The Lionel Texas Special FA A Unit No. 1055 would not be shown in the 1959 or 1960 consumer catalog. It was almost as if Lionel was ashamed of this engine that was produced for the "mass market," which is why it was only shown in the the advance catalog as Set No. 1105 in 1959. The contents of this set were:

No. 1055 Texas Special Alco Diesel.

No. 6044 BLUE Airex box car with arch-bar trucks.

No. 6042 BLACK gondola with two plain white cannisters and arch-bar trucks.

No. 6045 GRAY 2-dome Lionel (circle "L") tank car with arch-bar trucks.

No. 6047 RED Lionel Lines caboose with arch-bar trucks.

All of the cars have solid non-operating couplers. The set came with No, 1016 35 Watt transformer and track.

This engine would have the coupler pocket in the front filled in and was mounted on a sheet metal frame that had a solid non-operating rear coupler. There is no directional unit because this engine only goes in one direction, however, the slot for the control in the roof is still present. Although this diesel is illuminated, there is no Magnetraction, nor are there any traction tires, or weight to aid in the tractive effort of this diesel. This FA A Unit did not come with a horn, save for the ornamental one on the top of the body. There are no variations.

While offering "stripped down" versions of their diesel’s was not something that they were proud of, Lionel, none the less, sold a lot of these engines to "mass marketers" because of their low price (under $15.00), that allowed them to take advantage of the Lionel name. However, the "chickens always come home to roost," and as a result of the poor quality inherent in these engines Lionel’s reputation suffered. Today, because of the abuse these engines took, they are hard to find in good condition, and are under valued by collectors.

This Alco diesel was issued with O27 Gauge track, but it will run equally well on the larger radius of O Gauge track.