since James contributed the clockwork version of the 1950’s Meteor locomotive, it might be worth mentioning that, when running wind-ups for the public, i generally get the idea most people think that when electric motors came into existence, clockworks went out the door. but they are usually surprised to hear that clockwork sets persisted into the early 1970’s, and even then it actually took an act of congress with the Consumer Product Safety Act (1972) to put an end to yet another traditional childhood pastime.
it was never a matter of technology, but of cost. without a third rail, a transformer (a big chunk of iron then, not like the modern switching supplies of today), and having a less expensive motor; clockwork sets were typically less than half the cost of a similar electric set. of course, as collectables these days, condition far outweighs the original sticker price and just off the top of my head i can think of more clockwork than electrics that are likely near the top of most Marxist’s wish lists.
one of those which i was extremely lucky to find at a bargain price, was not even a Marx product. in 1927, The Girard Model Works of Girard, PA started making toy floor trains (later including a small circle of track) selling them over the counter at department stores. in 1928, Louis Marx, already a giant in the toy industry, started selling Girard’s ‘The Joy Line’ trains on commission. it was this relationship with the company concluding in the outright purchase of a depression-hit Model Works in 1934 that usually blurs the line of where collecting Marx really starts. there were surely pieces that were out of production by 1934, but quite a bit of leftover Joy Line stock was sold by