During the early days of Marx production significant areas of the country were not electrified. Fortunately for the kids in those areas Louis Marx did not ignore them. These manual signals were produced for those who operated clockwork train layouts.

In these days of electric trains I wonder how many collectors and operators actually run clockwork trains. When I was operating my trains on a regular basis a few years ago I would frequently run wind-ups. It was a challenge to see if I could give the motor the correct amount of winds to get the train from one station to another. There is a unique thrill to having that train out there on the layout under it's own power. Try it some time.