Re: White Pass & Yukon’s Catskill Cars

mosslake Wrote:
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> I wondered about that too. Maybe they were
> upgraded from K brakes to AB brakes? Possibly when
> the underframes were replaced. As a common carrier
> running in part in the USA, the WP&Y would be
> subject to the outlawing of K type brake systems
> that affected common carriers in the 1950s.
> Thanks Bob, truely an interesting tale about 4
> narrow gauge cars, more so that they are still in
> operation.


K brakes were never outlawed as such. Eventually, there were not allowed in interchange with other railroads. As a railroad that did not interchange with the general system, that would not apply. The D&RGW narrow gauge was in the same situation. It continued to use K brakes until the end. The D&S still uses K brakes on their passenger cars.

When the new underframes were built, it is quite possible they went to a more modern AB system as the spare parts availability is much better.