Inspired by the recent article- Let's see your 6464 series boxcars

I sold my entire series of Lionel (LTI-era) 6464 boxcars a couple of years ago here on the forum.  Those were the reissued boxcars released as ten 3-pks over a period of several years... followed by a few over-stamped boxcars as 2-pks.

Shortly after selling them, I purchased the few scale-sized PS-1 boxcars that Lionel produced as Postwar 6464 look-a-likes.  But after only two 2-pack offerings, it appears Lionel has tabled that series.  If they ever resume the scale series 6464's, I'll buy them.  But I'm not holding out much hope, since dealers ended up blowing out the two sets of 2-pks thus far.

Oh well...

David

 

 

That MPC-era boxcar isn't part of the 6464 boxcar series; it's actually part of the 9700/9400 box car series (I have the same car somewhere in my collection).  And there actually was a prototype boxcar that was painted up & lettered similar to that, celebrating the one millionth boxcar that Pullman-Standard made.

 

Strictly speaking, any Lionel-branded boxcar made after 1969 aren't considered "true" 6464 series boxcars, as that numbering convention was also the catalog # used by the Lionel Corporation from 1953 up until then.  After that, when the Lionel Corporation got out of the toy train business and sold their tooling to General Mills/MPC heralding in the "modern era", the boxcars (and pretty much all Lionel-branded products in general) adopted a completely new catalog numbering convention that started with the 6-xxxx prefix that remains to this day.  The first of the 6464-based boxcars were part of the 9400 series, eventually adpopting the 9700 series and then the 9400 series onwards; each revision due to running out of numbers for those numbering series.  Even the "6464 series" boxcars made in the modern era have a completely different catalog # that doesn't match the car # like postwar did.

 

Having said that, I probably have a couple of postwar & modern era "6464" boxcar pictures lying around somewhere in addition to MPC & LTI era traditional boxcars based from the 6464 molds; I'll post them if I find them.

quote:

The first of the 6464-based boxcars were part of the 9400 series...

 

I think you meant to type 9200 series,

 

 

Correct, 9200, thanks for the correction (I should know better owning a number of cars from each series). 

I still have all of mine, including the Western Pacific 6464-250 (6-39236) which was the last car released in the postwar remake series.  I also have several of the special issue 6464 cars such as;

 

6-29203 Maine Central Boxcar #6464-597

6-52051 TCA B&O Sentinel Boxcar #6464095

6-52058 TTOS ATSF Boxcar #6464-1895

6-52081 Chicago & Northwestern Boxcar #6464-555

 

Along with a few other two and three packs;

 

6-29282  6464 Archive 3-Pack Set

6-21756  6464 Overstamp Boxcar 2-Pack

6-29281  6464 Overstamp Boxcar 2-Pack

6-29286  6464 Overstamp Boxcar 2-Pack

 

 I was obsessed, can't for the life of me remember why?

 

 

 

Here are my LTI remakes......I love them and they make a nice display....

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm glad I waited out the series....

 

Peter

I have no originals.  I did have most of the LTI series remakes, but sold all but one set.

 

Jeff Davis

Here's what I have in my collection. The Santa Fe is LTI and the Missouri Pacific has a repro door. They are fun to collect and they are great runners.

franktrain

 

Nice collection. I enjoy collecting the postwar 6464 series also. I have 22 of them....all with original boxes. Finding the boxes was the hard part!

I only have a modern one in the "6464 style", the Eagle Scout boxcar.  I really want a State of Maine one though (the full stripe door, not the red door), I remember seeing a couple of the real ones when we use to vacation in maine when I was younger.

NOW THEN...This is what it is all about, Toy Trains! What scale? There is no scale. Gotta love it.... Thank you!

At one point I had just about every 9700 series boxcar. The best part of the collection was the best part of collecting. The fuel the drove train show attendance through the roof, the hunt finding them.  I searched out local shows , TCA meets and just about every venue where I thought  those last few missing numbers could be found. When I had them all I sold the collection and never looked back. 

Not much remains of that era but I still own the LTI 10 set 6464 series cars..

Pretty cool set.

