I assigned a 666 2-4-2 locomotive to head up my Nickel Plate train of 3/16-inch scale cars. (For those who just tuned in, the 8-wheel NKP tender was not made by Marx but is a 951 NYC “wedge” that was customized for me by master craftsman Baldemar Manzo.)
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Marx 897 Lithographed Locomotive
Introduced in 1939, the lithographed 897 was also available in an olive drab version which was included with the Army Supply Train sets. (These are quite rare and are priced accordingly whenever they turn up at train shows and on eBay.) A windup version was available in 1940. In 1940, the same tooling was used to produce an all-black version cataloged as 898. Discontinued during World War II, the 897 was never revived although the all-black 898 locomotive returned to head up Marx’s budget priced sets between 1946 and 1952.
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I saw the olive drab version once, for sale at an antique store in Bismarck. I didn’t buy it, becasue it was missing a wheel and like $200 or something. Plus, I think that it was clockwork.
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Something old, something new. A pre-World War II Army Supply Train 500 0-4-0 locomotive poses besides a New Marx Mobile Military Supply Train 4361 0-4-0 locomotive from 1996.
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Although not quite as big as the die-cast 333 or the plastic 1829 locomotives, the plastic 1666 2-4-2 locomotive is an acceptable visual match with 7-inch freight cars. As I might have mentioned earlier, my 1666 locomotive came with a plastic Southern Pacific tender, so I’ve assigned it to SP freight duties.
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It just happened that I already had a 7-inch SP caboose, so I didn’t have to make a special search for one to go with the locomotive and tender. Incidentally, Marx never made a 7-inch 8-wheel, SP Caboose. I arranged to have mine remounted onto an 8-wheel frame which, IMHO, improves its appearance greatly.
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Here is one of the most unlikely pairings you’re ever likely to see: a meticulously detailed Woodland Scenics station and a Marx 0-4-0 401 locomotive. With its plastic body and windup motor, the 401 is among the most modest of 0-gauge locomotives. Yet, when seen next to the WS station, it assumes a whole new degree of realism and class that few would suspect.
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Another feature that was standard on all Marx barns was a pulley for hoisting bales of hay up to a second story hay loft.
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I look forward to all these awesome pics! Keep 'em coming!
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Welcome to the forums!
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Welcome aboard Irvington-Hillside! 
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Welcome Irvington-Hillside! (I suspect with a callsign like that you’re a Lionel fan!)
We have a lot of fun here and DO learn a lot from each other. For example I’m learning things about Marx from this topic I never expected!
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New Streamlined Marx Logo circa 1959
Louis Marx did not believe in advertising his toys. It was his long-held belief that a child’s desires should not be manipulated by advertising but that a toy should sell itself. (Marx did assist big retailers such as Sears and Wards in preparing store displays and catalog layouts that featured Marx toys.)
By the 1950s, Marx’s policy of not advertising was no longer practical. Rival toy companies like Remco, Ideal and Mattel were advertising heavily on TV and developing little slogans which rapidly became familiar and are still remembered today: “Every boy wants a Remco toy (and so do girls)”; “It’s a wonderful toy, it’s Ideal”; and “It’s Mattel, it’s swell.” Long-time Marx retailers had no choice but to offer the toys that children wanted because they’d seen them advertised on TV.
Faced by declining sales, in 1959 Marx finally got involved in TV advertising with a saturation campaign that ran during the pre-Christmas months of October through December. Marx commercials appeared on all three television networks on shows such as Captain Kangaroo, Howdy Doody, Rin Tin Tin, Rocky and His Friends, and The Paul Winchell Show. (Each of these commercials ended with the new slogan “Bargain priced – by Marx.”)
It was at this time that a new streamlined Marx logo replaced the one that had been used since the 1920s.
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Magic Marxie
To act as a spokesman in its TV commercials, Marx’s advertising people came up with “Magic Marxie,” a pixie-like cartoon character whose body featured the new Marx logo. (Plastic, one-inch figures of “Magic Marxie” were produced in various colors for promotional purposes and are now highly prized by collectors.)
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Can’t forget the greatest on screen demonstration of Marx toys 
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As mentioned earlier, I was rather later in recognizing that the plastic 400 locomotive makes an ideal 0-4-0 switcher locomotive much like Lionel’s 1615 switcher. Aware that switcher locomotives once made short transfer runs, I can stage photos like this one showing a 400 transferring a few cars. (I don’t know if Marx ever shipped any 400s along with its 3/16th inch scale cars. I doubt it but, IMHO, they do make a good visual match.) I can now see why some people specialize in collecting and running Marx 400 series plastic locomotives.
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Your photos are always a treat, Eric.
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The very first item I bought when I started collecting Marx trains back in 2014 was a 3/16-inch scale freight set headed up by a 999 die-cast locomotive and an 8-wheel NYC “wedge” tender. (I bought that set from Jim and Debby Flynn through their eBay store. At the time, I had no idea who they were or their connection to New Marx Trains.) At the time, I was still learning about the various Marx toy trains and how best to photograph them in closeup to make them look as much like their full-size counterparts as possible. (I’m still learning.)
I still have that first set and its 999 locomotive, which I often use in my tabletop diorama photos.
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999 with a wedge, definitely a classic
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