[Rob Snyder]

I found an old Marx train set in my buddy's garage a while back and I don't know jack about them. It's a steam loco with 4 cars. 1 is a coal car, a caboose, PRR freight car and a New York Central freight car. The box has 2 transformers in it and there is a bit of track, straight and curved. The cars are 4 wheeled and don't have real trucks under them. I'd just like to know what I have and if it's actually worth antything or if I should just trade it for some N gauge stuff.

 

[T-Man]

Marx was made to be simple and affordable. Many find the tinplate quality appealing. Value, not much. I will vouch for their whistle station. Ebay will give you an idea if anything will. Parts are available. because of toy safety the repo is sold as colllectable.

 

[Rob Snyder]

I'd like to find it a new home as it's the wrong scale for anything I build. Hopefully someone on here will want it if for nothing more than a collector piece.

 

[shaygetz]

One of my books put the loco and tender at $5 each, the caboose at $3---lit it's $30, the NYC boxcar, if it's a "Pacemaker", can fetch up to $60 and the PRR car (I can only find a hopper or a gondola) can go up to $20.

 

[Rob Snyder]

Thank you for the info. I'd like it to all go as 1 piece to whoever gets it. I think the loco probably doesn't work anymore.

 

[shaygetz]

Had one years ago...my first electric train set actually, I was 8...rusted away many moons ago in my uncle's shed. I thought it odd that the cars could be worth so much more than the engines.

 

[Rob Snyder]

Does seem odd the cars are worth more. Guess it goes by what people are willing to pay for stuff.

 

[Reckers]

That, and scarcity. A train consists of one engine, usually, one tender, and as many cars as you want your engine to pull. That can equate, on an older set, to one engine for 5 to 10 cars. It sounds like the original set had maybe a 1 to 3 or 1 to 5 ratio. If you and I and a third person started with sets, then I sold you mine, you now have a surplus (second) engine to go with 6 or 10 cars. The other guy might want additional cars for his, and the value on the cars goes up faster than the engines. As was pointed out, a lit car is often more desireable than an unlit car---if it's still working after all these years, it's value increases substantially. Making up my data, there might be one lit car that still works for every 15 engines that still work---scarcity increases the value, if you can find an interested buyer.