Re: K-28s, basic questions

Steve,
Here are the answers to at least some of your questions:
1) 7 of the class of 10 were sold & shipped to the US Government and shipped to Skagway.
2) 470, 471, 472, 474, 475, 477, 479
3) 1942, I believe.
4) Till the end of the war. One of the boilers was thought to have survived for some time, but all traces of these engines have vanished.
They were not really modified much from a physical perspective, but all were renumbered, and they had large "US" lettered on the tenders. The K-28's were not successful in Alaska, as they tended to derail easily, and the counterweights caused problems on hardened ice. Probably the worst problem was the location of the airpumps on the front end and the connecting airlines froze up frequently.
Borries Burkhardt has had a number of really good pictures on his website, I hope he'll be able to see this and post a link.