This is a duplicate of a post I put up in the survey section. I am very interested in seeing some illustrations of the cars I discuss below.
I know I lusted in my heart for Lionel and American Flyer, both, but we were poor and I had MARX. As I remember now, though, the lithography on the freight cars of my train was outstanding.
I have recently started a project to recreate in HO the cars, at least, from my MARX train which probably dated from about 1945. If anybody can share pictures I’d be very appreciative.
- New Haven box car with the big script New York New Haven and Hartford on the side.
- Santa Fe stock car. This was an addition a year or two later.
- Leigh & New England open hopper. I believe this was a quad hopper.
- Nickel Plate flat car with a timber load. I just finished a Red Caboose model in HO for this car and it does bring back memories.
- A silver tank car. I don’t remember the reporting marks but I know t was marked to carry glacial acetic acid. That sounded so interesting to me.
- A caboose – but I can not remember now if Reading or New York Central. I probably won’t recreate this exactly, but may do a model of one of the Rock Island Northeastern cabooses.
These were all metal cars with 4-wheel trucks and metal couplers. Beautiful!
Sometime after the original train I got the MARX station. The station name was Girard (after Girard, Pennsylvania when MARX was headquartered). In 1952 when my parents were searching for a middle name for my new baby brother I suggested Girard – and they accepted it.
After 1953 I got the two-unit Santa Fe F-units – in plastic with plastic couplers. It was all down hill after that.
Towerman
Tom