I just received a red 6464-375. It appears to have been made around 1996. One of the mysteries is this has no Lionel 6 digit part number nor can I find a reference to it on the TCA 6464 site. I am pretty sure Robert Salerno has made them in red and Lionel cataloged a red version as a part of their two car variation set a few years ago but substituted a brown version instead. The label on the box has been pasted over the end. Did Bobby Salerno ever repackage his cars in Lionel boxes?
Pete
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Thank you. I wasn't aware his earlier offerings came in Lionel boxes.
Pete
Lionel cataloged a red version as a part of their two car variation set a few years ago but substituted a brown version instead.
I had been casually looking for this Lionel two-pack, but was unaware that Lionel didn't make the correct and advertised red car in the set. Wasn't this a PWC or Archive set of cars, or something special about them BECAUSE they were different? Was anything ever said or explained about this car coming out in brown and not red? I know the story about product may differ from what's shown in the catalog, but wasn't the whole selling point THAT this was the red car? What was supposed to be different about the PRR car in that set? Was the produced PRR car any different from the same car that was made as part of the 6464 three-pack sets? I have one spot open on my shelves for one more of these 6464 clones, and had thought about the red car just because it was different. Just one more reason I will never ever pre-order from any of the importers.
On a positive note though, who is Robert Salerno, and what is RGS? How hard are these red cars to find, and how much do they go for? I guess I'm in the market for one of these cars now.
Sam
Sam, I was miffed also when they arrived and have not pre ordered since. The PRR looks identical to the one offered in the Series IV three car set and the COG differs only in the color of the script. Silver on the Series V car and Red on the Variation car. I had seen a picture of Robert's variation red car so knew they existed but assumed they all came in his current blue boxes.
Pete
RGS are Robert's initial. He does first rate pad printing and was doing variation repaints for many years now long before Lionel started offering them. He is usually at York in the Orange hall and I have seen him at other east coast train shows. He does other special cars including Bethlehem Steel.
Pete
I saw his display at the Big E train show in Springfield Ma. He does some very nice custom paint jobs on Burro cranes too.
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