6464-475 Boston & Maine

Production:  1957 - 1960 & 1965 - 1968

History
The 6464-475 Boston & Maine box car was introduced in 1957 and had two independent production runs. Its graphics and lettering are accurate reproductions to actual Boston & Maine box cars frequently seen in the eastern United States during the 1950s.

With the Boston & Maine box car having a lengthy production cycle, it is not surprising Lionel included this freight car in seven sets. The sets included starter 027 sets, a few O gauge outfits and even one Super-O freight set. Motive power options varied too as the sets were lead by either a Prairie or Hudson steam locomotive, Alco diesel or either a GP-7 or GP-9 diesel.

Features
The 6464-475 box car included the following standard features: blue molded shell with white and black lettering, unpainted black multi-block sliding doors plus a single brakewheel. For the first year of production -- 1957 -- bar-end trucks with operating couplers were the norm. Beginning in 1958 -- and continuing throughout the remainder of production -- AAR trucks with two operating couplers were standard.

Additional Detail, Photos & Box Information
The Boston & Maine box car has several minor variations, some of which are difficult to locate. They include:

Trucks - Production in 1957 included the all metal bar-end trucks (First photo above). For 1958 and later, AAR trucks were standard (Third photo above).
Color or Shade of Blue - Most shells are unpainted blue. Within these molded colors, variations do exist ranging from light to medium to dark blue. Dark blue versions are extremely difficult to find (Second photo above has a dark blue variation).
Mold Color - Most shells are molded blue. However, later in the production run painted blue versions are known to exist. These painted versions are difficult to find.
Lettering / Date - The majority of the B & M box cars have the lettering 'BLT 2-57 / By Lionel' to the left of the door. At some point during its second production run in the late 1960s the date was removed and it simply appeared as 'BLT / By Lionel'. Versions without the 2/57 date are harder to locate.

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