Christmas Train Layout #1 (From Eric Beheim)

Just in the past year I’ve been collecting electric trains from the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s that were made by the Louis B. Marx Company. (Unlike Lionel electric trains, you can still find vintage Marx trains on eBay at reasonable prices.) I’ve been buying them primarily to photograph them in close-up in tabletop settings. Marx trains, however, are becoming quite collectable, so my collection is also an investment of sorts. Although I don’t have a permanent train layout, I did set up some track around the base of our Christmas tree this year. By a adding a few trackside accessories and three light-up ceramic buildings that I found in a thrift store, I was able to come up with a modest, but fairly respectable layout. (Marx O-gauge trains were always meant to be played with on the floor, particularly around Christmas time!) Since some of you are also train fans, I thought I might share a few photos of my Marx Christmas layout.