6175 Flatcar w/ US Navy Rocket

Production: 1958 - 1961

History
The 6175 US Navy Rocket Car is loosely based upon real-life railroad flatcars transporting military loads for the United States armed forces. It was produced for four years and the original rocket is frequently missing. When locating an original rocket, it is usually cracked or damaged due to the plastic becoming brittle with age.

Lionel included this flatcar in three sets throughout its production. The first set was a Super-O freight set in 1959, but was demoted to 027 outfits in 1960 and 1961. For each of the 027 sets, Lionel included an Alco diesel as the lead locomotive for each set.

The 6175 is part of Lionel's "Space & Military" series. As with many of the items from that series, there are delicate parts that are prone to damage due to improper handling. Locating a complete, all original flatcar with rocket is a difficult task.

Features
Standard features of this car include: unpainted flatcar with white lettering, a brakewheel stand and brakewheel, corner footsteps, AAR trucks with operating couplers plus a gray cradle with an elastic strap used to secure the rocket to the cradle.

The rocket is predominately plastic. It has a white plastic center section with blue US Navy lettering, red plastic ends and the tip includes a small yellow sponge tip with metal compression ring. Original sponge ends are next to impossible to locate as most are either missing or decomposed due to age.

The flatcar was produced in both red and black versions. Experienced collectors believe the red version was produced first and is easier to locate compared to the black version. For either flatcar, the rocket load was the exact same.

Additional Detail, Photos & Box Information
The length of this flatcar is approximately 11 1/4" long (coupler to coupler).

Red Flatcar - Shown in the photo above - Produced for the first few years, probably from 1958 through about 1960.
Black Flatcar - Assumed to have been produced after the red flatcar version, possibly for part of 1960 and all of 1961.

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