Matching decal colors

Jay Gould Mar 26, 2015

  1. Jay Gould

    Jay Gould TrainBoard Member

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    Quite accidentally six months ago I came across my newest "railroad of interest." I had bought a steam loco on eBay and I normally would have obliterated
    its markings and replaced them with one of "my" railroads. But its M&StL markings looked pretty nice, too nice to erase. Instead I searched the internet and with some difficulty got hold of some M&StL decals and provided my new loco with a caboose. Then I decided to convert an existing Model Power 2-6-0 into M&StL so my first
    one wouldn't be lonesome, and decaled a 2nd caboose. I read up on the M&StL and learned that they used doodlebugs pretty extensively, BINGO! just as doodlebugs
    went on sale at a certain dealer, so I got a doodlebug. Here's where my trouble began.

    Now I had extra M&StL yellow decals sets that were supposed to be for green box cars, but since I prefer plain boxcar red box cars, these yellow decals were unusable EXCEPT that they might look just fine on a pullman green doodlebug, So I was going to have doodlebug GE-2. I looked through decal sets on the internet---I would
    use the last letters of "BAGGAGE" for "GE" and it was extremely important to get a small "RAILWAY POST OFFICE US MAIL" that would fit into the small space on the doodlebug. The Western Pacific set looked like the best bet---it looked pretty yellow.

    When the two sets I bought arrived, they were not yellow, but gold! The picture on the internet looked pretty yellow, and so did the one on the Microscale website LOOK yellow, but the ones I have are way too gold to use. I need a small yellow "RPO US Mail", just a tiny thing like that and I'm going crazy, because I'm eager,
    obviously, to have a proper M&StL doodlebug.

    Long story, short question: does anyone know of an N scale passenger decal that has both "baggage" and a SMALL "RPO-US Mail" on it that is definitely YELLOW?
     
  2. JMaurer1

    JMaurer1 TrainBoard Member

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    Blank decal paper, MS Word, and a laser printer?
     
  3. Jay Gould

    Jay Gould TrainBoard Member

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    Thanks, I guess I'll have to do that, but I suppose it's really easier than scouting for other decals that might
    match. I don't have the equipment, but my son may have it, and if he doesn't, I know a person who has all sorts
    of technology in his basement, and he's a nice guy, too. One other question, though: where's a good place to buy
    blank decal paper?
     
  4. Eagle2

    Eagle2 Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

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  5. norco44

    norco44 TrainBoard Member

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    Jay,
    Try Microscale 60-786. This set is in yellow and all the lettering that you require for your M&STL gas electric.
    A few other sources for M&STL lettering. Microscale 60-1018 F units. Has spelt out name in yellow and black. Microscale 60-953 F units and GP units in red and white paint. This set has spelt out name in both thin and thicker Roman lettering. Very handy if you feel like doing your gas electric in the later silver paint.
    Boxcar lettering in white was only done by one decal supplier, Oddballs decals. He did several sets for M&StL #160-87 Boxcars double sheathed in white. Only enough to letter one car. Can be used for later steel cars. The only source of these is form that “Place by the bay” from mrairfix. Not cheap, but he is the only person that has any. Go into the website, under N scale, decals and search for Oddballs.
    You will also find a guy in Oklahoma who has sets for 2 bay covered hoppers and 3 bay offset side hoppers at $1.00 each. The bonus with these sets is that they will letter two cars.
    Gary
     
  6. Jay Gould

    Jay Gould TrainBoard Member

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    Thaanks, everyone, for your help. I ordered a 60-786 and should have it by week's end, and even if it doesn't work out, I now
    am now more fully aware of the other options that I have.

    Incidentally, norco44, I talked on the phone with the Oklahoma guy. He doesn't take Paypal, but with my credit card I got about
    a dozen reasonably priced "Oddball" decal sets from him.

    The Bachmann doodlebug, which I like, doesn't exactly match the M&StL, but that's good in a way, because it gives me a little more
    "freedom" if I'm not able to be exact myself. And pretty soon, I think I'll have a reasonable M&StL gas electric.

