I was selling at a train show in Baltimore in the early 1990's and I had a Boxed Lionel Trolley. It was one of the early examples that had drivers inside that would appear in the front window according to the direction of travel. It is a nice item (if you like Lionel) but Marx military it is not! At the time I only had a military No. 500 engine in my Marx military collection.

An older man from Virginia was interested in the trolley but wanted to trade. He began making trade offers of other Lionel items but I was not interested. Finally, to get rid of him, I told him if he came up with any Marx to call me. It was then he told me he had an 897 engine. I presumed it was black but I asked and nearly fainted when he said it was olive drab! This was going to be my second Marx military acquisition and it was one of the rarest items. We made arrangements to meet at his house the next day. It was about 90 miles away but I wasn't passing up the chance. When I arrived he had found the engine (which was what we had agreed to trade for), the wedge tender, and the dummy searchlight. He threw them in on the deal and then proceeded to give my son a small Japanese tin litho Super Chief set still in the box!

Now, I have to admit, I don't really know what that Trolley was worth but I believe I got the better deal. What do you think? Since then I have managed to acquire the other two pieces to fill out the set.

How do you like the way I positioned the light to get that reflection? Makes that searchlight look electric.