When General Mills took over the production of the Lionel trains in
1970, the toy train hobby was at a low point. By the mid-1960s the
Lionel line had shrunk to a shadow of its former self. Model
Products Corporation, the division of General Mills charged with
reviving Lionel, began searching for ways to not only make Lionels
popular toys once again, but to also start tapping into the rapidly
growing collector's market that began to evolve in the latter part of
the 1960s.
When it took over, MPC inherited Lionel's famous 6464 boxcar series.
These cars, introduced in 1953, were a mainstay of the Postwar Era until
the MPC takeover. In fact, several early 6464s were reissued in
1969. When MPC took over in 1970, they introduced their own
version of the 6464s, the 9200 series.
Fifteen different 9200s were produced from 1970 to 1972. In
1972, the 9200s were supplanted by a new series, the 9700s [for more on
the 9200 series, click here].
The 9700s formed the backbone of Lionel's freight car line throughout
the 1970s. Lionel produced the 9700s at such a fast rate that they
began to run out of numbers after only six years, and in 1978 the 9700s
gave over to the 9400 series. The last 9700s were catalogued in 1979,
except for a straggler that was made in 1982.
Eighty-one cars make up the complete 9700 series. This article
is divided into the following sections:
9763 Denver and Rio Grande Western Stock Car 1976-77
9764 Grand Trunk Western 1976-77
9767 Railbox 1976-77
9768 Boston and Maine 1976-77
9769 Bessemer and Lake Erie 1976-77
9770 Northern Pacific 1976-77
9771 Norfolk and Western 1976-77
9772 Great Northern 1976
9773 New York Central Stock Car 1976
9774 TCA 'Southern Belle' 1975
9775 Minneapolis and St. Louis 1976
9776 Southern Pacific Overnight 1976
9777 Virginian 1976-77
9778 Season's Greetings 1975
9779 TCA Philadelphia Convention 1976
9780 Johnny Cash 'Ridin' the Rails' 1976
9781 Delaware and Hudson 1977-78
9782 The Rock 1977-78
9783 Baltimore and Ohio Timesaver 1977-78
9784 Santa Fe 1977-78
9785 Conrail 1977-79
9786 Chicago and North Western 1976-77
9787 Central of New Jersey 1977-79
9788 Lehigh Valley 1977-79
9789 Pickens 1977
Part 2: Relative
Values and Notes about the Cars
The value of the 9700 boxcars peaked in the 1990s and
have dropped somewhat due to the proliferation of newer, similar cars on
the market. Exact values of the cars vary, but as a general rule
the series can be divided into three classes:
Class 1: The largest group, this is all
of the common, regularly catalogued 9700s available for separate sale.
All are relatively easy to find. If the car's number is not listed
in one of the two classes below, it is part of this group.
Class 2: These are 9700s that were
catalogued but only available in sets. They are still pretty easy
to locate, but may command a slight premium. Some have die-cast trucks
in place of the more common plastic design. This class includes
the 9726, 9729, 9732, 9734, 9738, 9743, 9744, 9745, 9759, 9760, 9761,
9772, 9773, 9775, 9776, and 9789.
Class 3: These are uncatalogued cars.
Some, like the 9742, are common, but others, like the 9778, are true
rarities. The uncatalogued 9700s are the 9719, 9727, 9728, 9742,
9733, 9757, 9762, 9774, 9778, 9779, and 9780.
In short, the 9778 Season's Greetings, 9762 Toy Fair,
and 9727 TA&G are the rarest of the 9700s, and the other cars all fall
into line behind them.
The 9703 CP Rail was produced primarily for the Canadian market and
for some time was considered one of the rarest of all cars in the
series. Over the years some have flowed back into the US, but the
9703 is still seen less often than most other early 9700s.
The 9719 New Haven was a 'coupon car'; you had to send
two proofs of purchase and $5 to Lionel to get it.
All 9727 TA&G cars are
stamped with serial numbers on the bottom. It is
the only MPC-era car with this feature.
The 9733 Airco has a tank car body inside of it.
The body can be trimmed out and installed on a frame.
The 9738 Illinois Terminal was the last car produced in the series. It was made in 1982 and
was part of the Continental Limited Set from that year.
Like the 9719, the 9742
Minneapolis and St. Louis was a coupon car. For whatever reason
it is much more common than the 9719.
The 9743 Sprite, 9744 Tab and 9745 Fanta were all part of the Coca Cola
Train Set, which included the 8473 diesel switcher and 9073 caboose.
These cars do not have original boxes.
The 9759 Paul Revere, 9760 Liberty Bell, and 9761George Washington
were all part of the Libery Special set from 1975. Like the 9743-45, these
cars do not have original boxes.
In 1991-92 Lionel produced two boxcars, the #19243 Clinchfield and
#19244 Louisville and Nashville with 9700-series numbers printed on them
(9790 on the Clinchfield, 9791 on the L&N). They are generally not
considered part of the 9700 series.
Part 3: Selected Variations &
Overstamped Cars
Compared to their 6464 and 9200 predecessors, there
are very few major variations in the 9700 series boxcars. Some of
the cars have minor variants, such as slight changes in the shade of
paint, but larger, more noticeable variations in cars are few and far
between with the 9700s. Why is this?
