From the FWIW Dept....
Back a couple years ago I seriously looked at just building the "Kansas City Lines" concept mentioned above and being done with it. (Bypassing HO.)
I was a bit concerned finding a "traditional sized" switch engine for use switching the KC industries I would design into the layout. My "go to" was going to be the RMT "Bang" (nee K-Line/Marx) S-2. Having owned one back during my great experiments, they ran surprisingly good on my old ZW and figured they would be very smooth and nice using more modern controls. (I intended to go wireless walk around.)
Only thing that bothered me a bit about the Bang was that it was almost too "traditional". That is, the body looked awfully short. Well, this morning I received an email from RMT announcing to the modeling world that they have miraculously found a few more Bang diesels out in that, what must be an incredibly large and disorganized, warehouse. (Sort of like the parting scene in Raiders Of The Lost Arc.)
Upon seeing the side shots of the two road names, I thought "hmmmm. I wonder?"
SO, after a quick patch job in my photo software, I experimented to see what a Bang would look like if the cab was moved back and the end of the cab flushed as an S-2 should be. Here's a pic (stock on the top, stretched on the bottom) to illustrate. Looked nice...
Whether it would have been worth the trouble and expense (it would take two shells per engine) is dubious at best. BUT, it was a fun experiment that didn't cost me a red cent.
I had in mind using Bang's (a couple) to be the power my own freelance "Kansas City Belt" switching railroad, and the Kansas City Belt rails would play host to other KC lines moving about the city (as was the case on the prototype Kansas City Terminal). It could have been a ton of fun!
Andre
