N Scale Architect - 20123 - Rolling Stock, Tank, Oyster Car - Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf - Stilwell Oyster Car Kit

Specific Item Information: For the first time ever this unique piece of rolling stock is now available as an N-Scale kit !!! Since the early 1800’s, oysters have been considered a great delicacy in the United States. As this appetite spread, the transportation of this precious commodity piqued the interest of Arthur E. Stilwell who patented the famed ‘Stilwell Oyster Car’ in 1898. These cars were manufactured by the Pullman Car Company and had four(4) insulated compartments filled with 8,200 gallons of seawater. Each of these compartments were connected to two(2) vents on the roof which were also used to fill the car. Once they reached their destination, the oysters were unloaded using chutes extending from the hatches located along the sides of the car. These Stilwell cars rode on high speed Schoen Pressed Steel Trucks (predecessor to Fox Trucks) and were given an attractive dark blue & silver paint scheme. They were initially used on Stillwell’s Kansas City, Pittsburg (KS), and Gulf Railroad (K. C. P. & G.) between Kansas City and his Gulf Coast town of Port Arthur, Louisiana. This complete kit consists of 3D printed components, laser-cut & photo-etched details, correct NMRA weights, MTL pre-assembled couplers, ESM metal wheel sets, a full-color decal sheet and illustrated instructions.

Model Information: N Scale Archtect Rolling Stock kits are made from Frosted Ultra Detail (FUD) 3-D printed parts, photo-etched details, AND bronze details. They come with weights, decals and MTL trucks and couplers.

Road Name History: The Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad was a railway company that began operations in the 1890s and owned a main-line between Kansas City, Missouri, and Port Arthur, Texas. It was led by Arthur Stilwell before being thrown into receivership and eventually being absorbed by the Kansas City Southern Railway in 1900.

Trackage on the KCP&G was complete from Kansas City to Shreveport, Louisiana, as of March 2, 1897. By September 11 of that year, the line ran all the way to Port Arthur, Texas– a town Stilwell essentially created and named after himself. However, the railroad was in financial trouble by 1899.[1] On April 1, 1900, the Kansas City Southern Railway took control of the KCP&G properties after purchasing them at a foreclosure sale in Joplin, Missouri.

The section of the line within the boundaries of Louisiana was chartered as the Kansas City, Shreveport & Gulf Railway Company (KCS&G).From Wikipedia

Brand/Importer Information: The N Scale Architect was founded in 1991 by Russ Kaufman who has been active in model railroading since the early 1970s. Although many model railroaders received a Lionel Train as their first train set, Russ and his brother Bill were bitten by the model railroad bug in the form of an Aurora N-Scale set.

Russ started The N Scale Architect based on the encouragement of fellow modelers who thought that the plans he had drawn up for scratch building over the years might be enjoyed by others in kit form. The first kits featured detailed step-by-step instructions with hand drawn illustrations and plastic templates to be used for cutting the various pieces. This tradition of high quality instructions continues with the addition of "in-process" and color photos and, thanks to better computer aided programs, more detailed drawings. These templates have been replaced with laser-cut micro-plywood pieces along with the addition of many detailing castings which are now also available separately as part of their "Making A Scene" product line.