6463 Rocket Fuel

Production:  1962 & 1963

History
The 6463 Rocket Fuel tank car was yet another new offering in the Space and Military series for 1962. As with many other items produced during the postwar era, Lionel applied new graphics and lettering to existing molds and products to create a new freight car. For the 6463, Lionel simply re-used its common two-dome gasoline tank car to create a 'Rocket Fuel' tank car.

The 6463 is one of the harder postwar tank cars to locate. Its production was limited to only two years and is generally found with faded exterior colors, poor lettering and cracked or damaged walkways. Collector quality cars are difficult to locate. Since most Rocket Fual cars were included in sets -- without individual component boxes -- locating an original box is scarce.

Features
Standard features of the 6463 tank car include the following: white painted two dome tank car shell, metal frame and plastic trucks.

The 1962 production cycle included two AAR trucks with operating couplers. For 1963, this was changed to one operating and one fixed coupler -- usually with a mixture of AAR and arch-bar trucks.

Additional Detail, Photos & Box Information
The white paint on the exterior of the tank car shell is prone to chipping as are the walkways near the top. Cleaning this car is difficult. The red lettering is easily smudged and can be removed with minimal effort.

Only Known Variation - Shown in first photo above - All 6463s are painted white with red lettering.

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