Marx's "Low Voltage" H0 Steamers - A Personal Overview

 Marx did not stay in H0 very long, just about a decade from 1957 to the mid 1960's. They didn't just end the lines, instead they sort of switched from regular 12 VDC fare to 3-6 VDC battery operated sets, while the rest of the H0 went to Model Power (but not all of it, sadly). 

Marx would continue with their 0 gauge trains until the company finally ended production in the mid-1970's. 

For their battery powered sets, Marx made one diesel using their old F unit shell and an incredibly cranky mechanism, and two steam locomotive designs. I will eventually touch on that diesel, because it is interesting, but the steamers are what I want to focus on here. 

The Marx "Battery Powered" Steam Locomotives

Top to bottom, we have a nicely proportioned 0-6-0, which really appears based on the USRA design, and the 0-4-0 variants. The basic 0-4-0 really looks like it should be something else, like a light Atlantic. In my mind it really resembles a Pennsylvania E class 4-4-2, right down to the Belpaire boiler. Sadly, because of limitations of the design, there is no way to add lead or trailing wheels, though they can be "faked" (something the author is seriously considering).

This arrangement presents a timeline of sorts. As near as I can tell, the 0-6-0 was offered first, but then was pulled. I have suspicions as to why. The 0-4-0 was the replacement, and remained in production until the end, but even it was modified, not just visually but mechanically.

These were all products of Marx Hong Kong.

I want to save the 0-6-0 for another time, as I still trying to find more information on it, suffice to say that it is not the best runner as it is very light. For now, let's talk about the far more common 0-4-0.

Undersides

While there were visually a few differences, notably with the red drivered Green Valley "Old Timer" locomotive, mechanically there appears to have been two mechanisms. From what I can tell, the older design is the one that used this rubber band drive.

This was the first one of this design I came across, sold by a kind eBay seller who held on to it while I adjusted my finances to buy it. It became my testbed, to see how the design worked. As it turned out, the wheels were borderline unusable. They were diecast cheaply, typical of too many of the Marx Hong Kong output I'm afraid, and in addition to breaking they were also poor at conducting (no fault of the seller, only something I encountered whist doing the rebuild). Fortunately, I had some spares, though one of the originals remains on the model.

This is why I think the design didn't last long. First, the drive isn't smooth. It is rather jerky. The bigger problem, though, is that when the rubber bands broke (and the always do) the wheels had nothing retaining them in the chassis, and with that, the model falls apart.

As luck would have it, immediately after securing the first one, another arrived in a junk lot, much to my surprise. 

The 0-4-0 that replaced the rubber band drive was far more reliable, though still rather unique in its design. 

They replaced the rubber band drive with gears, but the main worm gear on that long motor shaft is in the form of a stiff metal spring. Frankly, rather clever. Also, with the new design the wheels are held in place by the frame. The KTK motor is pretty reliable, though I wonder what one would do if it needed replacement. Personally, I don't think that would be a problem, it would just take some fiddling about (something I am notorious for).  By the way, the locomotive in this photo was my first one of this model, and was an extensive rebuild, hence the red drivers. This version is far more reliable, and enjoyed a longer production life. 

On the subject of color variations, the body itself had two main variations - standard black, and the "Valley Railroad" "old timer" variant, with extended domes, a cowcatcher, and larger smokestack (mine is missing), done in resplendent red and gold, which never appears to have been applied well. Also, one of my geared models is labelled "New York Central" and "999", a number that had also been applied to a very common Marx 0-27 2-4-2. 

I want to talk about the 0-6-0 in another post, as I find it both intriguing, and downright frustrating all at once. The only thing that remained after it disappeared was its tender, which was used in modified form for the 0-4-0s. 

Rather sad that these did not go to Model Power as well.