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Monday, March 12, 2012

Marx #1305 Girder bridge

Monday's have, up until now, been reserved for Marx tin-litho toys. But things change, and at least as far as my train collection is concerned, the tin-litho has run out. I still have some playset items to offer though and will still be featuring them for a little while. I kinda figured though that the pressed-steel items would be nice to highlight as well. Case in point: Marx girder bridges. They were also bright and colorful, just like the lithographed toys, there simply wasn't as much detail because these things are very utilitarian in nature - nothing fancy, nothing intricate - and are a part of many toy train layouts the world over. They were of course made for Marx's line of 3-rail O-gauge trains and were compatible with S-Gauge as well, measuring 12" (30.5cm) L x 5 1/8" (13cm) H x 2" (5.1cm) H. Marx made these bridges and painted them in quite a few colors; red, yellow, silver, black, and blue. The railroad herald decals, of which there were many, on the sides were sometimes small and sometimes large. But here's the long and the short of it. After collecting Marx stuff for some years now, I have divested myself of most of the bridges pictured here,  keeping back a couple of favorites and selling the rest. This was a part of my collection that never really 'took off'. Marx made many of these and after buying the few pictured here, it just made more sense to stop buying. Bridges are neat, but there just wasn't adequate room to display them. For the collector, they can be fairly inexpensive, although like anything else, the better the condition the more $$ it will fetch. For the restorer, there are so many of these available as beat up, scratched, and rusty hulks, that they offer a good opportunity to refurbish and customize. Anyway - Enjoy!