6454 Erie, Pennsylvania, New York Central, Santa Fe or Southern Pacific

Production: 1948 - 1952

History
The 6454 series box cars were introduced in 1948. Although they are less popular then 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 and by 1949, a total of six road names appears on this box car:

• 1948:
• Introduced the A.T. & S.F., Pennsylvania / Baby Ruth and New York Central
• Each of these three road names lasted for only one production year and were retired by the end of 1948
• 1949:
• Lionel introduced the Erie, Pennsylvania (without Baby Ruth) and Southern Pacific
• Each of these road names remained in production until 1952

Features
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 brakewheel.

Except for the roadnames 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.

Additional Detail, Photos & Box Information
Collectors and operators continue to pursue any 6454 box car in collectable condition. Their plain graphics are typical of a 1950's style box car. Even though these freight cars lack the flashier appearance of the 6464 cars, they remain popular with both collectors and operators.

The following is a list of 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. - Shown in first photo above - 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 (Second & Third photo above) - The two common versions of the NYC freight cars are either the painted brown with white lettering or painted tan with white lettering. In either case, the side sliding 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 (Fourth photo above) - 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 (Fifth photo above) - 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 (Sixth photo above) - 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.

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