Marx's venerable trestle bridge has been around a long time and has been the staple of many toy train layouts through the years. Measuring 18" (45.7cm) L x 6 1/4" (15.9cm) H x 5" (12.7cm) W it's usually pretty easy to integrate on a layout but I found I couldn't use it on mine due to an unusual condition caused by Marx itself. Marx also made many engines and cars as part of its toy train line and one of those - a large crane car with a spotlight attached to the top - is so tall it won't fit through the bridge (remember the available height through the tunnel changes when you put the 3-rail track in it!). So I ended up not using it. Oh well. These bridges were made of stamped steel and painted a variety of colors, silver being the most common. The bridges came with and without lights and the later versions came with a beacon light platform which was nothing more than the top platform taken from one of Marx's light searchlight towers. The beacon light version is cataloged as #1324. The lights were powered by the track through the expedient of a track connector as shown in the photos. At the end of each bridge, on top, is a nameplate stamped integral to the framing, on which a decal was applied, the two most common being 'Wabash' and 'Illinois Central'. These were also sold, I believe, without any decals. I started to collect these and actually had blue, silver , and red versions, but by the time I got around to taking pictures, the few examples shown here were all that was left. I'm now down to just one bridge. I mean really, do you know how much room a collection of bridges takes up?? Good grief. Okay, anyway - Enjoy!
Illinois Central
No Name
Wabash
