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Commodore Vanderbilt Chrome


A number of chrome plated Commodore Vanderbilt engines have appeared over the years. Where they came from is questionable. In the early days of Marx collecting (1970's) chrome plating was not expensive nor was it hard to find someone to do the plating. With this in mind collectors should always view chromed engines with some skeptism. Without doubt there are legitimate chromed engines from the Marx archives. Marx, at some time, toyed with the idea of offering a chrome plated set (engine at least). Considering that Hoge and Hafner were offering chromed sets it makes sense that Marx studied the idea. No doubt it was determined to not be cost effective and not pursued.

This engine of looks like a legitimate example to me. One thing I have noticed on the chromed engines from the Marx archives is the high quality of the steel used. Normal steel used on Commodore Vanderbilt engines is not high quality. For chrome plating the steel needed to have a very smooth surface.