The Great Iron Horse Train Robbery Set

[msw777]

Does anyone have any idea what this HO set may be worth? It was purchased in 1976 and is in good shape in the original boxes. Thanks. My email is [email protected]

[WoundedBear]

I see it listed in the '76 catalog.

http://www.ho-scaletrains.net/bachmanncatalogs/id47.html

Unfortunately, most of the 70's toy train sets were poor runners with cheap rolling stock. A good price may be 50 bucks....but that would be a stretch. A lot of people come here with old sets, thinking they may be valuable. Some are....but 99% of the HO scale sets aren't.

Now if you had some old tinplate or O scale stuff.....

Sid

[msw777]

Thanks a lot I appreciate the information. It's been in a closet for years and never gets used so thought I'd look into selling it.

[Running Bear]

First train robbery in Nevada, yes, but first in the US, no. The first train robbery in the US was outside Seymour Indiana and was committed by the Reno gang. It's part of my family history.

[SteamGene]

While old HO train sets normally have little or no value, there can be surprises.  A few years ago a lady came here asking about a set she had to sell. All the experts (including me) told her "not much."  IIRC, her set sold on e-Bay for over $200. 
May the air pumps be with you!
Gene

[WGL]

Now if you had some old tinplate or O scale stuff.....

Sid

Sid,

I have two Marx tinplate train sets from about 1950.  The oldest has a metal steam locomotive & all metal cars with manual couplers.  The later one has a UP diesel freight locomotive, mostly plastic cars with automatic couplers & several accessories.  Searching eBay led me to believe that they aren't worth much.  I would like to be wrong.

[Woody Elmore]

Marx Trains were a distant third to Lionel and American Flyer. The metal ones  made from stamped tinplate looked like trains. They were very crudely done - meant to be a cheap alternative to Lionel, running on their version of O27 track. The later plastic versions were a little better.

Interesting fact- the K Line S scale train line (manufactured by Lionel) is actually made from the Marx tooling!

I doubt the trains have much value. Collectors (and there are Marx collectors) like trains in really good condition, with original boxes. If I remember, Marx train sets came in a big cardboard box - there was no individual boxes. Even some (and I hate to use the word) "vintage" Lionel from the fifties can be bought less than the price of a  new Kadee HO box car.

Ebay is a good predictor of the current prices of Marx trains. I suggest you Google to find Marx collectors. Even if you sell the sets, you won't be able to buy that new Lexus you've always wanted.

[WGL]

Woody,
  Thanks for your comments.  I do have several cars purchased individually:
a cattle car & a milk can car, both with levers that catch on their respective platforms to open the door & bring out the cow or milkman; a lighted passenger car; & a crane car with beacon.  I also have a building with a barrel loader operated by electricity, other accessories & 40-50' of track.
  I doubt that the whole collection would pay for one HO locomotive with sound.   

[Woody Elmore]

Wow - Marx accessories! They may be a market for them. I remember seeing them in catalogs when I was a kid but I never saw one work.

[Johnson Bar Jeff]

While old HO train sets normally have little or no value, there can be surprises.  A few years ago a lady came here asking about a set she had to sell. All the experts (including me) told her "not much."  IIRC, her set sold on e-Bay for over $200. 
May the air pumps be with you!
Gene

Notable exceptions are some of the specialty sets Mantua issued as Tyco sets in the 1960s. The Civil War "Blue" and "Gray" trains regularly sell for whopping sums on eBay, especially when they are complete and in the original boxes.  "Petticoat Junction" sets regularly sell well--even the Hooterville Cannonball locomotive sold individually usually goes for a pretty good price.

Another set that usually sells well is the "Iron Horse" set (from the short-lived Dale Robertson TV Western), especially if it has its "gunfighter car," the "1860 platform car" with an insert of a large crate with two gunfighter figures.

Just for my own amusement I'm putting together a collection of Mantua and Tyco catalogs from the 1960s and then from the 1990s, shortly before the end of production. The catalogs are fun to look at, and they're also useful for helping to date a locomotive or car.