Production:  1953 - 1956

History
The 6561 was another example where Lionel used and existing flatcar style (the depressed center flatcar), mounted a new load onto it and produced a nice freight car. The end result was a freight car which looked realistic and impressive on a layout.

The 6561 is a common car, unfortunately many of the original cable reels have been lost or discarded. Finding this car with its original cable reels along with the original aluminum wire on the cable reels will take some time.

Features
The 6561 remained unchanged during its four year production run. Standard features include: gray painted depressed center flatcar with black lettering, bar-end trucks with operating couplers, metal footsteps at each corner and a brakestand and brakewheel at end. The lettering was always sans-serif while the removable cable reels always included thick aluminum wire.

Additional Detail, Photos & Box Information
The predominate color of the cable reels was orange. However, there was a small production run containing dark gray cable reels. These dark gray reels with their aluminum wire are more difficult to locate than the orange version.

Orange Cable Reels - Shown in the photo above - The common version.
Dark Gray Cable Reels - Harder to locate than the orange verison.