Ok. Toy trains it is.

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Gobblerforge
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Ok. Toy trains it is.

Post by Gobblerforge »

Per JMiller's prodding, Hello, my name is Gobbler, and..............I play with toy trains. Whew, that was hard. Ok. So it is said. Now on to it. I have been collecting and playing with toy trains for some 40 years. I play with Marx. If you don't do it, train folks are like Winchester or Chevy people. They usually are fond of and collect whatever their first was. Mom and Dad bought a Marx set for my older sisters three years before I was born. Yes sir, you could say I've been a life long Marx man.
Marx started building toy trains in 1934 after he took ownership and re-tooled Joy Line Trains. Marx had already been building toys and would become the world leader in toys through the 50s. As with most things, Marx started to decline through the later 60s and finally was bought by Quaker Oats in 1975. Over 40 years of wonderful memories for millions of American kids and kids around the world is a testament to the man that made the toys. Louis Marx. I mostly collect trains from 1934 until WWII. All tin toys are attractive but pre-war tin trains are the tops. I have a pretty good example of most all of Marx's pre war production. Things were pretty good until the early 50s when they started tinkering with injection molding plastics. Though I do have a pretty good example of this production on to the end, tin is my favorite. With plastics, tin started being considered dangerous and to protect us from ourselves, we started a long downward spiral of dumbing down toys and they lose their appeal to me. I collect kid killers.
My layout is 8x10 and I can run five trains at a time. Everything on the table is Marx including the transformers. I'm not into scale buildings and scenery on my layout. If Marx made it, it can go on the table. Not enough room left anyway for any fluff and glitter.
So if you have any questions, feel free to ask. Who else plays with toys?
Gobbler
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Borregos
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Re: Ok. Toy trains it is.

Post by Borregos »

Neat set up you have there :D
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jeepnik
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Re: Ok. Toy trains it is.

Post by jeepnik »

Ahh for the days when I had an entire bedroom just for my trains. Now it's a guest room, and I'm limited to about a 4X8 foot layout that is suspended from wires in my garage. It all HO, had I known I would be forced to smaller quarters, I'd have gone N.

Can I come to your house and play?
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Blaine
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Re: Ok. Toy trains it is.

Post by Blaine »

Neat!!You have some really neat stuff. I had a buddy that was stationed in Berlin and he'd shop in E Berlin for trains. I think he bought 3 or 4 of everything.....His house was nothing but a huge train playground.
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Mike D.
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Re: Ok. Toy trains it is.

Post by Mike D. »

I have a bunch of vintage American Flyer, Lionel and nice kit built HO stuff. Sadly, it is all boxed up in the attic, along with all the Plasticville buildings, track, and other accessories. I gave the old layout to a local kid, and plan on passing the trains to the grandkids. :)
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J Miller
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Re: Ok. Toy trains it is.

Post by J Miller »

Thanks for the thread. I really enjoyed it. So did my wife. She was pointing out one of the black engines on the shelf and told me they had one like that when she was a kid. Said her girl friend, one of twins, fell off the bed and cut her cheek on the tin engine. 7 stitches. Said that's how she told the twins apart from then on.
I asked her if the engine was damaged ........ it wasn't, but I thought she was gonna hit me.

My brother collects O gauge. I think his collection takes up his entire garage now. Haven't seen any pics since he moved.

To mirror jeepnik, can I come and play with your trains?????


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Andrew
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Re: Ok. Toy trains it is.

Post by Andrew »

That's a very cool collection, thanks for sharing. :D
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Re: Ok. Toy trains it is.

Post by Ben_Rumson »

NICE! I had one like this, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L8s9mkF78w from about 5 y/o.. Gave the boxed set away when I was about 25.. Actually my whole toy box.. Hubley cap pistols ..metal Double Barrel cork gun..my King Kong dart gun game.. You shot Kong and his eyes (green flashlight bulbs) would light up and he's raise his arms and roar.. That used to really freak the cat LOL
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Hobie
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Re: Ok. Toy trains it is.

Post by Hobie »

Will you be attending the TCA annual get-together? I will.
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cjm135
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Re: Ok. Toy trains it is.

Post by cjm135 »

Looks great I love them engines. My son has several HO sets and I have an Loinel set which was used for Christmas under the tree. My grandson has a lot of the Thomas The Tank Engine sets and accessories. I recently suggested that we take my sons layout board and make the Island of Sodar because my son is going through a seperation and this would keep his mind busy. Little did I know, my wife thought that it was a good idea and that I should to build the layout. :shock: :?: I just wanted to play with it, not set it up. Women, go figure.

Nice layout Gobblerforge. :mrgreen:
BenT
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Re: Ok. Toy trains it is.

