6464 Cars

The term 6464 started out as a boxcar during the mid to late 1950's or early 1960's. Other companies have used the name or number of the 6464 boxcars; like K-Line and Williams.

Lionel since then re-introduced a modern 6464 series boxcar(early 2000's? I am not sure the exact date) and either one car or three car sets of boxcars. 

I would buy the older 6464 boxcars as they appeal to me better then the newer ones.

Lee Fritz

If you would like to read an article on all of the 6464 cars, the TCA published:

http://www.tcaetrain.org/2d-ar...464chart/index.shtml

A chart with full photographs of every 6464 car can be found at:

http://www.tcaetrain.org/2d-ar...6464chart_notes.html

Further, you can GOOGLE 6464 on the home page and you will find several other articles such as:

http://www.tcaetrain.org/artic...lecting/6464_part_1/

Bob Mintz

Thanks for the information, I have a couple 6464 cars, I will probably get more.

Also, thanks for the links.

Thanks again

Brent

the 6464 series boxcars are probably the most over-hyped Lionel "collectible" ever manufactured.  the original postwar cars appeared in regular sets from 1953 into the late 1960's with about 30 different liveries.  as with all Lionel niches, eventually rarities in this series were uncovered which slightly boosted the interest in collecting these cars and inevitably, articles started appearing about all the subtle differences within years of production.

without much fanfare, in 1987 the 19200 series cars using the exact same 6464 mold started being produced at about 4-5 roadnames per year with one typically appearing in the Fallen Flags sets during the run of that series.  the FF car offering came with diecast metal trucks while the other 19200 cars came with plastic frame trucks.  unlike the original 6464 cars, eventually some cars in this series were made as double door.

there were some other boxcar types (non prototypical liveries) stuck into the 19200 numbers during the first six years, but for the most part, another ~30 6464-type boxcars, including two for the 1991 Girls' set reissue, were added to the Lionel inventory.

in 1993, demand for reissued 1950's 6464 boxcar roadnames lead the 19200 series to change the car numbers to the original 6464 issued cars while the catalog numbers kept expanding the 19200 series.  the first reissued 6464 car (WP 6464) had catalog #19248.  when the 19200 numbers ran out, the series switched to 29200.

prices on the original cars has continued to drop over the years and many collectors thinking that the reissued cars would eventually reap a resale bonanza are lucky to come close to the original retail discounted price, most i see selling as NIB.

Brent, check out the links that Bob posted. Compare the originals with the modern repros. I have a few originals but switched to the repros when I realized I could have a full set for the price of a few of the originals. Another plus is the modern trucks roll much easier and a typical engine can pull 2-3 times as many modern cars as originals.

if you are patient you will see folks selling complete sets for <20 bucks a car. You can use this depreciation to your advantage.

Pete

quote:

without much fanfare, in 1987 the 19200 series cars using the exact same 6464 mold started being produced at about 4-5 roadnames per year with one typically appearing in the Fallen Flags sets during the run of that series

I thought the 6464 molds were modified over the Postwar years, and were further modified in the modern era, first for use on the 9200 series, next the 9700 series, and then the 9400 series, etc.

Here is an article on Modern Era 6464 style boxcars, from Trainz

I collected all the reissued 6464 boxcars in the original series.  Skipped the follow-ons that came later.

Some of them are very close, if not the same, as the originals ... except they are all new.  Looks nice on display and it's complete not missing the very VERY difficult to find in good condition/price ones.

So it's not the original.  I like them and they look great!

that link sends me to an article about the 9400 series cars.

i'll concede that there might be some minor differences between the 6464 eras, but in general, the car profile did not change much if at all.  they all seem to be based on a compressed 40' Pullman Standard design.

on the positive side of the 6464 series, as far as initial choices... Lionel did do a good job in roadname selection.  when it came to choosing the livery for a new 1:8 scale boxcar, i thought the blue, white and red BAR colors would be a nice mix into a mostly boxcar red consist...

since its debut i've gotten nothing but compliments.  i have a feeling the B&O Timesaver design might be next in line.