In 1957 Lionel looked for a way to expand their market reach by appealing to young girls and moms

Heedless of the fact that any girl who wanted a model train would want their train to be realistic, just like the boys did, Lionel introduced their now famous Girl's Set, an electric train set in various pastel hues.

One was brought to Antiques Roadshow: https://www.pbs.org/video/antiques-roadshow-appraisal-lionel-girls-train-set-ca-1957/  and was appraised at 7 to 9 thou, Season 16 Episode 16

The sales of the girls' train were an unmitigated disaster. The failure of the set has been largely attributed not to a lack of interest in trains by young girls but their interest in trains themselves. It stands to reason that anyone who wants a toy train would be drawn to those that look most like real trains.

In 1958, Lionel bought back many sets from retailers and repainted them for resale.

realizing the shift toward collectibles vs toys, Lionel re-issued them in 1991 just for collectors.



https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/lionel-girls-model-train-set-2381801