the HO trains that were just then starting to appear.
I have no idea what year my channel train layout was made or what train is supposed to go with it.
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These are the graphics on the layout’s opposite side. (Note the tiny Marx logo on the right, just above the baseball diamond.)
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The graphics on one side of the center structure depict some of the station services that were available to passengers. (During the golden age of passenger train service, Chicago Union Station had a barbershop, a beauty salon, a shoe repair shop, a dentist’s office, a full-service drug store, and retail shops where one could purchase a wide variety of items including toys and clothing. Its restaurants served 700 pies every twenty-four hours.)
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The graphics on the opposite side of the center structure depict the station’s freight and mail handling facilities. (The transporting of mail was once an important source of income for the railroads. During the heyday of rail passenger service, Chicago Union Station alone cleared 100,000 sacks of mail every twenty-four hours.) Note the Marx logo to the right and just under the light fixture.)
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In a subtle touch that was probably added as an inside joke by the artist who did the graphics work, one of the station’s managers can be seen practicing his golf swing in his private upstairs office.
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Mounting a photo enlargement of Union Station’s main entrance onto foamboard allowed it to be used as a backdrop in a big city setting. The 0-scale die-cast autos provide a better idea of the size of Union Station’s main entrance after being enlarged.
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Mounting a photo enlargement of the center structure onto a cardboard box made it possible to show full size Marx trains arriving and departing.
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That photo enlargement thing is a great idea!
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Speaking of the photo enlargement or print idea, has anyone ever run across this blog on the web?
There is all kinds of neat stuff on here- scans of Built Rite cardboard, Bing tin litho, and lots more. I’m not sure about the image quality, but some of these might be good enough for some fun projects.
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The pride and joy of my Marx collection are my two Wm. Crooks locomotives that were acquired on eBay from master craftsman chesterchito (Baldemar Manzo) who custom painted both of them.
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If I had to limit myself to just one customized Wm. Crooks locomotive, it would probably be the one trimmed in red and gold.
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The notched front lithographed metal tender shown here with my gold and silver trimmed Wm. Crooks locomotive originally came on a 4-wheel frame. (I had Baldemar remount it onto an 8-wheel frame.) It is my understanding that lithographed St. P. & P. R. R. tenders were only available with mechanical (i.e. windup) Wm. Crooks locomotives and were never available on 8-wheel frames.
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You want download and print paper buildings I have links to literally thousands of websites with everything from fully detailed stations to a 1:48 scale Saturn V rocket 
. BTW a 1:48 scale Saturn V is 8 feet tall. 
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