HTF Purple-shade Blue version
PLUS SCARCE ORANGE PICTURE BOX WITH PAPER LABELS AND BLUE PRINT!
SUPER CLEAN
You are looking at a Boston and Maine boxcar in Lionel's highly collectible 6464 series. This car came in a few shades of blue. This one is the odd shade of blue that has a purplish hue. This was not done on purpose--the factory painted a flat-ish blue over the darker blue plastic mold, making it appear a purple-tinted shade of blue.
Collectors call it purple, but it is really a strange hard to describe shade of blue best described as slightly purple-ish. You'll see many misidentified as purple, but if you look at these pictures closely, you will see the purple-like tint to this odd blue speciman.
It is hard to photograph the shade, so we have some pictures with flash and some without. You can see how the paint was over the blue mold by comparing the outer shade to the inside unpainted blue in our pictures...especially the ones showing the inner and outer shell together. Also, look through the door to compare the inside vs. outside. You can also see a little paint rub/shade near the doors as well, showing both shades.
Check out all the pics to see.
Interesting! Also of note: The printing is either a very lightly embossed heat stamping or a rubber stamp as the print is not deeply (if at all) embossed. Printing is crisp.
And this isn't just the tough shade to find, it is also in a very interesting BOX that has its OWN collector value!!
This car and box date to the mid 1960s as that is the era of this non-perforated orange picture box. AND CHECK OUT THE NEAT PAPER LABELS ON THE ENDS. The BOX itself is numbered 6464-930 on the inside of an end flap. That tells us it was mostly used with the New York Central 6464-900. So when Lionel wanted to use this box, likely leftover, for some 1960's B&M cars, they printed the label as a sticker and put it on the ends of the box. More than likely, if you were to peel the sticker back, you would see the info for the 6464-900. But I do not recommend it!
The car came in a variety of versions, so make sure you have all of them.
THIS ONE:
- Purplish blue
- Full built date
- Type 4b body
- Blue body mold
- AAR trucks
- Orange non-perforated picture box with paper labels and blue print
CONDITION: C-8 looks like new. The car does not look much handled, the print is crisp, and the bottom is clean. Odd purplish-shade blue. If you look very very closely, you can see a few light wear spots in the paint finish revealing the blue plastic underneath, such as very close to the doors where the doors have slid. The printing is either a very lightly embossed heat stamping or a rubber stamp as it is not deeply--if at all --embossed. Cannot imagine finding one newer looking. Both couplers open when pulled and both stay shut tight, but neither springs WIDE open when you pull down.
The BOX is nice with some rubs, wear, corner and edge wear, a small crease on one side, a few very small stray marks, and one flap with clear tape on it. The FACTORY paper stickers and end flap print are in great shape. Pictures show it all and are part of the description.