The Marx train set 3994 is an early postwar set, dating to 1948-49. A number of retailers sold it, including Sears, Montgomery Ward, and others. It was a mid-priced electric train set, O gauge, headed by a Commodore Vanderbilt Art Deco-style streamlined steam locomotive pulling 550 series freight cars.
Marx no. 3994 electric train
Marx set# 3994 commemorated the New York Central railroad, and the designs were all holdovers from before World War II. The train consisted of the following:
- Commodore Vanderbilt locomotive, black
- New York Central oil tender, black
- 552 Rock Island gondola, green
- 553 ATSF tank car, silver
- 556 New York Central caboose, red
- 50 watt transformer, possibly a #709
- 8 027 curved track sections
- 2 O27 straight track sections
The Commodore Vanderbilt engine was dated by 1948. The real Commodore Vanderbilt only had the Art Deco streamlined shroud from 1935 to 1939. Marx liked to use its tooling until it wore out, so the design survived into the 1950s in Marx’s catalog. It allowed Marx to keep prices low. And this was a fairly low-priced electric train set. Sears sold it for $11.95. I know some other retailers sold it for a bit more, sometimes $14.95. That works out to about $192 in 2024 dollars. The reason people remember Marx sets as being cheap is because Lionel’s least expensive set cost $18.95 that year, which works out to $244 in 2024 dollars.
In some ways, 3994 is the typical Marx 6-inch set. I might dare to argue it’s the ideal 6-inch Marx set. And in nice condition, the Commodore Vanderbilt locomotive and the 6-inch cars display really well.
Robert Whitacre documented Marx train set 3994 on page 34 of Greenberg’s Guide to Marx Trains Vol 3: Sets.
What was the New York Central?
The New York Central was a railroad that served the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. It connected New York City and Boston to Chicago and St. Louis via cities like Albany, Buffalo, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, Rochester, and Syracuse. Most of the major population centers in the late 1940s would have recognized the New York Central.
The New York Central existed from 1953 to 1968. Today, most of what once was the New York Central is now part of CSX.
Marx lettered a lot of trains for the New York Central. In the 1940s, railroad merchandising wasn’t the big business it was today. Marx approached several railroads early on asking for rights to use their names. New York Central was one railroad that agreed with few conditions. Marx didn’t want to pay royalties and didn’t want to commit to giving the railroad a bunch of sets.
Age and value of the Marx set 3994
One unusual thing about this set is it’s fairly easy to pin down, at least if you have the box. Marx sold this set in 1948 and 1949. That said, Marx made everything in this set for a very long time, so you may find a similar set from a different year.
As for the value today, I’d estimate it somewhere between $75 and $100 for the common variants.
If you have one and would like to set it up and run it, here’s how to set up a Marx train set.
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.