Product Overview
Condition: 8 Original Box: 7+ Year: 1949
14 photos available above
Up for sale is a very unusual and rare 6457 caboose with the brown painted smokestack and two unstamped windows on the top cupola! Below is a summary of this highly unusual caboose:
- First, this brown painted smoke stack variation was only manufactured for a portion of early 1949 and is far less common than documented in most reference guides. This caboose has the correct staple-end trucks with pristine exterior colors as well as crisp and clean side lettering and graphics. Additionally, the base, trucks, end-railings and ladders are free of rust and oxidation. Lastly, the interior light does work plus there are no stress cracks on either roof overhang section.
- Secondly, the factory error on this caboose is two of the top copula windows remain unstamped and still molded into the body! As seen in the 1st, 3rd, 8th and 9th photos above, the top two windows are still part of the molded and painted body. This type of Lionel error is highly unusual for a caboose and truly a rare variation.
Lastly, the correct original Three Cities box is included along with the caboose. This box variation was only manufactured for a portion of early 1949 and is the correct version for the painted stack caboose. The box has all internal and external flaps including both coupler flaps. There is clear tape on the interior of many flaps and externally, there are a couple of minor puncture holes, predominately by the smoke stack. Overall, a decent, hard-to-find original box.
