The Lionel New Haven Box Car No. 6464-725 has confused everyone for years. We’ll try to make some sense out of this issue below.

This box car was first available from 1962 until 1966. During these years there were three variations, but they all had ORANGE painted Type IV bodies with BLACK heat-stamped lettering and unpainted BLACK plastic multi-block doors.

All of these cars came with AAR trucks. Why Lionel issued every one of these cars in an ORANGE picture box that always has the number "6464-735" printed on the ends is a mystery. They even overprinted a No. 6464-900 Box as is shown below.

It gets even more confusing because in the last year of Post War production, in 1969, Lionel re-issued the BLACK painted No. 6464-425. However, this heat stamp was no longer available because years earlier it had been changed to "6464-725." This was the number that was printed on the sides of this box car. It was identified in the 1969 catalog as a Type IIa No. 6464-425, and this number is also reflected in the text of the catalog. However, it used the same Type IV body mold as the earlier variations, but was instead equipped with bar-end trucks. To further complicate identification of this car, it was issued in a Hagerstown checkerboard box that is numbered "6464-425!"

Here are the four variations:

Variation A: Body is LIGHT ORANGE in color.

Variation B: Body is MEDIUM ORANGE in color.

Variation C: Is identical to Variation B except the lettering is printed with hi-gloss BLACK paint.

Variation D: Body is BLACK with WHITE heat-stamped. Multi-block doors are found in a painted and unpainted ORANGE color. Came with bar-end trucks in a Hagerstown checkerboard box numbered "6464-425."