This is the Hafner clockwork engine taking a spin with a Hafner consist on the outer loop. The main advantage is not having to wind it up continually as well as it now possessing Marx smoking clouds of exhaust. Mixing varieties of equipment up led to another video that I was reluctant to post with is a Marx steamer pulling a unit train of prewar Lionel baby Ruth boxcars, figuring the Hafner was enough of a turn around. Anyone else out there mix consists of tinplate?
I do it all the time. My collection is relatively limited so I have no choice other than to mix my consists. For example, I have Flyer top of the line 3000 series O gauge tinplate cars but only an early cast iron steamer (3195?) to pull them. The small 4 wheel tender can’t handle the weight of the large Flyer cars so I have to use Ives, Marx and Dorfan 4 wheelers behind that loco and my Lionel 259 to pull the Flyer cars. I also run my Marx clockwork Vandy with both Lionel latch coupler cars and prewar Hornby 4 wheel coaches. And I have a lot of other tinplate of various sizes and from unknown manufacturers that I add in wherever they look good. Sets are great if you have them but many of us just don’t sweat it so much. Becky