ionel produced eleven different types of trailers that were used on various flat cars that were issued during the Post War period. Because these trailer vans are easily substituted there have been many issues concerning which trailers are used with these cars. We’ve listed the predominant views of collectors as to what was the original load that was used and linked them back to the flat cars that carried these loads.

There were many variations in these trailers as production advanced during the twelve years that these trailers were manufactured and we’ve noted these for each type of trailer van below. There are, however, some common characteristics between these variations that require more explanation:

All of these vans have a Lionel inscription molded into the plastic on the bottom in three lines "MADE IN THE U.S. OF AMERICA / THE LIONEL CORPORATION / NEW YORK N.Y." as is illustrated to the right.

Almost since the beginning of the Modern Era in 1970 reproduction trailer vans have been available. All of these reproductions lack the embossed inscription that is on the original vans. Collectors should always check the bottom of these vans to verify the Post War inscription.

The smaller front pony wheels were latched in the down position by a blackened, or copper metal piece that allowed these wheels to be raised under the trailer when pulled by a tractor. Recent reissues of these trailers by MPC during the Modern Era use a plastic piece to hold these pony wheels in place. However, only the last issues of the original Post War vans had a modification to allow the attachment of a tractor.

There are four variations of the "Cooper-Jarrett, Inc." signs that came on these trailers:

Variation 1: LIGHT COPPER arrow and circle on an ALUMINUM background with BLACK lettering.

Variation 2: DARK ORANGE COPPER arrow and circle on an ALUMINUM background with BLACK lettering.

Variation 3: LIGHT COPPER arrow and circle on a BLACK background with WHITE lettering.

Variation 4: DARK ORANGE COPPER arrow and circle on a BLACK background with WHITE lettering.

Note: These signs were always issued in pairs so that the arrows on both sides of these trailers always pointed in the same direction. If they do not point in the same direction it is a sure sign of alteration.

All of these trailers have four 1/4" diameter holes arranged in a square formation on the bottom. These were developed for use with the No. 460 Piggy Back Transportation Set and remained consistent throughout the production period of these trailer vans.

Along the side of each van there are two square projections. One is located at about the middle and the other is located just in front of the rear wheels. These were originally painted RED and were designed to help the operator of the No. 460 correctly align the lift truck. These square projections would remain throughout the production, but they were only painted RED on the GREEN trailer vans that came with the No. 460 or were purchased separately under the No. 460-150.

Readers who want more information are respectfully urged to seek outside sources.

Below we’ve listed these trailer vans by their type:

DARK GREEN van that have removable roofs, dual rear wheels and slots for the signs. The side sans-serif "LIONEL LINES" signs were printed in BLACK ink on an ALUMINUM background.

These trailer vans have two small painted RED squares on each side that were used to locate the lift truck of the No. 460. Often this RED paint has faded, or was removed by previous owners who did not know the purpose that they served.

These trailer vans were used on the No. 3460 Flat Car.

Two adhesive backed embossed foil signs came with this trailer. One was embossed "FRUEHAUF / Dura Van" and mounted top center on the front end, and the other smaller "FRUEHAUF" sign mounted at the bottom on the left curved front when looking at this trailer from the front end. These signs have raised BLACK letters on a SILVER background. We are looking for a visual record of these stickers. If you have one of these vans with this sticker please use the contact link at the bottom of this page to let us know.

DARK GREEN vans that have removable roofs, dual rear wheels and slots for the signs. The side sans-serif "LIONEL LINES" signs were printed in BLACK ink on an ALUMINUM background.

These trailer vans have two small painted RED squares on each side that were used to locate the lift truck of the No. 460. Often this RED paint has faded, or was removed by previous owners who did not know the purpose that they served.

These trailer vans were used on the No. 3460 and No. 6430 Flat Cars.

LIGHT GRAY vans that have removable roofs, dual rear wheels and slots for the signs. The side "COOPER-JARRETT" signs are Variation 1.

These trailer vans no longer have the RED paint on the squares on each side that were used as the spotting marks for the lift truck of the No. 460. Two embossed signs are on the front of these trailers as illustrated to the right. By the time of production of these vans the stamps that were used to create these "FRUEHAUF" signs had worn to the point of being illegible.

These trailer vans were used on the No. 6430 Flat Cars.

