The Girard Joy Line Guide

THE JOY LINE TRAIN FROM GIRARD MODEL WORKSThe
Girard Model Works, which also made various tin toys, made the early Joy Line trains 1927 to 1935 with Louis Marx overseeing sales. They produced a series of 4 inch tin lithographed trains. Cast iron locos were made at first and sheet metal later, always being 0-4-0. Four wheeled freight and passenger cars were part of the line of windup and electric trains. Marx would later purchase this plant and go on to
havethree major production plants in the USA.
Two would be in Pennsylvania and one in West Virginia. The main
corporate office would be in New York. All of the Americanmainland HO
and O scale production would gee out of the Girard plantof
Pennsylvania. The same location where the early Joyline trains
had gee from.
Here are a few Joy Line train pictures to help identify your Joy-Line train:
Mostly windup but a few electric trains were also
made.
THE JOYLINE - MARX EASTER TRAIN A UNIQUE IDEAThe Louis MarXEaster Train was introducedin late 1935 and early '36 for the 1936 Easter Season. Produced in pastel colors itwas to beone of theearliest boys orgirls train, however it did not quite catch on, and ended up costing more to make for the short Easter season than it brought in. The Bunny Express consisted of a wind up tin bunny shaped loco with blue or pink eyes,with loopJoy Line type couplers, and a couple of gondolas, lithoed with chicks