Joe

Just curious how many cars/and variations were part of the post war 6464 series?

 

Simon

Peter, I really like the display you've created.  I have about 6 of the reissue sets; very casually hunting the remainders.

Thank you, Carl.....I have always loved those cars....and the re-issues made them made them affordable enough to be able to get them all. I love looking at them!

 

Peter

 

 

Here is mine, with about 20 more to display.

Fantastic, Jim

 

Peter

Nice Jim. I like your display. I have to come up with something similar. I have 6 of the originals, the 30 car set of repros, most of the variations, many of the convention cars and few of Robert Salerno's variations.

 

My name is Pete and I am a collector.

 

 

Since this thread almost immediately skidded away from the "true" 6464 BC's, I'll post this one (again). It says "9700", and has been re-trucked, obviously. And other stuff.

 

love the realism!

...along with my collection of Lionel postwar 6464's, I also have a small collection of K-Line copies.

Great, another "I'll show you mine if you show me yours" thread

Love the 6464s and their various reissues through the years... I doubt I'll ever get tired of seeing them at shows and on layouts.  They're definitive to the hobby, from my perspective.

 

I've often considered putting together a complete set of 6464s, but I prefer to stay within my roads so I took this approach instead.  As you can see, I added sprung trucks to several that were either damaged or plastic.

 

First column

6464-50 (1953)

6464-525 (1957)

9742 (1973)

9775 (1976)

 

Second column 

6464-50 (1993)

6464-525 (1999)

6464-525 (2004)

6464 (2012)

 

Feel free to correct my dates if they're off.  There’s also a “Season’s Greetings 1973” version of the 9742 I've not had the opportunity to pick up. 

 

Over time, 6464's just sorta eluded my collecting efforts until I got one of these in a bunch of PW stuff earlier this year. At this rate it'll take 5 lifetimes to complete a set.

 

Pic thanks to franktrain

Bruce

45 according to my price guide, but I'm sure there are many more(variations).

 

Richie

Simon,

Most collectors go with the number of 29 original 6464 box cars.  If you count the 2 more in the Girl's train then it's 31.  There are about a dozen variations, some very subtle and a few that have really big differences.  They were produced from 1953-1966.

 

Paul Edgar

Paul.....interesting.......the LTI remakes total 30.....which one of the originals am I missing in the picture?

 

 

 

Peter

Peter,

 

I only see one Western Pacific boxcar (orange with blue feather) in your picture.  If the one you have is 6464-100 then you are missing the 6464-250 version of this car.  The Lionel item number for the 6464-250 car is 6-39236 and it was sold individually, not part of a three car set.  I no longer have my catalogs so I can't quote the catalog text verbatim but IIRC it went something like, Here is the last of the Postwar 6464 remakes to complete your collection.

 

 

I will take a photo of mine and add it to this thread later today.

 

Interesting.......this will be a project for me this weekend......I thought I had them all!

 

Peter

Pictures from inventory file of my PW 6464 cars.  I also have two complete sets of the Lionel reissues.  One complete set of 30 were flooded in Houston from tropical storm Alison in 2001.  They are now "runners" and have replaced all sets that stay in boxes and cartons for collection.   This is not all of them, need to learn more of posting pics, seems not all are included....sigh.....LOL!  Also, captions not under pics I posted.....  The B&O Tuscan Automobile car was included because of size and how well they fit in with the 6464 cars to make a consist, though I do not run this version.

With having the number of all boxcars I do have in collection, runners, I recall use of my Big Boy pulling a 50 car consist of boxcars.  These were from all manufacturers and did so on the North Central "O" Gaugers modular set-up in Antioch, Illinois.  We formed this club in 2000 and also included members from Milwaukee RR Club, and CLRC, while I managed construction in Great Lakes Naval Center.  

I found this in the 2001 Lionel Classic Trains Volume 2 catalog regarding the WP 6464-250 boxcar.

 

quote:

Western Pacific 6464-250 Boxcar

When we first reissued our classic series of 6464 boxcars, we overlooked  one, the Western Pacific 6464-250, originally cataloged in 1966.   

