Model Railroads/marx train

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Question
I have acquired a train set from a local dealer. It has been in storage for any years The train is complete and the engine runs  There is a # in the front on the engine 391. Is this a 1939 train and when did Marx make the first electric train?

Answer
Hi!  Ted.  Thanks for your question.  I did check around but found no information on the Marx locomotive you mentioned.  The #391 may not even be the model # in the Marx's catalogs either.  Unfortunately the Marx Price guides have long been out of print and used copies sell at a premium of over $100.  There is a general guide to collecting trains that might help and it is probably available from A. C. Kalmbach or Barnes and Noble. Here is a link.  Incidentally I think the first Marx electric trains were made in the early 1930's.
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/OBriens-Collecting-Toy-Trains/David-Doyle/e/978...
I hope this helps.  Frank.

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Frank Edgcombe

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I CAN NOT DIAGNOSE equipment problems or ESTIMATE DOLLAR VALUES of your equipment, by email. I have been active in model railroading for forty years. I can answer, or find answers, to questions on most aspects of model trains, railroad equipment or buildings. I have a good knowledge of prototype railroads. I have been employed by five model railroad equipment manufacturers/suppliers and worked for a prototype railroad. I have served, twice, as the president of a local model railroad club. I have been employed as a Reference Librarian, at a university, for the last fifteen years and am used to tracking down resources for patrons.

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