I think this was a flea market find many years ago but I really can't remember:
I've acquired many NKP freight cars over the years because my fictional railroad interchanges with the NKP in Buffalo. I don't think I gave it much thought until recently but I'm curious as to why this one is painted silver instead of boxcar red like all my other NKP boxcars.
I'm thinking two possibilities. Could it have been for a priority freight service like the NYC Pacemaker service. Or could it have been intended as an express boxcar intended to be run in passenger train service with silver Budd passenger cars.
Any other ideas?
OOPS: I posted the wrong picture. I just corrected that.
John, A Silver NKP aluminum box car would be really cool to see in real life.
Bob, PC101
It was an experimental aluminum boxcar.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
PC101 John, That Silver NKP box car would be really cool to see. Bob, PC101
John, That Silver NKP box car would be really cool to see.
It would have been if I had posted the right picture. I just fixed that.
I just found this Kadee version of it, looks like #8502.
s-l640.jpg (640×427) (ebayimg.com)
I just found these photos of #8500.
NKP 8500 Chicago IL 1949 | The Nickel Plate Archive (nkphts.org)
NKP 8500 Frankfort IN 12-1947 | The Nickel Plate Archive (nkphts.org)
I've got one of those which I believe was an Athearn blue box repainted by Bev-Bel or such:
NKP8504_Express2 by Edmund, on Flickr
I had painted up a Kadee PS-1 (a close substitute) in aluminum but when it came to trying to apply the 50 year-old Champ decals they simply disintegrated in the water.
NKP_Express2 by Edmund, on Flickr
I believe NKP had ten of these made. They had steam and signal lines plus marker brackets for passenger service.
I'd really like to get a "Kadee Quality" one to replace the present one I have.
Regards, Ed
John-NYBWOOPS: I posted the wrong picture. I just corrected that.
Thanks John, I was going to mention this earlier today, but no need.
Mike.
My You Tube
I have three of these cars and have read they would have been express freight added on to the "The Canadian". Would these also be aluminum?
Brent
It's not the age honey, it's the mileage.
https://www.youtube.com/user/BATTRAIN1/videos
You can never ever out-train poor nutrition.
BATMANWould these also be aluminum?
I'd have to say steel, painted aluminum.
Wish I could be there to see if a magnet sticks to it
Cheers, Ed
gmpullmanWish I could be there to see if a magnet sticks to it
Let me just run to the train room and check Ed.
Just to expand a little on Dave H's answer...after WW2, several railroads experimented with aluminum (or aluminium for our UK friends) freight cars; generally these were not painted but left in their natural silvery color. I know GN had some silver aluminum boxcars for example.
gn2500.jpg (670×298) (steamerafreightcars.com)
Around the same time, a number of railroads began using stainless steel streamlined passenger cars. Some railroads that had these cars painted their steel express boxcars and/or refrigerator cars (or even some older heavyweight passenger cars) silver to match (more or less) the color of their stainless steel passenger cars.