The U.S.M.C. Cannon Car No. 6651 was faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful...well, you get the idea. Lionel made this car on the scale of a 16 inch Battleship gun! No matter, because kids who were fortunate to receive this car in uncataloged sets got lots of play out of it. It came with a wooden projectile that was 1-7/8" long and 5/16" in diameter and was painted SILVER. The car came with only one shell, but additional shells were available under No. 6651-8 (4 each). These shells have been reproduced.

Produced in 1964, and probably later only for uncataloged sets like the J.C. Penny Set No. 924-3734A in 1965, no box has ever been located that housed this car that Lionel called a "Shell Launching Car." The only reason that we know this is because of the instruction sheet No. 6651-10 illustrated below. There were two different instructions sheets one is dated 8/64 and the other 8/65. Lionel issued this car in the same year that it introduced two other cannon projectile launchers the No. 3666 Cannon Box Car and the No. 347 Cannon Firing Range Set. However, these used a different sized projectile.

The car was painted OLIVE DRAB over a RED 6511-2 flat car frame with WHITE heat-stamped san-serif lettering and early AAR trucks and disc couplers. The superstructure on the flat car is he same that was used on the No. 6640 IRBM Launcher Flat Car. There are no known variations.

Due to the projectiles that were used, this car would not get past the "Child Safety Board" were it manufactured today.