# 6800 Airplane Car—The Celebration Series
By Shannon Sikora
The year was 1957 and Lionel created the # 6800 airplane car. It had a red flat with white lettering that said “LIONEL” and “6800” stamped on the side, a black over yellow Beechcraft Bonanza airplane with landing gear and folding wings accompany the flat.
Being a collector, we know Lionel also produced a yellow over black in 1957 also. It’s been a favorite of many collectors and is a hard to find piece.
How many of us look through the Lionel catalog and don’t read the print? I love to see the pictures of the new items first, then maybe read the caption that accompanies the car. That’s why I ‘am talking about the # 6800 airplane flat car.
Lionel says in their caption, “Be sure to look for both!”
As we jump ahead to the year 2000 some 43 years later, Lionel reissued the # 6800 airplane car under the product number 6-19487.
As Lionel did in the 1957, they did again in 2000 by producing both black over yellow airplane and yellow over black airplane.
Lionel used the same number 6800 on the side of car. Lionel also placed the number to the left side of the word Lionel on the car. The new Lionel box was numbered 6-9487.
The wings where put together by four rivets. As we flip the airplanes onto there side we see that It say s NO, 6800-60 airplane Lionel Chesterfield, MI. MADE in the U.S. OF America.
Lionel also placed a “PW” for postwar on the right side of the Lionel on the flatcar. All Celebration Series pieces have the “PW” somewhere on the car, so as not to have those pieces confused or passed off as their Postwar cousins.
Lionel did a wonderful job at redoing such a great postwar piece.
