TEXAS SPECIAL, secret favorite?

I counted my K-line 027 cars and I have only 7.  Must be missing a couple.  I'd like to see photo's of that special box car and letter. That in itself if quite a find, congratulations.  Some of the rubber diaphragms on the end of the cars were messed up so I have to get replacements.  This is one series of cars you can still find new in boxes.

 

Steve, Lady and Tex

Here is a copy of the Letter from K-Line. I forgot to take a picture last night of the Boxcar.

As I recall, that was a special set made up for a Texas hobby shop, whose name escapes me.

 

Rusty

I would really like to see a photo of the special box car.  With the letter you posted, the box car and set in that condition, you have a keeper for sure.  You must have a small layout, any thoughts of expanding so you can run the complete TS set?

 

Steve, Lady and Tex

Well, yes, in common with most Texans, I do have a warm affection for the Texas Special -- a train of our own.  Two of our friendly railroads -- neither of them rich -- cooperated to put a pretty nice streamliner on the rails and provided friendly service aboard it.  Just last year, I made a stop at the crossing in Vinita, Oklahoma, specifically because that's where the two railroads handed the train to each other.  For those of you who value trivia, my 1954 Official Guide does not show a passenger stop at Vinita on either the SLSF or the MKT for the Texas Special.

 

Who didn't like the Frisco and the Katy?  Nobody!  I wish I could have ridden it during the joint operation years.

 

On the O-gauge High Plains Division, we are too far off the route of the Special to have ever received a detour, so I have no place for it, but always view others' Texas Specials warmly.

A short video of my K-line Texas Special F3's pulling Lionel passenger cars on my layout.

Steve, Lady and Tex

Loved watching the video, Steve. How can anyone not like this fine train.

Here is a photo of the Boxcar that came with the letter.

RMT made a 2 2-car set for the TS.  It can be used as a stand alone set.  But the cars are mark for the Frisco.  Seems the SL-SF is the unknown partner in the TS operation.

Dominic, are those sets for the Beef?  I've never seen photo's of the cars just the AA units.

 

Steve, Lady and Tex

They can run with the BEEF.  But they are based on the O-27 passenger cars K-Line imported.

Here's a shot of one of the F's in the new MTH ABA Premier set....

 

Thanks........

 

 

That's really pretty Steve,  thanks for photographing it!

I need to check out the passenger cars too. They came in recently. 

I think people like the TS also because it was a nice looking train run by two of the smaller roads in the US!  (Remember, the Frisco was part of this.  I believe this startedunder the hand of the first USRA during WW!.)

 

Sorry MrMuffin, but I believe MTH missed the boat on the Texas Special this time around.  The earlier MTH Premier release in the 1990's at least had the yellow nose and stripes on the pilot.  I have that set and, in my opinion, is the best looking Texas Special "F-3" set made to date.  I have no idea why MTH went with the present paint scheme except to match the original 2245 TS AB set made by Lionel in 1954-55. 

 

I have almost every Texas Special diesel set made but I'm going to pass on the current MTH issue.  With the added yellow paint it would have been a winner in my book.

 

Steve, Lady and Tex

I'm with you Tex (Steve), I agree they missed the boat by not duplicating the Premier diesels they made in the nineties. I also agree that the nineties version is without a doubt the best version done in O-Gauge to date. They are simply stunning! The nose on the new unit is just begging for the yellow treatment.

I agree with both of you.. The only thing out there recently with the yellow is the Neil Young issue.. MTH must have reissued these between Rk and this one 3 times and no stripe or yellow hood.. 

Hi Joe, the new Premier set looks like the "Railking" release a few years ago.  Scale pilot and all details on the Premier......and no yellow.

 

Steve, Lady and Tex

A year or so ago I had asked if Lionel had ever done a 'Post War Scale' version of the 2245s like they did with the 2343 SF, 2344 NYC, 2373 CP. and a few others. I thought that the 2245s would have been a natural for this handsome series.

