Description

Here is a decent example of Lionel's second 6464 box car. The car is very good except for a ding near the brake wheel affecting the top rung of the ladder and the brake platform (see photo of B end of car). The 6464 box car series has become wildly collectible in part because of its so-called "near scale" proportions. In truth, the car has a near 1:48 scale length, but worse proportions than Lionel's other postwar boxcars built to scales ranging from 1:64 (6014 box car) to 1:60 (6454 box car) to 1:56 (2458 box car). And whatever scale Lionel built, they tended to shorten the model overall. Putting the result on O-gauge trucks elevated the cars and destroyed the proportions. So the 6464 series purported to give a 1:48 scale-length car, but the result has a very low height or it would have dwarfed most Lionel locomotives. The real innovation of the series was the array of paint schemes. Here too, Lionel was torn. Their initial silver paint didn't stick, and boxcar-brown was too dull for the toy-train market. But many of the rest were daring leaps into the postwar look of real railroads, which themselves were tending towards gaudier paint schemes, best typified by the Bangor & Aroostook "State of Maine" box cars. Usually I would strip and repaint a model like the one offered here. But it is in too good condition to treat that way and some eBay buyer might like an inexpensive plain-jane boxcar. Lower 48 U.S. shipping only. Payment is expected within three days of auction close. I enter positive feedback as soon as your payment clears, and I try very hard to ship the next day.