Marx train set 55950 was an electric train set from Marx that W.T. Grant and Spiegel, two large retailers, sold in 1955. It featured Marx’s best locomotive pulling 8-wheel plastic cars.
Marx train set 55950
Set #55950 was a higher-end Marx train electric set in Spiegel’s 1955 catalog on page 245. W.T. Grant also sold this same set. Grant famously sold inexpensive train sets for less than $15, such as the 4218, but set# 55950 is an example of a pricier set Grant also sold.
Marx lettered this set for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (ATSF, or Santa Fe) railroad, teaming up its best diecast 333 locomotive and a plastic tender with 8-wheel plastic cars. Spiegel bragged the entire 7-unit train was 64 inches long.
It consisted of the following:
- 333 locomotive w/ headlight and reverse
- Santa Fe plastic tender
- 51100 Southern auto carrier w/ 4 autos
- 4566 CWEX cable car with cable spools, blue
- 249310 Marlines box car, red
- 4583 GEX searchlight car, black
- 4427 ATSF caboose, red
A 45-watt transformer with circuit breaker and an oval of 16 pieces of O27 track rounded out the set. Specifically, it included eight O27 curved sections and eight O27 straight sections. Spiegel called it 174 inches of track in its catalog description. It makes it sound bigger than calling it a 27-inch x 56-inch oval. Spiegel also sold extra track in packs of six for $1.08, for either six straights or curved sections. Selling curves in six packs seems a bit strange since eight pieces make a circle. Maybe Spiegel was using the same logic as selling hot dog buns in packs of six when hot dogs come in packs of 8.
What was the ATSF railroad?
The ATSF, or Santa Fe, was a Class 1 railroad in the western half of the United States. Founded in 1859, many of its tracks were laid directly over the wagon ruts of the Santa Fe trail. It reached the states of California, Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Illinois, eventually operating 13,115 miles of track.
In 1983, the Santa Fe attempted unsuccessfully to merge with the Southern Pacific, but the Interstate Commerce Commission denied it on the basis it would create too many duplicate routes. The Santa Fe ended up merging with the Burlington Northern Railroad in 1995, forming what we now call the BNSF Railway.
Marx produced a lot of sets lettered for the Santa Fe, including 26259 for Montgomery Ward, and, of course, anything featuring the big tin litho #21 diesels.
Positioning
Spiegel and Grant positioned this set as a value-oriented but high-end electric set. Grant sold it for $24.98, while Spiegel sold it for $24.95. For comparison’s purposes, that’s about $289 in 2024 dollars. This set was aimed at people who wanted a nicer Lionel set but could only afford the entry-level Lionel Scout set. For a comparable price, you got a bigger train, and the train and more of the cars were lettered for real railroads than in a Lionel set.
Value
I frequently get questions about the value of old Marx train sets. As for the value of set 55950 today, I would estimate it at over $250. Most of the freight cars in the set aren’t especially common, and the 333 locomotive, while fairly common, is very sought after. They aren’t rare, but demand has pushed their value up in recent years.
David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in 1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St. Louis with his family.