The Royce Files

  A Marx Rock Island E7 passenger train derailed at the Spud Valley Show as it made the turn just beyong the Glendale Station crossing. No fatalies were reported.  Another October in Fargoland and so another Spud Valley Model and Toy Show arrived. Again it was held at the fairground in West Fargo and nearly every foot of space was filled with a model train layout or a vendor selling model train items or paraphenalia. A lot more layouts this year than ever. Even a substabtial N scale one. We don't get much of that up here. In addition to the train related items there was a substanial amount of vintage and/or collectible toys such as this Marx roadside rest service station.  I did not get much. A photo of some Burlington Northern engines in front of the Fargo Great Northern Depot, LifeLike train station details, and some Lionel parts. Then some vendor just gifted my daughter a battery operated train and track.   It looked to be a well attended show and the fairgro...

 As the cases increased in the Dakota-land (and Minnesota too) the previous Fall, one annual train event did not want to fade away. The Spud Valley Model Show went on as scheduled in October 2020 with the common public wardrobe amendment. I arrived early and the place was hopping despite the additional face coverings. Many of the same vendors displayed their model trains and hobby wares with one addition from the Twin Cities. Mass gatherings like model train shows in Minnesota pretty much got the kibash, so this one in Fargo was of particular interest to modelers and train enthusiasts. I think it may have been the only show to go on in the 5 state region (ND,MN,SD,IA,WI) since February 2020. A lot of the shows cancelled like Granite City down in St. Cloud, that Upper Midwest show at Century College in the Twin Cities, and the Trains at Christmas Show in Sioux Falls. So what did I see? Let's take a look. A Marx set. Seems like a double switcher set. K-line acquired the molding of th...

For 40 years, the Spud Valley Show has been the go to event for model train and other hobby enthusiasts to gather in Fargo. Over the years plenty of hobby shops have come and gone. In 1985 there were 2 Lionel service centers in Moorhead, MN! Still, the annual show brings out a whole bunch of hobbyists to buy and sell not only model railroad items but model airplanes, diecast cars, model tractors, plastic models, railroad antiques, and vintage toys. Nobody sell vintage toys from the 1970s or 80s yet. This year I went early and was amazed at the size of the crowd. It was actually difficult to get around the room. I also landed one of my best buys ever the Marx Bubbling Water Tower in excellent condition. I had been looking for it for a while and got for $10. After Marx sold the dies, K-line produced this water tower up until perhaps 2009. I also decided to get a fire truck to put on the layout. It is a well detailed 1/43 diecast and plastic model.    Marx Bubbling Wa...

Above we have another mystery freight car. This one took me a while to obtain due to an Ebay seller messing up shipping for over a month. What we have here is a fenced flat car. At first glance you may think- hey this is that horse car from one the Lionel General outfit or the later  Lionel Jesse James outfit . But no, this car is not from either of those. The really strange thing about this car is that it has "fake trucks." Basically what you are seeing in the photo is a plastic mask in the shape of trucks a la Marx Trains. There are only 2 axles on this unit and if it were not for the underside Lionel stamp I would think this came from Marx. I never thought Lionel would drop quality this far for a car- but they did and especially during the period they were owned by General Mills henceforth known as the MPC era. A sharp contrast to the ever collectible and solid Post War era. So from...