Hey guys, i have a quick question. Justrains has some old K-line reefers on sale for a while now which they say are 2 rail conversted to 3 rail.

What exactly does this mean, and will they look/work any diffrently than my 3 rail woodside reefers from K-line???

Thanks for the time guys!

---Joe

I have several and they work and look just fine.

Can you tell me if there are any apparent diffrences at all please. Yeah, im kinda anal, but i guess alot of us are in this hobby. Thanks alot for the reply!

As far as I can tell, the 2-rail and 3-rail versions are identical except for trucks and couplers. I have a whole bunch of the original 3-rail, and a couple that I or others have converted, and I have not noticed any difference. The conversion is a bit of a pain if you do it yourself, because the trucks mount from the inside so you have to take the car apart. Atlas are easier, the trucks mount from the bottom.

thanks .. they say that these cars have already been converted... and 4 for $100 seems to be a steal!

Are these scale or semi-scale? I only run semi-scale on my O-31 layout.

Thanks,

Paul

It was a steal he only had 3 left 2 weeks ago I got'em for $75.00 Call and see he may have found some more. papa

quote:

Originally posted by PaulM:
Are these scale or semi-scale? I only run semi-scale on my O-31 layout.

Thanks,

Paul

They are scale size.

The 2-rail reefers that have been converted to 3-rail sit slightly higher than an original three-rail reefer. You will not notice this unless you run a converted 2-rail and an original 3-rail next to each other.

quote:

Originally posted by CAPPilot:
The 2-rail reefers that have been converted to 3-rail sit slightly higher than an original three-rail reefer. You will not notice this unless you run a converted 2-rail and an original 3-rail next to each other.

I have both 3R and converted 2R. The converted have MTH trucks and are raised a bit. Maybe a 16th but it is noticeable side by side.

Still, BUY THEM!!! I bought 12 reefers from Justtrains and they are stunning. Just as good as Atlas. I have Atlas reefers too and if you aren't too picky about prototypical models then you will love these.

!!!!!!!Warning: If you contract reefer madness then it is your fault. There is no cure. Only a brief period of calm before you see something that you have to have and relapse. You have been warned!!!!!!!

Here are a mix of K-Line and Atlas Reefers top layout.
Long train of them!



Here I have some running with MTH 4449 at a local show I did;







Yeh I guess I have the reefer madness bug!!

These are all 2 rail.
Love them lots of color!

The k-line scale woodside reefers are virtually indistinguishable from the Atlas versions. I have both, and the only difference I can see is the small vertical door handle just below the second door hinge on the left side of center on the Atlas, but not on the K-Line. However, some of the K-LIne models have a little more interior detail. If you can still find K-line reefers at half the price of Atlas, buy them!

I agree that the quality and detail on the K-Line and Atlas cars are very, very close, but on some cars, there's a substantial difference in graphics and color selection. Here's a picture of K-Line and Atlas models of the same prototype, side by side.

The Atlas cars are on the left, K-Line on the right. Note the huge difference in color selection in each pair. I can't say which is more correct since I don't have color photos of the prototypes, but there's a big difference. It doesn't show up well on the photo, but the print quality on the Atlas version of the Miller eagle is a lot better than K-Line (that said, most of the graphics on the K-Line cars are very good indeed - the eagle is an exception.) Another difference is the trucks - K-Line uses a 50-ton truck, Atlas a 40-ton that is probably correct for most of them as built. (Some prototypes may have had the heavier trucks or been refitted with them. It's hard to make out the truck details on a lot of old black and white photos). Finally, note that the Atlas Oppenheimer car is a 36-foot truss rod type, while the K-Line is a 40-footer with a steel underframe. No big deal unless you are going for ultimate prototype realism - I would expect that Atlas has it right.

It is worth mentioning for the benefit of those who aren't totally familiar with the K-Line product line that there are actually three different series of woodside reefers. The cars we are talking about here have numbers starting with 742- and were built in the last couple of years of K-Line's independent existence. They have lift-off roofs, detailed interiors, and exterior detail comparable to Atlas. 762- series numbers denote are an older type of scale size car - quite nice for when they were made, but in no way comparable to Atlas cars or the later 742-series reefers. Numbers starting with 642- are traditional size cars, sized to run with the smaller Lionel cars.

Bottom line? I agree, if you can get your hands on 742-series K-Line reefers at a decent price, grab them!

A year or so ago I compared the 2 rail K-Line reefers (40' cars) that I saw at Justrains with the Atlas 40' Reefer.

They both appeared to be models of the same car, a loose take-off of a 20's-30's URT type II or III reefer. Both had the same "K" brake system and the same add-on details. The trucks I didn't look at. I did look at their selection of 3 rail cars and they were every bit as nice as the Atlas cars. I swore the tooling from one was a knock-off of the other...

I didn't look much at the colors since there are few color shots of any of the cars. If I recall from many years aog, there were big problems determing what the colors and shades for the cars were. Most were guessed based upon descriptions or from surviving color advertisements that contained the logos, etc., of the products.

I'd venture to say that unless you are a prototype modeler that knows the exact details of the URT type I/Ia/II/III reefers, buy whatever 40' reefer you like regardless of the manufacturer. They're all nice!

And if you're fussy, look for a Larry Muir brass URTC type II reefer and 3 rail it... That is if you can find one and if you can afford it when you do...

BTW, Al Westefield has made HO resin kits of some of the finest reefers:

http://www.westerfield.biz/westerfield_web_catalog_8_1_2.htm

and THEY are 100 per cent accurate; his research is phenomenal. Meat reefers, the best and finest are Sunshine Models resin kits.


If you love reefer(s), you gotta make sure you order this; Hendrickson is probably the most knowledgeable steam era freight car expert on the planet:

http://www.signaturepress.com/BLBD.html

I'm starting to weather some reefers lately for added color. Here's a K-Line one that I snagged at York a while back:

Nice work, Norm. You almost have to look twice at that picture to be sure it's a model and not real.

thanks for the replieas guys.

Ill have to think awhiloe about it. Its strange, I am by no means a rivet counter, and minor prototypical mishaps i can live with, but having reefers at diffrent hights might actualy bother me as i already have a few of the K-line reefers and i really love them.

While were on the topic, does anyon know of any retailers that still have NIB 3 rail K-line reefers?

Try western depot. They are having a sale on them. $40 a piece.

www.westerndepot.com

Only took them 2 years to reduce their prices.