First, throughout the 1970s Lionel perfected painting
and decorating techniques that were not available in the 1950s and 60s.
New paint and decal applications meant that Lionel had better control
over how the cars would ultimately come out once completed, preventing
the 'trial and error' methods that caused many earlier variations.
The number of cars with variations dropped dramatically beginning around
1973-74, right about the time the 9700 series was hitting its stride.
The second and more important reason was shortened
production runs. Whereas many 6464 boxcars were catalogued for
several years and were produced several times, most 9700s were produced
only one year, and often were produced in only one production run.
Even cars that were catalogued for more than one year were made in one
run, as the cars were re-catalogued to sell the remaining inventory.
(For a fascinating look at how Lionel made trains in the 1970s, see
Volume 4 of The Lionel Collector's Guide and History by McComas
and Touhy, which has a chapter showing Lionel's plant and assembly line
circa 1979).
The only significant production variation occurred in
a few of the early 9700s. All 9700 cars have small flat boards
molded on the ends of each car. Most say '9700 Series', but a few
early 9700s are stamped '9200 Series' instead; this was Lionel using up
leftover 9200 bodies in 1972. The 9700 Southern, 9702 Soo Line and
9705 Rio Grande show up most often with this variation, which also
provides a clue that these were the very first 9700s made.
A couple 9700s have easy-to-identify variations.
Here are a few:
9701 Baltimore and Ohio
Some 9701s were made in black like the 9210
B&O boxcar. Black 9701s are very uncommon.
9701 Baltimore and Ohio
A few 9701s also have different-colored
doors. These were post-factory alterations made for a Train
Collector's Association [TCA] meet. While not true factory
production, they are neat.
9730 CP Rail
The 9730 was first made with white
lettering and was later switched to black, which showed up
better on the silver car. The black-lettered version
is a bit less common.
Throughout the 1970s Lionel and some
private individuals overstamped 9700s for collecting organizations and
to commemorate the Christmas Season. The 9700s were good
candidates for these projects as their large flat sides lent well for
special lettering and decoration. Here are some of the 9700-series
overstamped cars:
9713 CP Rail Season's
Greetings 1974
9730 CP Rail Season's
Greetings 1976
9740 Chessie--TCA Great Lakes Division
1976
9754 New York Central--METCA
Division 1976
9739 Rio Grande--TCA North
Texas Chapter 1976
9771 N & W--TCA Museum Dedication
1977
(Author's note: This is not a
complete list of all overstamped 9700 cars. If you have any photos of
the other ones, we'd like to copy them for this article. Thanks!)
Part 4: Boxes and Packaging
9700 Series cars came in three types of
boxes. The primary two were red with black and white lettering,
and white with red and black lettering. The change from red to
white boxes happened in 1976-77, and some 9700s from those years show up
in both types of boxes, such as the 9768 Boston and Maine:
Three cars included in limited edition
sets, the 9732 SP, 9734 Bangor and Aroostook, and 9738 Illionois
Terminal, were packaged in special gold-colored boxes with black
lettering:
Separate-sale 9700s always had the number
and name of the car stamped in black on the endflap. Some 9700s included
in sets, such as the 9789 Pickens car, came in boxes with no markings on
the ends.
9700s were shipped from Lionel in cases
of 12. Unopened cases show up occasionally on the collector's
market.
Lastly, it should be noted that seven
cars in the series--9729, 9743, 9744, 9745, 9759, 9760, and 9761-- do
not have original boxes. They were all sold in sets packed in styrofoam
liners.
Conclusion
In 1978, after six years of dominating
the freight car pages of Lionel's catalog, the 9700s were superseded by
the 9400s, and the last 9700s disappeared from the catalog after 1979.
Apparently Lionel planned to fill in the remaining numbers in the series
with limited edition cars, but only one, the 9738 Illinois Terminal, was
made in the 1980s.
The 9700s were key to developing the
collectible train market. The strategies Lionel developed to sell
the 9700s are still used today. Limited editions, uncatalogued
specials and convention specials all made their first appearance with
the 9700s.
Today, the ubiquitous 9700s are a common
sight, and no collection is complete without at least a few of these
boxcars on the shelves or on a layout. They are a part of Lionel's
enduring legacy and are a great starting place for the beginning
collector.
Tommy Feldman
General Manager, Trainz.com
June 2009
Credits and
Acknowledgements
The photos in the article were all
taken at Trainz.com between 2001 and today.
Much of the information in the
article was attained through observations and notes taken here
at Trainz. David Doyle's Standard Catalog of Lionel
Trains, 1970-2000, Roland LaVoie's Greenberg's Guide to
Lionel Trains, 1970-91 (Volumes 1 and 2), and Touhy and
McComas' Lionel: A Collector's Guide and History, 1970-80,
were very helpful in filling in some gaps and confirming some of
the information included in this article.
If anyone reading this article has
any corrections, further information, or photographs of these
cars that could enhance this article, feel free to contact me at
tommy@trainz.com.
