Was K-Line the first to produce SF rolling stock in the Black Bonnet scheme?
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I heard a story that the idea, not the actual paint, came from a Lionel Catalogue issue. Apparently the way the light hit the SF units in the photo, the silver looked black. I stumbled onto a copy of that catalogue, and sure enough they do look black. As far as I know, Lionel never relased the F units in that scheme at that time.
Only the OP (Mark) is asking about the rolling stock, not the engines.
If you have a copy of Classic Toy Trains magazine, October 2002, page 44 has the inside poop scoop on this Lionel 1948 catalog artwork snafu. Essentially, some well-oiled artist was working from a photograph of the iconic red/silver 1:1 engine. The shiny silver sides apparently reflected a shadowy image, giving the appearance of being 'black'. Ergo, the early Lionel catalog went to press without a lot of review.
K-Line was the first to dare to make production versions of the "Black Bonnet" scheme on the F3's. Turns out it's been quite a popular fantasy scheme after all.
KD
@dkdkrd posted:K-Line was the first to dare to make production versions of the "Black Bonnet" scheme on the F3's. Turns out it's been quite a popular fantasy scheme after all.
KD
I believe that K-Line offered a scale-ish version of the cars (for their Blackbonnet EMD F's....?) and a sub-scale set of black cars also - pulled by their K-Line/Kusan Alco FA2's.
I do not have either, though the "Blackbonnet" is actually a striking scheme, as much as the actual ATSF Bluebonnet and Yellowbonnet loco schemes (no blue/yellow actual rolling stock).
From what I can remember, it was K-Line who first produced actual Black Bonnet scheme stuff (catalogued in 2004 and 2005, from what I can tell), and the above-mentioned Lionel catalog was cited as the inspiration. The K-Line Black Bonnet / Midnight Chief stuff seems to bring premium prices based on what I've seen at shows, meets, and online auctions. Even the more recent production MTH stuff seems to bring good prices on the secondary markets.
Andy
I was very disappointed that K-Line did not release the black bonnet scheme on their 21 inch cars.
