Marx O Scale Toy Trains

O scale toy trains and model railroads were the most common type of model trains in the United States from the 1930s through the early 1960s. O scale (or “O gauge”, where 1/4 inch represents one foot) had its heyday when model railroads were considered toys, with emphasis placed on cost, durability, and ease-of-use, rather than detail and realism. Many trains produced between the two world wars operated by clockwork or battery power and were made of lithographed tin. During the pre-WWII period the chief American O gauge train manufacturers were Lionel, Louis Marx and Company and American Flyer. Between 1946 and 1976, the primary U.S. manufacturers of O scale trains were Lionel and Marx, while American Flyer switched to the more-realistic S scale. By 1978, the Marx brand had ceased to exist, although rights to produce trains based on original Louis Marx designs were sold to other companies.