Post by BenT »

Cool collection ! I admit that I play with toy tractors. I've been carpet farming since I was 3 years old. :D
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RIHMFIRE
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Re: Ok. Toy trains it is.

Post by RIHMFIRE »

Can we all come over and play....can we...huh!
great collection!
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Gobblerforge
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Re: Ok. Toy trains it is.

Post by Gobblerforge »

Thanks everyone. Sure, you all can come and play. Trains and leverguns.
Hobie. No, I don't do TCA. I have been invited to attend several times by a few collectors here in Ohio. It just never happened yet. I assume you are talking about York? I have heard for years that that is the train show to see. I have been fortunate to have met and become friends with a few of some of the top Marx collectors around. Good folks.
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kemosabi45
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Re: Ok. Toy trains it is.

Post by kemosabi45 »

Real Nice, I very much enjoyed those pics.
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Re: Ok. Toy trains it is.

Post by Jay Bird »

Cool, I play with real trains. :wink:
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Hobie
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Re: Ok. Toy trains it is.

Post by Hobie »

Gobblerforge wrote:Thanks everyone. Sure, you all can come and play. Trains and leverguns.
Hobie. No, I don't do TCA. I have been invited to attend several times by a few collectors here in Ohio. It just never happened yet. I assume you are talking about York? I have heard for years that that is the train show to see. I have been fortunate to have met and become friends with a few of some of the top Marx collectors around. Good folks.
Gobbler
Been to the York show but I'm talking about the AZ get-together this summer. I'll be there the 27th through the 4th with friends. Not a member myself but do like real trains. Not enough to spend real money though. Mrs. Hobie likes to travel. So, it all came together.

The York show is HUGE! Wish we had gun shows like that!
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GEOFF
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Re: Ok. Toy trains it is.

Post by GEOFF »

Really cool toy train stuff!! You are really into it. I'm trying to resurrect some of my old Lionel trains from the early 70's for my 4 year old. He is SO into Thomas it's unbelievable!

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I don't know how we should break the news to your dad, but I've got to tell you, your job looks QUITE abit more exotic than that old Toyota forklift he was showing us the other day!! But he's probably still making more than the 2 of us together what with his obvious seniority!!! LOL Bet the old man is proud of his son!!

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Ysabel Kid
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Re: Ok. Toy trains it is.

Post by Ysabel Kid »

Wow - very cool, and very, VERY well organized. I need you to come over and give me some pointers on my reloading area!!!
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Old Savage
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Re: Ok. Toy trains it is.

Post by Old Savage »

Impressive.
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Re: Ok. Toy trains it is.

Post by Jay Bird »

I make alittle more then he does, but he gots no bills, no kiddies, and YES, he does work harder then me. :mrgreen:
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Old Savage
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Re: Ok. Toy trains it is.

Post by Old Savage »

Griffith Park in Los Angeles near the Autry museum has this group of trains that you can sit on about 2 ft high and the aficiondos that run them as a hobby.
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claybob86
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Re: Ok. Toy trains it is.

Post by claybob86 »

Thanks for posting! Great pictures. I do love trains, real, toy, scale model or whatever.
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Gobblerforge
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Re: Ok. Toy trains it is.

Post by Gobblerforge »

It's interesting about Thomas the Train. To a Train collector, it is a silly looking toy. To a 4 or 5 year old, it is the beginning to the continuation of our hobby. The ones playing with Thomas today will be the train collectors of tomorrow. Better get those "L" word trains going for him. My 5 year old grandson. will probably get mine someday.
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jeepnik
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Re: Ok. Toy trains it is.

Post by jeepnik »

Old Savage wrote:Griffith Park in Los Angeles near the Autry museum has this group of trains that you can sit on about 2 ft high and the aficiondos that run them as a hobby.
Yep, the "Live Steamers" have some nice stuff. Great place to take a kid, time after time after time. They never seem to tire of it.
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Re: Ok. Toy trains it is.

Post by Doc Hudson »

Another Marx Fan here, trains as well as the Brothers. But I've never had room to set up a decent O-Scale layout.

In long ago days, I was a member of the Mobile Society of Model Engineers. Some of those guys could give John Allen a run for his money when it came to building fine model trains and buildings.

My layout was much more modest. It never got bigger than 2 1/2' x8" with a 2'x4' "L" but my wife and I had lots of fun working on it. After we lost it in a house fire, we never got around to building another. Nowadays, my only electric train is a Marx O-27 set that only comes out at Christmas.
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spaceman spiff
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Re: Ok. Toy trains it is.

Post by spaceman spiff »

Neat! That to me looks like bunches and bunches of fun. :D :D :D

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