I usually don't get too excited over
Western railroads. Maybe that's because I'm a native New Yorker,
so It's only natural that NYC and PRR are among my favorite
railroads. But somehow I have always been attracted to the Union
Pacific. Perhaps its the right mix of UP yellow and red that is so
appealing to me. What ever the reason, over the years I've amassed
a large number of MTH and Weaver UP "Road of the Big Boys"
boxcars to go behind my Big Boy. Nothing is quite as impressive
as a Big Boy belching smoke while climbing an incline, with a
long consist of brightly decorated Big Boy Boxcars.
In a past
offering from the Train Loft, which appeared in OGR magazine, I noticed The Train Loft's custom run K-Line UP Theme
Boxcar set.
This intrigued me because I now had the opportunity to add more
unique Big Boy UP boxcars to my collection. But what if they don't
fit in with my existing boxcars, I asked myself as I picked up the
phone and placed the call to Jeff at the Train Loft,E-Mail:Jkonc52032@aol.com
, Jeff assured me that
if I was a real UP fan, then I would be happy with the boxcars.
I didn't give any more thought to them
until the UPS driver delivered them a few days later. When I opened
the carton and unpacked them, they were everything I envisioned and
more. When I brought them home and compared them to my
MTH and Weaver Road of the Big Boys
boxcars, they outshone them in every way except price. At $179.95
for a three piece set they are a little pricey, but
well worth it!
Designed by Jeff of the Train Loft and
produced by K-LINE, after intense research into the specifications of
these three UP giants. Each car feature a locomotive's
specifications pad printed tastefully on the boxcars' stunning
graphics.
The K761-2111, Road of The Big Boys
boxcar is a model of the standard 40' car used by most Railroads and
is a tribute to the UP Big Boys 4-8-8-4 steamers used in service up
to 1960. Information such as weight, boiler pressure and other
specific data is pad printed on the car. The build date of Engine
4018 is on the car, as well as the proposed restoration date.
Unfortunately, money ran out and this Engine was never restored to
its former splendid glory. The car's herald is a variation of the UP
shield from the first half of the 20th Century. The UP
Historical Society has this Steam herald on their
listing.
And Jeff includes the Engine number
under each herald. The Big Boy graphic is on the right side and was
taken from technical drawings. The car's colors capture the UP's
colors of Harbor Mist Grey, Oxide Red and Yellow.
K761-2112, is a tribute to the UP 2985
which is out of Omah, NE. It too was accurately designed using
specifications and technical drawings. Its graphics also include
dates and specifications. There was actually a box car like this,
(well sort of ) as the Railroads
advertised their train names on their freight cars.
K761-2003, is the most original of the
three boxcars in this series. Jeff simply wanted to pay tribute to
this FEF 4-8-4 Northern which pulled freight and passenger consists.
It is the only UP Steamer never to have left active duty. It too has
the dates and specifications of the Locomotive appear on its
graphics.
All three cars are 1:48 scale ABS
bodies with eye pleasing graphics, stamped metal chassis, metal
handrails, ladders, grab irons, painted stainless steel roof walks,
opening cargo doors and hand painted die cast metal sprung trucks.
Each car also has Jeff's initials included on the graphics.
Operators will appreciate how great
these custom run UP cars look when used in either freight or
passenger consists. Collectors will appreciate that they have
special packaging, are true O Scale (measure 11- ½»
long), have only one-third the normal production run of cataloged
items and have never been made by any O Gauge manufacturer.
So appealing were my new custom run
K-Line UP boxcars that I had to have the, then, soon to be released,
Custom K-Line Scale Extended Vision UP Survivor caboose
to go with my boxcar purchase. So I ordered one. This Survivor
caboose is a tribute to the eight remaining Big Boy 4-8-8-4 steamers
on display across the U.S.A.
Months had gone by without hearing
further from Jeff about the status of my Survivor caboose order.
Then in September, UPS delivered the caboose to my office. Again,
it was everything I envisioned it to be and more. Especially when I
had forgotten that it also was a smoking caboose!
The Train Loft's Custom K-Line Scale
Extended Vision UP Survivor Caboose K613-2113 retails
for $69.95 plus $7.50 s/h. Its features include: Extended Vision UP
design. Metal hand rails, ladders and rungs, real sprung, die cast
trucks, brass safety chain operating smoke unit w/On-Off switch,
fully furnished lighted interiors, colors match Previous Train Loft
custom runs, and it operates on a minimum of 31 curves.
The Train Loft also has issued a set of
custom run UP 100 Ton 4-bay Hopper Cars and a set of UP Yellow Tank
Cars. All of which are just as great looking as the Big Boy Box Cars
and Caboose.
Bill Lango
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