 

Own this new 6464-250 in its original glorious colors. Wrapping up our reissue series with this car seems appropriate, since we began this series 48 years ago with another Western Pacific boxcar, 6464-1. Don’t miss it!

Features:
• Die-cast sprung trucks and operating couplers, Stamped metal frame, brake wheels and door guides, Detailed molded body
• Scale: O-Gauge
• Minimum Radius: O-27
• Length: 10 1/4”
(6-39236) $44.95

***Edited the quote section to fix formatting issues***

 

IMO there are 31 cars in the reissue series and a collection is not complete without this second WP car.

 

Edited to add photos of car and original box. 

 

I am certain this was the first time the car has been removed from the box.

 

 

Yep, looks like another BC I need to locate and make it 31!!  Or need to get two?  LOL

Last year of 6464 production by the original Lionel Corporation was 1969; the green RI, Pennsy, B&O Timesaver and Timken cars were brought back for one last hurrah...

Always thought this one was a real stretch.

 

 

 

 Lionel item# 6-29252, if anyone is interested, hint, hint.  lol

There was a point where collecting the 6464s and various versions was the best you could do and find for colorful boxcars. However, today given that cars now have multiple numbers and the incredible vast array of colorful ones available, the 6464s are sort of the boxcar dodos.

 

Not that I would not like to have a complete set mind you!

 

 

And then there is this one, that I KNOW has never been out of the box. 

 

 

 

In some box, somewhere, there is another one that was at least removed from the shipping carton.  Wonder what it looks like.

I just sent an email to you a moment ago concerning the pair of correct/original Lionel Corporation single large placard 6464-7 part number doors.

 

Been awhile since I nosed through the parts stash - I discovered I had several other pairs of doors for 6464s in the bins (and some AMT/KMT doors for my main collecting interest).

Well......even though I just learned that there are 31.....I have no room....

 

 

 

Peter

Hey, I recognize that car!!  I have one!  The reason I bought it was because Pullman Standard had a manufacturing plant in Butler, Pennsylvania until they closed it in 1982.  I know scads of people who worked there or whose dads or other relatives worked there.  I don't know what cars they made there long ago, but for the last years they made the PS2 covered hoppers.  I will have to get a photo of mine when I get home.

This one started life as a Great Northern. Not very original anymore.

 

Really nice head end car, Daniel!  Appropriately posted on the first of July, too.

 

Happy 148th, Canada!

 

Bruce

Paul:

 

Including the Girl's Train items and the 6464-1965 TCA Convention car, I only count 30.  Here is my list:

 

6464-1 Western Pacific Boxcar, 1953-54

6464-25 Great Northern Boxcar, 1953-54

6464-50 M&St. L Boxcar, 1953-56

6464-75 Rock Island Boxcar, 1954-55

6464-100 Western Pacific Boxcar, 1954-55

6464-125 NYC Boxcar, 1954-56

6464-150 Missouri Pacific Boxcar, 1954-55, 57

6464-175 Rock Island Boxcar, 1954-55

6464-200 Pennsylvania Boxcar, 1954-55, 68-69

6464-225 Southern Pacific Boxcar, 1954-56

6464-250 Western Pacific Boxcar, 1966

6464-275 State of Maine Boxcar, 1955-59

6464-300 Rutland Boxcar, 1955-56

6464-325 B&O Sentinel Boxcar, 1956

6464-350 MKT Boxcar, 1956

6464-375 Central of Georgia Boxcar, 1956-57, 66

6464-400 B&O Boxcar, 1956-57, 69

6464-425 New Haven Boxcar, 1956-58

6464-450 Great Northern Boxcar, 1956-57, 66

6464-475 Boston & Maine Boxcar, 1957-60, 65-68

6464-500 Timken Boxcar, 1957-59, 69

6464-510 NYC Boxcar, 1957

6464-515 MKT Boxcar, 1957

6464-525 M&St. L Boxcar, 1957-58, 64-66

6464-650 Rio Grande Boxcar, 1957-58, 66

6464-700 Santa Fe Boxcar, 61, 66

6464-725 New Haven Boxcar, 1962-69

6464-825 Alaska Boxcar, 1959-60

6464-900 NYC Boxcar, 1960-66

6464-1965 TCA Convention Boxcar, 1965

 

What am I missing?

