Marx layout

[Jason05216]

My son and I got our layout put together last night. Everything went smoothly with no real problems. Kinda roughly laid in the switches for several of the turnouts so he could see how those are going to work. We had a lot of fun last night switching our train from track to track and backing it down the spurs. Gonna have to start working on the control setup now.

Just wanted to thank you guys for the encouragement in my other thread.

Here's the link to the layout...we built the second one down on the right.

http://www.thortrains.net/marx/funlayez1.html

[Johnson Bar Jeff]

Here's the link to the layout...we built the second one down on the right.

http://www.thortrains.net/marx/funlayez1.html

That looks like a great track plan! Wish I had room for it myself. If you wire it for two--or more--train operation, you and son should have a grand old time running trains! 

[Jim Banner]

Do your MARX trains have hook and slot or the knuckle or the butterfly couplers?  They made an uncoupler for the flat butterfly couplers and they worked quite well.  You could drop off a few cars on a siding, and later come back and pick them up, all without touching the train.

I loved my MARX trains and I hope you and your boy have as much fun with yours as I had with mine.

Jim

[Jason05216]

Jim...Sorry I wasn't clear earlier. We have a Bachmann train set that came with the basic circle of 18" radius EZ track. So far he really enjoys it but like most 5 yr old kids his attention span is a little shorter than Dad would like.

[Jim Banner]

My apologies too.  I was so busy admiring the layout that I didn't read the words under it.

Jim

[jward]

does anybody know why he has the word marx in the url? i can see how it could be misleading.

[mf5117]

marx is the one who designed them .I built this layout . If you remember when I 1st came here . yampa bob and a few others helped me out.

[Joe Satnik]

Dear All,

More than likely the webmaster liked Marx trains, and this particular folder eventually grew beyond Marx topics, becoming his catch-all folder. 

Slim chance that some Marx layout book, booklet or flyer has something similar to this double track peanut shaped layout, but HO EZ-Track geometry is so different than anything Marx had, that it is unlikely. 

99% of the work would have been to get the EZ-Track to all fit together flat and without gaps or twists on a 4x8 sheet. 

Very little credit, therefore, even if the general idea came from an historic Marx layout.   

I've been proved wrong before, though. 

(Gotta get Hunt to pop up every once in a while to correct me.)

Sincerely,

Joe Satnik     

[Jason05216]

I just called it that because someone else did when I first posted about this page of layouts. Didn't mean to confuse, sorry. Even though I never figured out the piece that is labeled "(1) BachmannEZ inch straight" I was able to get a layout done and all the pieces seem to fit as they should. No odd gaps or twists. I guessed it was a 1" piece and was planning to cut a piece. Only issue I've had is the turnout in the spur on the right sometimes causes a derailment when backing across it when the switch is in the straight position.

[mf5117]

joe i think you were one of the ones who helped me and pointed it out to me about the marx layout  html. you were talking about so many s curve's.  and giving me some idea changes . and made them to good use . thats when my sd40-2 was derailing so much

[renniks]

Jason

Presume that your trouble is when you back onto the spur. Look through previous posts or search for "derailments". You will find suggestions as to cause and possible cures.

Eric UK

[jward]

i think that that switch to the spur you describe is the only weak link in the layout. you come out of a right hand turn into a left hand switch. that is a sure fire recipe for derailments, especially with longer cars. better to use a right hand switch in place of the last curve section in that right hand turn, and run the spur off that. replace the existing switch with a 9" straight. in this way you can eliminate the s curve that causes derailments.

if you have problems with switchpoints causing derailments, try using a needle file to sharpen the points. use a matchstick or other small piece of wood to hold the point open when you file it.

[Jason05216]

Eric...Thanks I'll do a search

Jeff...You've hit exactly the situation for the derailments. I'll give your suggestions a try.

[renniks]

Jeff and Jason

There are 3 other similar S curves in the runround loop at the top. Since these are apparently not giving trouble I would concentrate attention on the switch in question.

Eric UK

[jward]

you are right. there are those 3 s curves at the top. if i were building this layout i would redesign it to eliminate them. most likely, i would stay away from the 18" radius switches altogether and go with the much gentler #5s.
i think this would help out on the runaround track at the top of the layout, as would changing the switch leading to the spur tracks from a 18" right to a #5 left, moved up to the far right of the runaround track.

i have noticed alot of those s curves in the layouts on thortrains site. it looks to me like he is a tinplater (O27) and not really familiar with the limitations of scale model trains. that said, most of the layouts could be easily reworked to eliminate the problem areas.