6315 Gulf or Lionel Lines

Production:  1956 - 1958 & 1963 - 1969

History
The 6315 tank car is a highly detailed and realistic copy of a real-life single dome tank car. It is generally considered one of the nicer tank car styles ever produced by Lionel.

During the production cycle, the 6315 appeared with two different road names. It was introduced in 1956 as a Gulf tanker. In 1963 it switched to Lionel Lines and finally in 1968 it ended its career, once again, as a Gulf tanker.

Features
Standard features of any 6315 tank car include the following: an unpainted orange single-dome tank car shell with black lettering, metal handrails, metal dome platform, metal ladders, black plastic frame plus a single brakewheel and brakewheel stand at one end.

The following are unique features to each of the individual tank cars:

• 1956 - 1958 Gulf - There were produced with bar-end trucks. Also, the end caps on the shell were black.
• 1963 - 1966 Lionel Lines - When Lionel re-introduced the 6315 tank car in 1963, it now contained AAR trucks. It's usually found with two operating couplers, however there are versions with one fixed and one operating coupler. The end caps on the shell were orange.
• 1968 - 1968 Gulf - The re-issued Gulf car now contained AAR trucks and orange end caps. This car usually contained two operating couplers, however it does occassionally surface with one operating and one fixed coupler. The initial production run from early 1968 contained the 'BLT 1-56' stamping. These later Gulf tank cars with the built date are scarce.

Additional Detail, Photos & Box Information

Gulf - Produced between 1956 and 1958. This version was normally produced with a flat orange-painted shell with a thick black band around the tank in the center and is fairly common. There were also a semi-gloss painted shell that is difficult to locate as well as a glossy painted shell that is rare.

Lionel Lines - Shown in first photo above - This is the most common 6315 tank car.

Gulf, without Built Date (Second photo above) - Later Gulf tank cars with AAR trucks and without a Built Date are somewhat common too.

Gulf, with Built Date (Third photo above) - Any later Gulf tank car with AAR trucks containing a Blt 1-56 date is rare.

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