Introducing the Kings Port & Western Part 2

Hello all,

Just a follow up to my previous post providing glimpses at KP&W rolling stock and locomotives.   Over time, I've experimented with variations of the KP&W image, tweaking the herald and experimenting with colors.   Examples of KP&W equipment follow below.

These covered hoppers are former Tyco cars I've had since I was a teenager in the mid 1970s.  I cut off the the original horn hook couplers from the trucks, replaced them with body mounted Kaydees,  and replaced the plastic wheels with metal wheel sets.    I like the solid heft of these cars.  These two former billboard cars were originally decorated for Kellogg Cereals and Morton Salt.

I bought these two cylindrical covered hoppers at a flea market for a couple bucks a piece.   Both were painted and decaled for the KP&W and had Kaydee couplers added. The one on the left is a "patch job" with the grey rectangle obscuring the original Santa Fe logo. 

Another patch job of what I believe is an Athearn car purchased at a flea market...

Moving on from covered hoppers, here are examples of the infamous Bachmann steel coil cars that seem to show up at every flea market for a dollar or two.  Despite the fact that the prototype proved to be unreliable and dangerous as the hatch covers would either jam or drop unexpectedly,  I still like their design.  I've purchased seven of these cars, originally decorated either as P&LE or B&LE rolling stock.   In my imaginings, the KP&W shops improved the performance of the hatches and put the cars into regular service...most often seen at KP Steel in Kings Port, shown below.   I've often seen these cars referred to as "Clam Shell" coil cars but have recently learned that in the industry they were known as "Bread Box Trough" cars.

I patch job-lettered all seven coil cars for the KP&W, added body mounted couplers, and discarded the odd "tootsie roll" insert that is apparently supposed to represent steel coils.   I've made my own coils (seen at the lower right in the photo above)  out of grey or silver paper wrapped around a dowel stick,  that I can put in an open car if I wish.  

I experimented with making a number of home road hoppers out of inexpensive Tyco cars found at flea markets.   I run a unit coal train with black hoppers from a mix of PC, Reading, B&O and other roads, including four from the KP&W.  All maintain their talgo trucks and horn hook couplers.  Some day I may convert them and add metal wheels.  Since the coal train is operated as a run-through only, and doesn't back up, I don't run into the usual aggravations of horn hook couplers causing derailments. 

Lettering and numbering the hoppers was a grand experiment in attempting to see if rubber stamps could be used instead of messing with white decal sheets (I could never get the black background on the decals to match the black car body!) or by paying a decal business to create custom decals.   So, for $20, I had a Kings Port & Western stamp made and also purchased a pricing stamp at an office supply store that let me set any series of five digit numbers I wanted.  I thought I might have discovered a wonderfully inexpensive way to letter and number cars!   The results are ...OK....   Unfortunately the white ink on the stamp always comes off looking a bit faded; certainly not as bright and solid as decal letters.  The numbers didn't turn out too badly though.  The biggest challenge is printing the stamp as straight as possible.  The ink is forgiving for a minute or so and can be easily wiped off for a re-try.  The cars above probably took me three or few trials before they looked straight to me.   Considering that my interest in freelancing the KP&W has continued over the years, I think it may be time to bite the bullet and contact a  custom decal  company about having professionally made logos for my road.

Let's move on to locomotives.   After painting the S-12,  my next customized KP&W motive power was this pair of switchers.   

You'll notice that the lettering is orange.   This was an attempt to try avoiding the use of white decal paper.  The letters printed out rather lightly and transparent on the clear decal sheets but there was enough color to make them legible on the switchers.   After trying this experiment, I think I prefer white letters on the blue loco bodies.  

This pair of F7s (below) purchased from the used equipment section in the back room of my LHS are Athearn units, one powered, one a dummy.  The powered unit includes the extra heavy weight inside that allows the set to pull well.   I custom painted the pair, trying my hand at masking off the orange stripes.   The white letters are from white decal sheets with an orange background created to match up with the stripe.  Again, this required considerable trial and error.  These units are the work horses of the KP&W, often assigned to transfer runs between Kings Port to West Mill, or to Mayfield Yard. 

One day while visiting the aforementioned  back room of the LHS, I found two Athearn SD9 shells, one decorated for the Milwaukee Road and the other for the Great Northern.   I was struck by their similar paint schemes with dark bodies and orange stripes.   With a little effort I modified them into a matching set, to which I easily added BLACK Kings Port & western lettering from home made decals on clear sheets.   I decided that these units represent the newer KP&W scheme of the 1970s.  Perhaps as the Penn Central cut costs with their simplified scheme, maybe the KP&W was hoping to as well...or perhaps it just seemed fashionable to change the road's image for the new decade.  I'm not sure if I'll paint any additional units in this scheme or not.   Time will tell

Some odds and ends.  First up is this SD9 shell with an experimental scheme intended to keep units blue and orange but with the easy to apply black lettering.  I seriously over-painted the shell during successive trials to make it look right but its not a bad option for future units.  I liked being able to add the NY State outline to the herald on this one.   I don't run locos with this sloppy shell that lacks hand rails but it is a good reminder for me about painting options for future roster additions.  

A similar experiment with an old AHM C-Liner shell and an Athearn F7 B unit.  You'll notice the difference in paint shades between the two units.  The blue and orange on the left hand unit are the original KP&W colors, but after a while the blue rattle-can shade no longer seemed to be available in any of the hardware or big box stores in my area.  Out of necessity, I switched over to the shades on the right which seem more subtle.    Careful work with painter's masking tape made those angular orange patches possible.

Last but not least...A KP&W truck!  I found the trailer at a flea market already in this fine shade of orange.  It just begged me to letter it for the home road freelance!

Well, that's probably more than enough for now.   I'm planning to describe operation between the KP&W and the Penn Central next time!