Last Updated on May 1, 2024 by Dave Farquhar
The Marx 4218 was a low end train set that was the result of a long time collaboration between two large companies while times were still good for both of them. It was an inexpensive electric train set exclusive to W.T. Grant, which was one of the fastest growing retailers in the United States at the time.
During the 1950s, W.T. Grant was a large and fast-growing retailer. And they sold Marx trains as a seasonal item. Grant had Marx bundle together an inexpensive steam locomotive and an assortment of 4-wheel plastic cars to make four- or five-unit sets with an oval of track and a paper village to provide scenic interest. The packaging proclaimed it as a complete setup with nothing more to buy.
Indeed, you could set up the loop of track, assemble the village inside the track, and populate it with a few metal or plastic vehicles and have an interesting layout. But of course they wanted you to come back and buy more next year. Or next month.
The 4218 set was a four-unit set.
Set contents:
- 400 0-4-0 locomotive
- 1951 New York Central tender
- 715100 NYC gondola
- New York Central caboose, light orange
- 8 O27 curves, 2 O27 straight
- 25 watt transformer
- 34-piece cardboard village
The set cost $10.97, which works out to around $100 in today’s money. It cost half as much as a 55950, one of the high-end Marx sets Grant sold in the mid-50s.
Marx sold a lot of train sets lettered for the New York Central. Other Marx sets lettered for the New York Central include 4205, 9605, 9611, 9624, and 52875.
How old is Marx train set 4218?
It’s difficult to date Marx train set 4218. The locomotive provides the best clue. Marx’s inclusion of the 400 locomotive suggests it was before 1962, and absolutely no earlier than 1952. Marx introduced the 400 locomotive in 1952, so it can’t be any older than that. And the 490 locomotive replaced the 400 locomotive in 1962, so that’s why I estimate Grant and Marx sold the set in the 1952-1961 timeframe. They may have sold the set more than one year.
While I’m not certain the 4318 set replaced the 4218 immediately in 1962 or 1963, it’s possible. The 4318 set featured Marx’s cost-reduced 490 locomotive.
How rare is Marx train set 4218?
At one time, these sets appeared extremely common, suggesting Marx and Grant sold a lot of them. But since these were Grant exclusives, they tend to be less common than the sets Marx sold through more than one retailer. I don’t see nearly as many of the Grant-exclusive sets today as I did 20 years ago, and prices are higher than they were 20 years ago, so maybe these sets didn’t sell as well as we once thought. Or maybe it’s more a matter that Grant only carried Marx sets from October to December, where other retailers sold them year round.
While I wouldn’t call these sets rare, they’ve gotten harder to find as time goes by. Anymore, when one of these comes up, it typically sells for around $50 if it’s in its original box and reasonably complete.
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.