Re: K Class Differences?

Actually there are very distinct differences in the appearances of the K class locos:

K-27 #'s 450-464. There were a lot of variations in the appearances of this class. Some had slide valves, some had inward slanting piston valves, and some had outward slanting piston valves. They were all originally built as vauclain compounds. there were many changes made during the life of this class.

K-28 #'s 470-479. The most distinctive feature of this class was the air pump mounted on the smokebox.

K-36 #'s 480-489. Probably the most modern of the Grande's power. They can be identified by the cyclone front end of the smoke box.

K-37 #'s 490-499 The largest of the Grande's power. Assembled in the railroads own shops using boilers from old standard gauge engines and converting old standard gauge tenders to 3'.

As you become like the rest of us narrow gauge junkies (I.E. reading countless books and constantly searching the internet for new information) You will soon not only be able to tell the differences in the classes, but you will also be able to point out from memory the sutle differences in each individual loco.

I hope this helps.

Donald Foster