    By the way, norco44, from the logo display on your post, it appears that from way Down Under you may be an Erie fan. Well, it was pleasing to
    me to see that, since the Erie is my first and main railroad interest (although I've been distracted from time to time by such railroads as
    the New York Central, the DL&W, and most recently, the M&StL). But I grew up by the Erie tracks, at the foot of Gulf Summit and about ten miles
    from the Starrucca Viaduct. I have childhood memories of the last of Erie steam, and took the Erie to return home from college for vacations.
    To me the sight of the Erie diamond on the tender of a steam locomotive, as a thing of beauty, has been up there with the Mona Lisa---but maybe
    I'm getting a little carried away. Anyway, though, it was a pleasant surprise to see the Erie associated with the far off and beautiful city of Sydney.
     
  7. norco44

    norco44 TrainBoard Member

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    Jay,
    Only too pleased to help someone to avoid the problems that I ran into. That is part of the culture at Trainboard.
    I got interested in the M&STL due to an error made by Ricky from Tulsa. I ordered some other Oddball decal sets and he sent 10 sets of decals for the green boxcars. So I thought why not repaint a car and letter one up. That was the start of another diversion. Have been back several more times and bought lots more M&STL decals. Now have to F7A’s almost finished, three RS1’s in early stage of painting. Yes, all three are different colors. Completed 25 freight cars with 5 more as work in progress. So this diversion is all Ricky’s fault.
    I do have a small collection of Erie equipment. Some Life Like FA’s (A-B-B-A) SW1200, 3 PA’s, Intermountain FTA & B, Kato USRA Mikado, Model Power Pacific with Vandy tender and Con-Cor 2-10-2. I got this from a seller out here in Oz for $100.00. Very cheap! I found out why, it was a poor runner . Read up on various internet sites that blamed poor running due to driver/drawbar problems. They were all wrong. The tender trucks a supposed to pick up onto a pc board inside the tender just by touching. This was just a poor electrical connection helped by no weight in the tender. Hot-wired the pickup tabs on the trucks to the pc board with some spare decoder wire. It will now pull 43 cars up the 2% grade on our club layout. Most of the watchers think it is a Kato Mikado.
    There is a photo collection in Trains Magazine dated December 1966. These were taken at Gulf Summit on July 4th, 1946 by W.R.Osborne. The only way to describe these perfection. The Erie at it’s best.
    Regards,
    Gary
     
  8. Jay Gould

    Jay Gould TrainBoard Member

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    Yes, I also have one of those ConCor 2-10-2s and it is one mighty locomotive, runs smoothly, too. I was lucky in that mine ran well from the start. Also,
    those LifeLike FAs are great pullers. And I have quite a bit more Erie steam.

    The M&StL steamer I bought on eBay was a Bachmann 4-6-0, its oversized tender replaced with a Bachmann medium tender, which looked as a ten wheeler
    SHOULD look. Such a nice decal job, too. So then the Oklahoma guy for decals (for a caboose). With the extras I also did a flat car, the second (2-6-0) steamer, and
    another caboose. In researching the M&StL I saw they used doodlebugs a LOT, and here I had a few extra yellow sets, so why not? Once I get the doodlebug ready
    for service, I'll have a pretty nice little M&StL operation. Funny how those things start out: all I did was buy a 4-6-0 because of its proper tender--and now,
    counting a few I already had, or bought on eBay, or decaled, I have nine or ten M&StL freight cars, two locos, and the gas electric. But it has been quite enjoyable,
    and opened up a whole new railroading interest for me.

    By the way, a couple of weeks ago I went down to Deposit for brunch with a few old classmates, and one of them has lived in Gulf Summit her whole life. Her father
    went to work on the Erie from when he was 16 years old to retirement, and even when retired, he'd go out on the porch whenever he heard a train coming, to
    observe for hot boxes and such problems that may arise on a freight. Later on, they gave him a special plaque for his devotion to the railroad. In its heyday, Gulf
    Summit had a post office, a general store, a one room schoolhouse, and a couple of boardinghouses where New York City people would come up for an inexpensive
    summer vacation. Today, like much of rural America, Gulf Summit is just a small group of houses, and people drive their cars to Deposit or Binghamton to shop. The
    railroads have consolidated, too, and where 20-25 trains used to go through Gulf Summit every day, nowadays it's single track with fewer than 15 trains a week.
     

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