Re: Lionel Scout boxcar

Janet, the last box car you listed was from a Lionel starter set, cataloged in 1996. Check out the following article link. I think this will answer your questions and provide even more knowledge.

http://tcaetrain.org/articles/...g/blueboy/index.html

Thank you Brian for the link to the e-Train article.  As I suspected, the Lionel Scout boxcar was from a set (6-11910 Lionel Lines Set 1113WS).  In reading the article, a specific product number of 16269 was mentioned for the boxcar and I do not see that number anywhere on the boxcar from photos on eBay.  Also, I was under the impression that no specific product number is assigned to an item when it is part of a set and when there is no individual box for it within the set.  Usually there are no individual boxes in sets, except on the high-end sets; I would not consider the 6-11910 Lionel Lines Set 1113WS to be a high-end set.  I could be mistaken on many points and I will try to get in contact with the author of the article, Mr. Mintz, to get clarification.

All set components normally get assigned a product number, whether boxed or unboxed. To further complicate matters, the product number may not necessarily appear on the item.  There has also been more than a few examples of the same product number assigned to more than 1 item.

Thank you Ed for the information on the assignment of product numbers...good to know.  I sent an e-mail to Mr. Mintz to get the 411 on the Lionel Scout boxcar.