LIGHT GRAY vans that have removable roofs, dual rear wheels and slots for the signs. The side "COOPER-JARRETT" signs are Variation 1.

These trailer vans no longer have the RED paint on the squares on each side that were used as the spotting marks for the lift truck of the No. 460. By the end of 1956 Lionel had exhausted their supply of the two embossed signs were used on the front of the Type 3 trailers and this accounts for the difference between the Type 3 and Type 4 trailer vans.

These trailer vans were used on the No. 6430 Flat Cars.

LIGHT GRAY vans that have removable roofs, dual rear wheels and slots for the signs. The side "COOPER-JARRETT" signs are Variation 2.

These trailer vans no longer have the RED paint on the squares on each side that were used as the spotting marks for the lift truck of the No. 460. No embossed signs were used on the front of this type as previously used on the Type 3 trailers. This is the only type that is found with COPPER spring clip that holds the pony wheels in an upright position.

These trailer vans were used on the No. 6430 Flat Cars.

These LIGHT GRAY trailer vans that have removable roofs, dual rear wheels, and slots for the signs. The side "COOPER-JARRETT" signs are Variation 3 or Variation 4.

This type of trailer vans no longer have the RED paint on the squares on each side that were used as the spotting marks for the lift truck of the No. 460. Type 6 reverts to the normally found blackened metal pony wheels spring clip on the bottom.

These trailer vans were used on the No. 6430 Flat Cars.

The trailer vans did not escape the cost cutting measures that were instituted at Lionel in 1961. This type is the result of this cost reduction regimen.

These LIGHT GRAY trailer vans that have removable roofs, slots for the signs, but no signs, and only single wheels on the rear axle. No RED paint on the spotting marks and the pony wheel clip is blackened metal.

These trailer vans were used on the No. 6440 Flat Cars.

The trailer van color changes to WHITE. These trailer vans have removable roofs, dual rear wheels, and slots for the signs. The side "COOPER-JARRETT" signs are Variation 3 or Variation 4.

This type of trailer vans no longer have the RED paint on the squares on each side that were used as the spotting marks for the lift truck of the No. 460. Has a blackened metal pony wheels spring clip on the bottom.

These trailer vans were used on the No. 6810 Flat Cars.

The trailer van color changes to YELLOW. These trailer vans have the roof glued to the body of the trailer, single rear wheels, and blackened pony wheel clip. Some of these trailers have been found with the "COOPER-JARRETT" signs, Variation 2. However, this is a rare exception, and this trailer van is usually found with slots for the signs, but no signs.

Because these signs can be easily added to this trailer, no additional value is attributed for the presence of these signs.

These trailer vans were the common load for the No. 6405 Flat Cars.

When Lionel issued the No. 6431 in 1966 they included a tractor that was manufactured by Midgetoy. The use of this tractor was problematical because there was no way to hook it up to these trailers that were still using the same mold for the Type 1 that was created in 1955. To solve this problem Lionel created a tool to align a 1/4" drill at the front of the excess stock that they had of the Type 9 trailer vans. A hole was drilled at this point to accept the Midgetoy trailer mounting pin as is illustrated above.

This hole is slightly to the rear of the moulded hole that was used on the Type 11 trailer. None of these YELLOW trailer vans have a molded tractor mounting hole and all of them have side sign slots. Note: No premium should be attached to the value of these vans because the drilled hole modification of a Type 9 van is easily accomplished.

This type is found both with and without dual rear wheels. There are no side signs that were used for this trailer that has a blackened metal pony wheels clip.

Found on the No. 6431 Flat Cars that are numbered "6430" on the sides of the chassis of this car.

Lionel reworked the mold for these trailer vans with the issue of the No. 6431 in 1966. Gone were the slots for the side signs and a 1/4" hole was molded into the bottom at the front for the mounting of these trailers to the Midgetoy tractor.

Note that the position of this hole is exactly in the center of the triangular area at the front. This differentiates these vans from the Type 10 whose hole is not centered.

For this type Lionel glued the roof in place, returned to the WHITE color, and the dual rear wheels are restored. Has a blackened metal pony wheels retaining clip.

The uncataloged No. 461 Platform with Truck and Trailer, also issued in 1966, included one of these vans along with the Midgetoy tractor. This type was used with No. 6431 Flat Cars.