These 8-1/2 Inch Box Cars car are characterized not only by their length but by the fact that their doors were not operational. They were part of the body casting and were cast in a closed position. Often these cars are referred to as "Plug-door Box Cars" but that is inaccurate. Lionel’s predilection to assigning production runs as suffixes to their car numbers confuses proper identification of these cars. We’ve listed these cars in the table below with the suffix number that lionel used on the ends of the box.

Available in many "Scout" and "O27" sets beginning in 1948, there would be four different body styles, and many cars that Lionel would put a slot in the roof. These cars would be available up until the final year of the post-war era in 1969.

Over the years that Lionel manufactured these cars they eliminated rows of rivets so that they were truncated close to the bottom and the top of the car.

Lionel eliminated these rows of rivets to ease the process of accommodating the graphics and lettering that were going to be printed on the sides of these box cars.

The first of these cars was the No. X1004 "Baby Ruth." In 1948 and 1949 it came with the lettering outlined. The No. X1004(D) version issued only in 1949 would come only in an uncataloged set with a No. 1101 locomotive.

Issued again in 1951 and 1952 these cars would have the solid blue "Baby Ruth" lettering.