That spring on the 490 you were wondering about is a clacker noise maker. As it moves the one side rod hits it and makes noise for a chugging sound. I fixed on for my nieces and sometimes you need to bend the side rod to help with binding. Have a good one!
On real trains, gondolas without end walls are used to transport long sections of continuous welded rail. The rails are actually carried on several cars, and they are carried loose to enable the rails to move freely as the cars go around curves.
That 490 has that clapper thing for the side rod to hit to give it a so called chugging sound. I have one of these myself. It’s a VERY primitive type of sound effect. Little boys that owned these things let their imaginations run wild with these toys.
There are also versions of the 1998 switcher that have a "diesel roar" feature, which is just a simple buzzer mechanism mounted to the inside of the cab. You can tell whether or not it has one by looking for a screw sticking out of the back of the engine. The piece at 5:25 is actually a very crude chugger mechanism, which is found on a lot of the later, inexpensive Marx engines. The side rod hits that piece and briefly puts it under tension, and the sound that it makes from snapping back almost makes a chugging noise.
Cool! the gondola is supposed to have ends on it. Marx made that particular car with removable ends which are often lost. The yellow switcher is a No. 1998 which is highly regarded and sought after - they are one of Marx's best designs. That small metal spring or tab in the front is supposed to make a tapping sound when the siderods hit it mimicking a chugging sound.
Nice seeing you at York yesterday, sorry we didn't get to chat about trains. You're actually taller in real life. 😉 Marx had some cool designs, picked up a smoking 333 at the show, and some rolling stock.
Really awesome haul Dave! The Union Pacific is my favorite out of all the other Marx 1998 switchers. I’m also a Fanatic for the Marx 490 too. Yours sounds like it’s got a clacker inside that gives it the chuffing noise
That's a very clever and slick bit of design on that Marx switcher! I've never seen anything like that! ( On the other hand I haven't been looking either! 😂 ) Good hunting out at York! You shouldn't have any trouble finding old Marx flat-coupler cars and they're typically VERY resonable. Or you could swap one of the truck assemblies on that gondola car with a Lionel truck assembly and use it as gap-filler for coupling your Lionel car collection to the Marx switcher. Man, that plastic steamer just doesn't want to wake up after its long sleep, does it?
@@dagryffynhobby Hmmm, if that Marx flat coupler can't handle the load you'll probably have to get creative, such as semi-permanently coupling the engine and adapter car together. The only experience I've got with those Marx couplers is with a "William Crooks" engine and assorted cars I've had since I was seven years old. The couplers held just fine but I only had four cars in the consist. I just remembered reading an article in "Model Railroading" around 1990 written by two guys who installed Lionel trucks on Marx steam engine tenders for extra versatility. They said they got lots of engines and saved a lot of money by buying and modifying Marx products! (The article was in "MR" as "Classic Toy Trains" hadn't come on the scene yet.)
@@wayneantoniazzi2706 the adapter car was working but once I put a few cars on, the flat coupler doesn’t hold up. I even tried to glue each of the couplers in place. It was still not working. I was thinking of attaching a Lionel coupler to the back of the Marx engine.
Hey Dave, great seeing you yesterday at York. Ive heard about that 1998 switcher but had not seen one till you got yours. It runs beautifully. It's now on my hunt list. I have 2 490s and they are neat little engines and it's really true what they say about not being able to kill a Marx. They may go dormant and growl and shake at first but with a bit of lubrication and a push, wow do they move and pull. Your 490 looks like a later version as it has the side rod with an extra vertical piece near the cylinder and there's no clock wind hole in the shell. Marx 490s never had smoke but definitely had a headlight. I'm not sure what that mystery bar is bit it might have been added to create some kind of chuff sound. I have a Marx Sound of Power tender that does that pretty well. It's actually a better design than Lionel's Sound of Steam system because it does not depend on a wire connection to the locomotive.
