Lionel Lines Freights

ABOUT LIONEL 6464 FREIGHTS

POST-WAR 6464 FREIGHT CARS ON THE LIONEL LINES

The post-war Lionel 6464 freight car series is probably the most collected of all post-war products. When I got my first few an on-line train buddy of mine told me "6464s are like a bag of potato chips. You think you want to have a few and before you know it the whole bag is empty." I hope not because there sure are a lot of them. Luckily, many are in roadnames that are geographically outside the area I am modeling - which is the northeast.

In my opinion, the 6464 line is attractive for a number of reasons. For collectors, it is a definable series of cars containing 30 different freights and lots of variations of many of the models. A complete collection of 6464's, including all of the subtle varieties might number more than 100 cars. That is a big collecting project, which some folks really enjoy. It could take decades to round out that collection, depending on the condition you are seeking. If you want boxes as well, you've got a long haul ahead.

Luckily for me, this bug will probably never bite. I run the trains I acquire, therefore it is unlikely I would spend the time to seek collector quality pieces. Sure I could look at them on the shelf, but I would rather witness them running through the custom made world I have built for them.

Back to the attraction of 6464's. These are closer to scale in size than the lines which preceded them. They are nearly ten inches in length and have a certain robustness to them.

It appears Lionel did a fair amount of what I would refer to as "catch-as-catch-can" manufacturing of these cars. Some models have die-cast trucks, some have delrin trucks. Some have certain doors, others have different doors. It all adds up to many, many varieties.

The 6464s shown here are the bulk of the ones in which I have an interest. I would like to acquire more of any of these, as I like the look of consists of identical cars. The 6464-425 black New Haven as well as the 6464-500 Timkin Roller Freight remain on my hit list. I also have a keen interest in obtaining a 6464-200 Pennsylvania.

There is a lot of controversy regarding copyrighted material in post-war train guides, with authors now being sued. This makes my desire to write about these great trains really burdensome, as I feel I have to prove I didn't take any data from copyrighted works. I have assembled the list below by searching ebay for trains for sale. I believe this makes the list my original research and I do not guarantee it's accuracy. It's what I found on ebay, not what is already listed in a copyrighted price guide. The ones I own are shown in orange.

6464-1 - Western Pacific
6464-25 - Great Northern
6464-50 - Minneapolis & St Louis
6464-75 - Rock Island
6464-100 - Western Pacific
6464-125 - New York Central "Pacemaker"
6464-150 - Missouri Pacific
6464-175 - Rock Island
6464-200 - Pennsylvania
6464-225 - Southern Pacific
6464-250 - Western Pacific
6464-275 - State of Maine
6464-300 - Rutland
6464-325 - Baltimore & Ohio
6464-350 - MKT
6464-375 - Central of Georgia
6464-400 - Baltimore & Ohio "Timesaver"
6464-425 - New Haven
6464-450 - Great Northern
6464-475 - Boston & Maine
6464-500 - Timken
6464-510 - New York Central "Pacemaker"
6464-515 - MKT
6464-525 - Minneapolis & St Louis
6464-650 - Rio Grande
6464-700 - Santa Fe
6464-725 - New Haven
6464-825 - Alaska
6464-900 - New York Central "Cigar Band"
6464-1965 - Train Collectors Association

Many thanks to the visitors who emailed me the numbers of the five 6464s I did not locate. The list above is now complete.

As stated above, there are a few left on my hit list, and I hope to acquire these in the future. If you have some you want to part with, please feel free to send me an email. Perhaps 6464 fever will simply engulf me and I will go on a rampage trying to find them all. In any event, please check back to see the new additions.



	#6464-900 - NEW YORK CENTRAL - The Lionel Lines is based in the Northeast and having a set of NYC F3's, New York Central freight cars are a high priority. The "cigar band" logo treatment and bright colors of the 6464-900 adds interest and color to the layout.

#6464-125 - NEW YORK CENTRAL PACEMAKER - Likewise to the above, the New York Central "Pacemaker" was a must have for me. It seems earlier 6464 cars had darker colors and once 6464 fever took hold Lionel brightened up the color schemes.

#6464-725 - NEW HAVEN - The bright orange color scheme of the New Haven post-war offerings has made me a fan of the roadname. Like many Lionel post-war products, these were not nearly as popular when released as they have become nearly 50 years later.

#6464-475 - BOSTON & MAINE - This car has spurred an interest on my part in the B&M line. Another northeastern road name with a fair amount of material available in the post-war line, will give the Lionel Lines even more roadname and color diversity.

#6464-275 - STATE OF MAINE- I remember State of Maine cars vividly from visiting the Fishkins Hobby Shop in Perth Amboy. They are among the most widely recognized freight cars of the post-war period. There are many different variations of this car.

DISCLAIMER: Lionellines.net is a hobbyist site intended for entertainment purposes only. Material describing any Lionel train product is based on what is considered to be widely known fact. The descriptions contained herein are commonly known facts as reported in: Greenberg's Guide To Lionel Trains 1945-1969 Tenth Edition; Standard Catalog of Lionel Trains 1945-1969 and visual inspection of the actual cars I have available to me. Only facts common to all three resources, with the exception of manufacture dates, are stated herein. Lionellines.net makes no statements regarding the value or rarity of any items illustrated or described on these pages. If proprietary or copyrighted material is inadvertently used herein, it will be removed immediately by contacting lionellines.net via email. Photographs contained herein are the property of Lionellines.net and may not be used for any commercial purposes, including e-bay auctions without permission.