 

At the time, none of the respondees mentioned the original 1995 MTH Premiere model!

 

Our RK Scale TX Specials are beautiful but are sorely out of place among our all scale diesels now.

 

As pretty as these new releases are, I'm with you guys that the yellow nose and pilot stripes do look nice. Hmmm,  a little judicious masking and some yellow paint should do the trick...

Sam:

 

I am sure you are correct about adding the yellow to these diesels, but, but, as far as I am concerned, this should have been done in the first place. Perhaps the powers that be thought the market was ready for a remake of the color scheme from the early Lionel versions.

I think the N Yound TS set coming out looks as if it has the MKT livery from E7A's 201-202, with yellow on the nose.

The Neal Young set sounds like a very nice offering but personally I would have been interested if it was a full-scale model...

I agree sam.  I'm just crossing my fingers that Lionel will release a scale set down the road.  The Texas Special has been a very popular item for Lionel over the years.  The Legacy E-7 release was a right on hit.  Very difficult to fine that set today and if you do it is going for a pretty penny.

 

Steve, Lady and Tex

Did the yellow extend back from the nose? Onto the passenger cars? 

 

Where did it run? Yeah, I know "Texas" but between what cities?

No Steve, not to my knowledge. On both my Lionel and MTH versions, the yellow was on the nose and pilot and did not extend back across the engine or passenger cars.

How cool is a red locomotive!!

Steve, on the soon "to be" shipped LCCA Texas Special SW switcher and calf units the yellow paint completely covers tops as does the special diamond mint car.

 

Steve, Lady and Tex

There nver was a Katy TS painted EMD switcher.  But one can wish!

I realize that the LCCA switcher release along with all the TS F-3 locomotives are categorized as (as some put it) "fantasy engines".  I see these engines and related TS cars as honoring one of the most beautiful passenger locomotives ever made.  And to me honoring is a good thing. 

 

Steve, Lady and Tex

LOCOMOTIVES????  Don't forget the rest of the train!  But I would put those E7A's up against a warbonnet any day!

From 1915 - 1959, The Joint Katy-Frisco TS ran from St. Louis,Mo. to San Antonio,Tx.

The Frisco dropped out after 1959 and the MKT ran it from Kansas City, Mo to

San Antonio.

I came across this on the K-Line Legacy site and was wondering if these beauties were actually produced?

 

If so, does anyone have them?

 

What "K-line Legacy" site are you referring to sam?  Never heard of that one before.  Anyway here are my K-line Texas Special AA units.  Painted in a dull red (not close to the TS red) with silver (not white) side stripes.  It has two headlights with TMCC and Railsounds, electro couplers.  Nice runners but the paint job does not bring out the true spirit of the Texas Special.  The photo you posted looks like units have white stripes along sides and one headlight.

 

Your photo actually looks like the MTH Premier version from the 1990's.

 

Steve, Lady and Tex

 

 

Here it is Steve

A great archive of many things K-Line

 

http://www.legacykline.com/apps/kl/catalog.html

Thanks for the link sam.  I'll post it in my favorites.  I have never seen a set by K-line which matches your photo.

 

Steve, Lady and Tex

The recent Katy Historical Soc newsletter has an article about the TS!

Am no expert by far but evidently much of what was pictured in the later catalogs was not delivered when Lionel took over. As mentioned by Lee Willis in another thread on the K-Line E8 diesels, Lionel may own the tooling and it could be the base of the upcoming E9s.

 

Steve, did Lionel produce the tooling for the Legacy Texas Special on its own - perhaps they used the K-Line tooling?

Thanks for reminding me about the Katy magazine.  I let my subscription laps and also need the new calendar.  I will send new app to them tomorrow.

 

Dominic, do you have the issue # or date so I can specifically request I get that copy?  Thank you.

 

Steve, Lady and Tex

Thanks for posting.