The Marx diesel freight train set number 9644 was a 1958 electric train set featuring twin diesel locomotives pulling 6-inch freight cars. It’s an attractive set and a very good example of post-war tin lithography, which was becoming something of a lost art at the time. It was technically a Sears exclusive, but Marx sold a very similar 8142 set to other retailers.
Marx diesel type electrical train set 9644
The set consisted a diesel locomotive A-B lashup numbered 54 and a caboose numbered 5563 lettered for the Kansas City Southern, a Class I railroad that operated from Kansas City to points south.
The KCS diesel and caboose flanked the following 6-inch cars to make a five-unit set:
- Seaboard gondola, brown, number 91257
- Pennsylvania Merchandise Service boxcar, number varied
A 50-watt model 1239 transformer provided power, and it came with a loop of wide-diameter O34 track in the form of 8 curved sections and two straight sections. This gave a bigger loop of track than the very similar Marx 8142 set, and the larger transformer made the set better suited to later expansion. The bigger loop also meant if this was a child’s second train set, they could set up both sets. The track from the 9644 set could be on the outside and the track from another set inside. This facilitated running both trains at once.
It was a colorful and attractive consist, and it featured a surprising degree of realism in the paint schemes, especially for such an inexpensive set. Robert Whitacre documented this set on page 44 of Greenberg’s Guide to Marx Trains, Vol. 3.
What was the Kansas City Southern?
The Kansas City Southern was a Class I railroad that connected Kansas City to Mexico and to saltwater ports in the southern United States, giving it the nickname of the NAFTA railroad in its later years. It operated 3,984 miles of track. Founded in 1887, the Canadian Pacific purchased KCS in December 2021 for $31 billion, forming the first railroad to serve the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
I’ve heard that Louis Marx chose a few regional railroads because he liked their paint schemes. Good Kansas City native that I am, I’d never fault him for choosing KCS, though I agree with him that KCS had a good paint scheme.
Value
Although Sears sold the 9644 set for $9.79 in 1958, it’s worth a lot more than that today. That’s even when you factor in inflation. The Marx KCS diesels and caboose are uncommon, and they drive the value of this set. The brown Seaboard gondola is also fairly scarce, though the boxcar and transformer are common and easy to acquire. O34 track is somewhat harder to find but not rare. But the diesel engines and the caboose can sell for $200 on their own. So a boxed example of a 9644 Marx train set should sell for $300 or more in reasonable condition.
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.