The Shortest Lionel Boxcars ever made? (Not pre-War)

Prewar, Postwar, Modern era?  Need more info.

Check out the 6454 boxcars, made about 1950.  Had magnetic knuckle couplers

8" plug door, they begin around 1948, and were made well into the modern era.  Baby Ruth, Frisco, etc.  They came in red, white orange.  Look for 6014, 6050, 6055, 90xx.

And their MPC counterparts.  They make excellent S Scale models with the trucks swapped out.

Jon

This one may be pushing the definition of "O27 boxcar".

You beat me to it, I was just getting one out to take a picture!

There was also an early MPC two-axle blue and white General Mills boxcar.

$39.99!!!

Did the Disconnect Boxcars sell well at that price?

The General Mills car was called Minimax

The Mini-Max

Thx Robert.

Thanks for all of the excellent information!  Trying to make my layout look "bigger" by running smaller engines and cars.

Why were the eight inch box cars called "plug" cars?

Plug cars because the doors were molded in, non- operating.

I am a fan of the 2454 and 6454 cars. They are proportionally smaller, have all metal trucks and working couplers plus sliding doors. Many of the operating cars are the same size like the milk cars, cattle cars, one of the merchandise cars and the hobo at the door.

Pete

Add in the equivalent short flatcars, the short hoppers, the short tank cars, and the short gondolas, and you can run pretty long trains on small layouts.

@Mannyrock posted:

Thanks for all of the excellent information!  Trying to make my layout look "bigger" by running smaller engines and cars.

Why were the eight inch box cars called "plug" cars?

"Plug door cars" had doors that would pull out and away from the car body when opening, and closed like a "plug". I am referring to the prototype, of course, and not the Lionel cars with the molded-in doors.

@jay jay posted:

"Plug door cars" had doors that would pull out and away from the car body when opening, and closed like a "plug". I am referring to the prototype, of course, and not the Lionel cars with the molded-in doors.

jay jay is correct; "plug doors" are basically a door design where the door, when closed, fits flush with the side of the freight car, and slide open by pulling out and to the side using angled door guides.  This design was made to accomplish two functions:  1) Provide a door that is larger than conventional sliding doors, and 2), allows for better insulation inside the car, particularly for those hauling perishables like refrigerator cars, but regular boxcars can have them as well.  In fact, it's pretty common nowadays to see boxcars with single or double-plugged doors.

Lionel has called the 6014 "Scout" type boxcars as plugged doors, but in the context of representing an actual plug door freight car that terminology isn't accurate.  It is possible Lionel meant it to define it as molded-in car doors that don't open as CSXJOE indicated.

@Mannyrock posted:

Thanks for all of the excellent information!  Trying to make my layout look "bigger" by running smaller engines and cars.

Why were the eight inch box cars called "plug" cars?

It's plug door cars, not plug cars.

Plug doors were hinged and closed flush with the outer car side.  They did not slide.  Normally a plug door was used on an insulated car to carry the insulation across the doorway.

Plug doors were undesirable on ordinary box cars because it took loading dock space to open them.  Sliding doors did not.