C. Sam although I don't know the answer to the question you pose. I'm sure someone on the OGR Forum will come up with an answer to your question. I'm curious to see any answers that come up. Thanks for asking the question. Until you asked that question I just figured Lionel management , back in the 1950s, just came up with a scheme that they thought would sell and and called it "close enough", then went ahead with production. I'm sure in due time there will be folks that chime in with a factual answer to your question.
I do believe that K line came much closer to the B&O F3 prototype paint scheme than post-war Lionel. Of course Williams intention was to immediate the Lionel post-war model of th F3 not the prototype ... I wish Williams would have made both. I'll try to take some side by side photos of K line/ Williams this weekend. Meanwhile here are some shots of both the K line and Williams models.
Top 4 photos are K line and bottom 3 are Williams.
