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LCCA 50th Anniversary

Frequently Asked Questions

Unique and Valuable Lionel Trains

The original set that became known as the Halloween set was made by Lionel as a promotional set for the Druggists’ Service Counsel, Inc. and offered to its member stores through their Gifts Galore catalog. According to John Schmid’s excellent resource, Authoritative Guide to Lionel’s Promotional Outfits 1960-1969, 7300 of these sets were produced in 1960. The orange and black loco and the blue passenger car make this set quite unique. The set did not have individual boxes, but was displayed in a single large box. The set included a Frontier set, made by Bachmann’s Plasticville, a small transformer and enough O27 track to make a figure 8 layout. It’s value is highest when the original large display box and the Frontier set in Lionel’s packaging are included. You can read more about it in the above mentioned book, available from Project Roar Publishing.

Sears also had a set numbered 79 N 09666. It was cataloged in the 1959 Sears Christmas Catalog. John Schmidt's excellent documentation of sets begins in the year 1960, so this set was not included. The catalog picture is in black & white, but the description describes the loco as " black, red and gold-color. " The set appears to be the usual General set with a yellow coach, a yellow baggage car and the short flatcar with fences and horses. I believe the flatcar might have been numbered differently than the standard one and may have been a different color, but I believe the loco and cars were the usual Lionel colors - not the Halloween colors. The set also came with an 18 piece plastic frontier outfit with windmill, building and animals. The picture also shows fence sections to coral the animals. The price was $25.89.

The set you have was first listed in Lionel’s 1917 catalog, under the headline – Play War! Two sets were produced each with different cars. One set had the armored motor car and two no. 702 Supply cars. That set, outfit no.  215, sold in 1917 for $8.00. A complete set included in addition to the loco and cars, 8 sections of curved track and two sections of straight, along with a no. 88 controlling rheostat. The second set came with two no. 900 Ammunition cars. This set had no straight track, only the curved, and sold for $6.50. These sets were offered in the Lionel catalogs through 1919. Your photos match this second set. This set has been reproduced in recent years and the original is quite rare. Value depends on condition. Having the original box adds greatly to the value. Your set looks well worn, but due to its rarity, it is a desirable set.

The X646 set and the X628 set are very similar. Both were produced in 1961. One of the major differences is that the items in the X646 set were individually boxed. This is indicated by the –25 in the part numbers. The two sets have similar cars except for the Submarine car. The X628 came with a boxed 3830 Submarine car. The X646 came instead with a 6062 unboxed black NYC gondola and three orange cable reels. The Helicopter car in both sets (3410) is the manual type which cannot be operated remotely. The one in the X628 set had a box.

If you collect promotional sets from the 60s, the best book around is, Authoritative Guide to Lionel’s Promotional Outfits 1960-1969. The book is almost 2 inches thick and has all the information you would need –even exactly how the items were packed in the box. The book was published by Project Roar Publications.

 First, the 6464-100 in orange was made in 1954 – not 1955. The interesting thing about the orange car is that the correct box for it is actually labeled 6464-250. The car actually had the number 6464100 on it. This car is the most valuable of the Western Pacific 6464 boxcars. A much later version made in 1966 was numbered 6464250 on the car. The 1954-1955 version is the silver car with a larger yellow feather and was also numbered 6464100 on the car.  I am unaware of an orange version with only 6464 on the car.

There are some very significant differences between the 1950 model and the 1964 model of the 773. When first introduced in 1950, the 773 was only offered for one year. It did not appear again until 1964, when it was offered through 1966. On the 1960s version, the slide valve guides on the rear of the steam chest were eliminated. The paint finish was a bit glossier and the cab numbers were slightly larger. The most pronounced difference was the tender. The 1950 version came with a die-cast metal tender. The 1960s version came with a plastic Pennsy style tender which in the 1964 was lettered for Pennsylvania. In 1965 and 66 it was lettered for New York Central. The tender is really too small for the scale sized loco and the trucks on the tender were plastic.