6454
Various Road Names
Short Box Cars
1948 - 1952

item# A002-0000004

The 6454 series box cars were introduced in 1948. Although they are less popular than their bigger cousin the 6464 series box car, they are beautiful and realistic cars which, to this day, remain highly collectable. In some cases, specific versions of a 6454 car are harder and rarer to locate than many of the 6464 series box cars.
Lionel introduced the 6454 cars in 1948 in three different road name; A.T. & S.F., PRR / Baby Ruth and NYC. Each of these three road name lasted for only one production year. In 1949, Lionel introduced three new road name; Erie, Pennsylvania and Southern Pacific. Unlike the 1948 versions which only lasted a year, each of these remained in production until 1952.
The 6454 box car ran basically unchanged from 1948 to 1952. Standard feature include: staple-end trucks with operating couplers, die-cast sliding doors, metal door guides plus a single brake wheel.
Except for the road names and associated paint schemes on each box cars, the only differences the cars experienced during the production cycle involved the standard progress of each items. This included:
1948 - Introduced as listed above.
1950 - Footsteps at the corners were eliminated.
1952 - Bar-end trucks replaced the staple-end trucks.

Collectors and operators continue to pursue any 6454 box car in collectable condition. Their plain graphics are typical a 1950's style box car. Since they lack the flashier appearance of the 6464 cars, there is a growing interest in this series.
The following list identifies the most common to the most desirable 6454 box car. Although the first few entries are listed as 'common', collectable versions are still in demand. The most common is listed first with the most desirable listed last.
 A.T. & S.F. - Produced for one year, 1948. It is an orange-painted car with black lettering and a brown painted door. This is one of the most common 6454 box car.
 NYC - The two common versions are painted brown with white lettering or painted tan with white lettering. In either case, the side slding doors were always brown metal doors. A rare version of the NYC is painted orange and difficult to locate. The brown and tan versions are slightly harder to locate than the A.T. & S.F.
 Pennsylvania - Produced with a tuscan painted shell and white lettering. The 1949 - 1951 version has metal doors painted to match the box car. In 1952, unpainted black plastic doors replaced the metal doors.
 Erie - Produced with a brown painted shell and white lettering. The 1949 - 1951 version has metal doors painted to match the box car. In 1952, unpainted black plastic doors replaced the metal doors.
 Southern Pacific -  Produced with a brown painted shell and white lettering. During the production run, this car has been observed to have come in different shades of brown -- with no difference in value or rarity. The 1949 - 1951 version has metal doors painted to match the box car. In 1952, unpainted black plastic doors replaced the metal doors. There is an early SP version from 1949 containing a incomplete ring on the herald stamping (between the letters R and N). This incomplete herald variation is difficult to locate. Most collectors believe it was a flaw in the stamping process which Lionel soon corrected -- thus making the 'Incomplete Herald' a low production item.
 PRR / Baby Ruth - This is the most difficult 6454 box car to locate. It is an orange painted car with black lettering and a brown painted metal door.

Sales History
	Condition	Price		Comments
	6	$ 22.00		This is the Pennsylvania box car with staple-end trucks and die-cast sliding side doors. There are minor paint rub marks and a few tiny nicks and chips. Overall, a decent operators-type freight car.
	7+	$ 88.00		Here's a clean, all original Pennsylvania box car. This version is from the 1951 era as it has painted die-cast side doors, staple-end trucks and no steps by the frame corners.
	7+	$ 92.00		Up for sale is a clean Erie freight car with beautiful exterior colors and crisp, clean, white side lettering. This Erie box car is from 1949 as it still has all four corner steps still attached to the frame.
	8+	$125.00		Now available is the hard-to-find, one-year-only brown version of the NYC box car from 1949. This freight car is in great condition with gorgeous exterior colors and crisp, clean side lettering.
	10/OB	$164.00		This is a brand new, never used, truly Mint Erie box car. The exterior color is pristine and the lettering is nice and white. The frame and trucks are in great condition and show no signs of usage.
	7	$ 77.00		Now available for sale is the one-year-only New York Central box car from 1948. This freight car is clean with nice graphics and a vibrant exterior color. All four corner footsteps are still attached to the frame.
	7+	$ 92.00		Here's a nice, clean Pennsylvania box car. This freight car has a vibrant exterior color with clean, complete side graphics and lettering. There is no damage to the box car.

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