The 6464 Series Box Cars would like to welcome you to your worst collecting nightmare! Collectors have identified over several hundred variations on these cars from different door types and rivet patterns on the sides, to the color of the paint and plastic that Lionel used in their manufacture. It is beyond the scope this identification guide to list all of these variations. We will, however, show you some of the major ones, along with a few of the production errors that occurred, so you’ll have an idea of what you’re getting into should you decide to collect these variations.

Readers who need more information are respectively urged to seek outside sources.

Beginning in 1953, Lionel would offer one or more of these 10-1/2 inch cars up until the last year of the post-war period in 1969.

The Western Pacific No. 6464-1 was the first of these cars produced in 1953. SILVER painted body and doors, with only the number designation of "6464" printed on the car with BLUE heat-stamped lettering. The color of the lettering varies from BRIGHT BLUE to DARK BLUE, but like so many of these variations it does not effect the value of the car.

The Great Northern No. 6464-25 was produced in 1953-54 with Type I bodies, Single-Block doors, and painted glossy or flat ORANGE. There are three variations of this car, none of which effect the value.

The Minneapolis & St. Louis No. 6464-50 available from 1953 until 1956 this car came with either a flat or glossy TUSCAN painted body and doors and WHITE heat-stamped lettering. Shown incorrectly colored GREEN in the 1953 catalog, this car would also have only the "6464" designation printed on the sides. To add to the confusion the end box flap has the number "6464-55" printed on it.

The Rock Island No. 6464-75 with either glossy or flat GREEN painted body and GOLD heat-stamped lettering was also first available in 1953. Available for this year and the next, the number painted on the sides would be simply "6464." Reissued in 1969, it would sport a Type IV body and Multi-block doors.

All of the very early 6464 cars came with Single-block doors. However, in 1955 to accommodate the paint scheme of the new No. 6464-275 State of Maine car, Lionel developed the Multi-block door.

Single block doors would continue be seen on these cars through 1957 as Lionel used up existing stock. Multi-block doors would then be used on these cars for the remainder of the post-war period.

The Western Pacific No. 6464-100 released in 1954 would be the first car of this series to have the suffix, "100" in this instance, rubber stamped on the sides. Many variations occurred on this car. These are:

(A) Type I body, SILVER paint with short YELLOW feather. Moderately scarce.
(B) Same as (A) with long 18.7 cm YELLOW feather. Illustrated
(C) Same as (B) with short 18.5 cm YELLOW feather.
(D) Same as (B) with long YELLOW-ORANGE feather.
(E) Type IIA ORANGE body and BLUE feather. Illustrated
(F) Same as (E) with Type I body.
(G) Same as (E) with DARKER ORANGE body and BLUE feather, larger and thicker "WESTERN PACIFIC" and smaller "BUILT BY LIONEL" which is similar to No. 6464-250 issued in 1966.

These variations give you some idea of what generally happened during the production of almost every one of these cars. We are not going to list variations like this for the other cars, and we urge those that are interested to seek other sources of information.

No. 6464-125 - NYC Pacemaker - 1954-1956, has a TYPE IIA body and usually came with Single-Block doors. There are five known variations none of which effect the value.

No. 6464-175 - Rock Island was catalogued in 1954 and 1955 on Type I bodies with either BLACK, LIGHT BLUE or MEDIUM BLUE or heat stamped lettering. The BLACK lettering, variation (C), is very rare, and there were some cars that have been found on TYPE IIA bodies that are also uncommon. Collectors will usually pay a premium for SILVER paint that is not faded.

No. 6464-200 - Pennsylvania was catalogued in 1954 and 1955 on Type I and IIA bodies with WHITE heat stamped lettering. Lionel would re-issue this car in 1969 on Type IV bodies with Multi-block doors. These cars have no "Built Date," and they came with bar-end trucks and tab couplers. There is a total of four known variations of this car, none of which effect the value.

No. 6464-225 - Southern Pacific - available from 1954 to 1956 on Type IIA bodies with Single-block doors and RED, WHITE and YELLOW rubber stamped lettering. There are three known variations of this car only one of which is rare. This rare variation that is painted FLAT BLACK on a Type I body.

No. 6464-250 - Western Pacific - was catalogued in 1966 only on a Type IV body with Multi-block doors, WHITE rubber stamped lettering and late AAR trucks. There are five known variations, of which the only rare variation has a Type III body.

The first three columns are incomplete at the top. Column is also broken at the bottom.

First seen in 1954. Columns and are broken near the top as in Type I. Column has three rivets at the top and two at the bottom. All of the rivets in Column have been removed. There are two versions of Type II which have to do with lines on the roof. See below for sub-types.

Production started on this type sometime in late 1958. Four rivets down from the top in Column there is a break. In Column has there are only three rivets at the top and two at the bottom. Column has a break near the top. There are only two rivets at the top and the bottom in Column . Type III has visible interior roof ribs.

This type was produced starting in 1960. Same as Type III, but Column has only three rivets at top and two at the bottom. Type IV also has interior roof ribs.

No. 6464-275 (A) - State of Maine - 1955, 1957-1959, with twelve known variations spread over three different body types. This was the first car to have Multi-block doors that were developed because of the graphics needed to produce this car.

No. 6464-275 - State of Maine (B) an example of these variations is illustrated (above right) and this is the only variations of this car that increases the value. Both of these cars use Type IIA bodies:

       No. 6464-275 (A) - WHITE body mold painted only RED and NAVY BLUE, with RED, WHITE, and BLUE door.
       No. 6464-275 (B) - same as (A) except the door has been painted solid RED.

