1950's MAR toys train set

[Anonymous]

I found an old train set in my grandparent's attic, and with a little help from my granddad, I got it running in about 15 minutes. It came complete with eight straight pieces of track, one of which was a car disconnector, and 11 curved pieces of track. The engine is a 2-4-2, but the body makes the engine look much bigger. It came with a tender, flatbed car, hopper car, boxcar, and red caboose. The tender has the MAR toys logo on the bottom, as well as the bottoms of all the cars. The engine number is 666, and the tender says "New York Central" across the sides. The cars are plastic with metal wheels. The track is lionel O gauge I think. the entire set is in good condition, with minor rust on the tracks and wheels, and a little bit of dust. Anyone recognise this train, or know someone who does? The train may be Marx, but I'm not sure. The logo says MAR inside a circle with an X running through the middle, like a train crossing sign. Any info you have would be most appreciated; my E-mail adress is [e-mail].

Thanks very much for your time!

[Algonquin]

Hi,

Your set is definetly a Marx set. The Marx 666 steam engine was includes in many sets over the years with various different tenders and assortment of cars. The 666 was also included in many Marx sets specially made for Sears stores under the "Allstate" name and many times included tenders labled "Allstate". Most sets with the 666 included a tender and four or five cars, track and a transformer. The Marx track is "O" gauge like Lionel's and looks very similar. The ties should be labled with either the Marx logo you described or the word Lionel (if made by Lionel).

Most non-Allstate 666 sets range in value from 35 - 60 dollars depending on condition according to "Greenberg's Guide to Marx Trains, Volume III, Sets". The Allstate sets command a slightly higher price of up to 130 dollars.

I am glad to here you got her running again. Hope you enjoy it.

Regards,

Tim Pignatari