 

Steven J. Serenska

 

 

 

I think the reason for 31 is that the 6464-100 car came in two versions, orange with a blue feather and silver with a yellow feather.

 

In Franktrain's post on page 1, there is a photo of the silver with yellow feather version.

Here are a couple of photos of my 1,000,000 Pullman Standard commemorative car I promised after seeing the opening post of this topic.  So I guess it was made in 1979.  Not a real 6464, but that's not what I was looking for when I bought it.   I was just surprised someone else had one.

 

A bit of history for Paul Harvey's "For what it's worth department":  The factory in Butler was built by the Standard Steel Car Company.  Established in 1902 in Butler, Pennsylvania by John M. Hansen and "Diamond Jim" Brady, the company quickly became one of the largest builders of steel cars in the United States. Pullman, Inc. purchased control of SSC in 1929 and merged it with Pullman Car & Manufacturing in 1934 to form Pullman-Standard Car Manufacturing Company.  

 

It was located on Hanson Avenue.  Today it is a shopping center and business park

 

One pair of correct Lionel Corporation doors are on their way to make that pretty MoPac Eagle boxcar back into factory delivered condition.  

All,

 

Very nice collections. I have 8, PW 6464's, most of which are not as nice as the ones I see here.

 

 My 6464900 NYC post war box car has a very special story. I purchased it new back in the early 60's. I counted out $2 in pennies from my sash, and gave it to an older cousin who went to a LHS that was going out of business in Memphis. The LHS had  the 6464900 on sale.

 

The 6464900 was also responsible for getting me back into trains around 1968 or 1969. I was running my trains on my oval of track in the living room. Somehow I broke the plastic coupler on my 646900. Dad took the box car to work with him in order to drill the rivet out of the truck so I could replace truck and coupler. One of Dad's co workers (Rick) saw my 6464 900, and said "I have some of those.". The next day Rick

brought a sack of trains to work to let me "use."

 

The following items were in the sack:

2353 Santa Fe Power A and B unit only.

6464 silver WP box car

3482 Milk Car

6462 NYC gondola

6417 Pennsy caboose

I cleaned up the engine and cars and added them to my train set. A few months later Dad told me Rick wanted his trains back. I had a good summer job at the time, and asked Dad to see if Rick would sale me the trains Dad told me the next day Rick wanted $20 for the trains! Of course I bought the trains from Rick.

 

MPC came along in 1970 and I was back into trains for good!

 

This $2.00 6464900 NYC PW box car -

 

 

Lead to all of this -

 

 

I hope everyone has a fun and safe 4th of July weekend,

 

Richard

 

great story!

Steven & Greg,

 

Somehow I missed counted, including the girl's train box car there are 29 cars as I stated.  However most collectors I know do not include the TCA box car 6464-1965 as one of the original cars.  So I stand by 29 cars.

 

Paul Edgar

Here is a 6464 variation that you don't see to often.

 

 

      Bill T

Here is one of Robert Salerno's (RGS Trains)  variations. This red version was later shown in Lionel's catalog but released instead in the common brown color. Must have been a shortage of red paint at the time.

 

Pete

Another variation of the PW 6464 Timken boxcar

 

 

    Bill T.

Also missing the State of Maine with the solid red doors.

I'm missing the following "re-issues" but I use that term loosely....

  

In the interest of keeping the thread going... some 6464-"ish" stuff:

 

 

 In the picture of my NYC 6464 900 notice the PW metal trucks and couplers. I installed a little later. If recall, (the memories are starting to fade) I replaced the broken plastic AAR truck and coupler with another AAR plastic truck and coupler and secured it with a screw and nut. When I received my first drill a few years later I drilled out the other rivet holding the remaining original plastic truck. I installed metal trucks and couplers the NYC 6464 900. Metal trucks and couplers were the thing to have back in those days.

 

Happy and a safe 4th of July to all!

 

Richard