No. 6464-300 - Rutland - 1955-1956, the letters would be rubber stamped in 1955 and heat stamped in 1956. There would be a total of eleven variations of this car and we have illustrated three of them above and to the left. Both the "Split Door" and the "Solid Shield" variations are very rare. Note: It was inevitable that Rutlands would show up with repainted doors purporting to be the "Split Door Variation (C )." Here are some ways to tell if the door is original:

1. All doors should be Single-block.
2. Where the different colors adjoin there should be a "blending of irregularity" and a slight "ridge" to the paint.
3. The "green" paint on the door should match that of the rest of the car.
4. On the bottom half of the door, on the back side, there should be a misting of "light green" speckles from back spray that occurred during painting.

No. 6464-325 - Baltimore & Ohio Sentinel - was produced only one year in 1956 on Type IIB bodies with Multi-block doors and heat stamped lettering. Because this car would not be sold in any set it is quite rare. There are no known variations.

No. 6464-350 - M-K-T "The Katy" - was available only in 1956 with Type IIB bodies, Multi-block doors, heat stamped lettering, and was never included in any set. There are four known variations of this rare car.

No. 6464-375 - Central of Georgia - Produced in 1956 and 1957 with Type IIB bodies, it would return in 1966 with a Type IV body and late AAR trucks. Seven known variations exist of this car that was never sold in a set.

No. 6464-400 - Baltimore & Ohio Timesaver - Produced in 1956 and 1957 with Type IIB bodies and Multi-block doors, it would be produced again in 1969 with a Type IV body and Bar-end trucks and tab couplers. Ten known variations exist, mainly involving the built date and the color of the paint. Three of these variations are uncommon.

No. 6464-425 - New Haven - Made 1956 through 1958 on Type IIB and Type III bodies and there are six variations to this car. None effect the value of the car. One notable manufacturing error that occurred is the "half-serif" printing on the large "N" that is illustrated above.

In 1969 a BLACK No. 425 was catalogued, but was not produced. Instead a BLACK New Haven was issued under the No. 6464-725 and was packaged in 6464-425 Haggerstown boxes. See No. 6464-725 for additional information.

No. 6464-450 - Great Northern - was shown in the 1956 and 1957 catalog. This car was manufactured on Type IIB and Type III bodies with bar-end trucks, YELLOW, ORANGE, and OLIVE colors, heat-stamped lettering and YELLOW stipes.

Reissued in 1969 on a Type IV body, this issue would have late AAR trucks. There are a total of seven known variations, only one of which effects the value.

No 6464-475 Boston & Maine was available in 1957-60, 1965-66 and 1968. Production spanned three different body types: Type IIB, Type III, and Type IV. Only the Type IV which had GRAY, YELLOW and BLUE bodies that were painted various shades of BLUE are moderately scarce. There are a total of eight known variations of this car, and early issues would have bar-end trucks while latter issues would have AAR trucks. All issues had heat stamped lettering.

No. 6464-500 Timken - was available in 1957-58, and also in 1969. All versions have Multi-block doors and heat stamped lettering. Different colored body plastic and paints resulted in ten different variations on Type IIB, Type III, and Type IV bodies. Scarce variations occurred with the GRAY Type IIB body and those that use the Type III body.

No. 6464-510 NYC Pacemaker - was produced in pastel BLUE for the "Girls Set" in 1957 and 1958. It used a Type III body with bar-end trucks and tabbed couplers. The BLACK lettering was heat stamped on this car. There are no known variations of this car that is highly prised by collectors.

No. 6464-515 M-K-T KATY - was painted in pastel YELLOW for the "Girls Set" in 1957 and 1958. It used a Type IIB body with bar-end trucks and tabbed couplers. The CHARCOAL BROWN lettering was heat stamped on this car. One color variation does not effect the value of this car that is highly prised by collectors.

No. 6464-650 Rio Grande - usually has a YELLOW body mold with a SILVER roof, and SILVER painted band at the bottom of the body and the door. There is a heat-stamped BLACK stripe that separates the colors. Made in 1957 and 1958 on Type IIB bodies, it would later be reissued in 1966. This later version would have the only really rare variation on Type IV bodies, with a GRAY body mold, YELLOW painted sides and roof, SILVER body strip at the bottom, and a GRAY painted strip on the bottom of the door. In total there are five known variations of this car.

No. 6464-700 - Santa Fe - has three different variations. Produced two separate years (1961 and 1966), it would use Type III (the rare version) and Type IV bodies. All variations have WHITE heat stamped lettering and AAR trucks.

No. 6464-725 New Haven - was available 1962 through 1966, and was ORANGE with a BLACK door, Type IV body and AAR trucks. This car came in an ORANGE picture box that was stamped 6464-735. This car was never produced with the 735 suffix. The New Haven box car was also available in 1968 and 1969 with a BLACK Type IV body having the No. 6464-425 printed on the sides, which Lionel used because the heat-stamp for the earlier car was still in existance. There are four known variations, with the 1969 issue being scarce.

No 6464-825 The Alaska Railroad - has a DARK BLUE body and door, with YELLOW lettering. This car has four variations on Type III and Type IV bodies. Produced only two years in 1959 and 1960, the Type III body is the most common. At the end of the post-war period Madison Hardware had a lot Alaska bodies on which they installed either WHITE, BLACK, or YELLOW doors to complete them. This car sometimes shows up with a partially WHITE stripe at the top which can be accomplished by chemical alteration. There is, however, the possibility that Lionel actually produced some cars with this color.

No. 6464-900 New York Central with a striking JADE GREEN body and door, and BLACK, WHITE, and RED graphics, this car was manufactured from 1960 until 1966 on Type III and Type IV bodies. With four variations the only scarce one being produced on Type III bodies.