I will be making decals (black, alas) for freight cars for the LLL. I have search high and low and have purchased MRR's Guide to Freightcars. It lacks what I was seeking, which was a breakdown of capacity, full and empty weights, inside and outside measurements, etc. Before I take the plunge and purchase John H. White's Book on freight cars- expensive and my library system does not carry it- will this book satisfy my informational needs ? Is there another? Is there a good on line source? I have Googled and come across some sites with pictures and have tried to blow them up, but they are too fuzzy to read when I get down to the fine print.
Here's a hint: The markings on other pre-decorated models are correct. All you need to do is get a similar car and a magnifying glass. :lightbulb:
The Official Railway Equipment Register, issued quarterly for over a century now contains the nomimal capacity and physical dimensions of all interchange cars, It does not show when cars were built nor their load limit or light weight. Depending on your era modeled, this can be worked out easily though. Go search for Official Railway Equipment Register on eBay and you will find quite a few used back issues listed, as well as CD's. If your era is the 1980's, I still have some issues left over from an office remodeling in 1990, so PM me if interested. :cat:
? Not always. Several mfrs. have stated that they do not guarantee the dimensional data to be accurate. I had a customer here in the shop this week who was trying to fit a specific time era. While going over a few cars with the "loop" he found one with a bild date of 1909 that was not designed or actually built till the 1920's.
Mark: Not all the build dates and markings on many of the cars are correct. Stay cool and run steam....
I use the Offical guide, it is great once you get on to using it. Also Wig-Wag is correct, for example the santa fe sky box from LLB is marked with a road number that belongs to a 90 foot car. The model looks great and all but if you spend the time to look up the car in the Guide you will see a certain amount of "license" is used. I still run that car I just stopped checking the guide to every model I buy!
Lord knows there is little to no accuracy on the Lessons Learned Line, but as long as I am going to making decal sheets in basic incorrect black, I wanted to get as close as I could. My era is pre- 1953 with just a shade of cheating, if required. I will look around for the Register.
I have Googled and come across some sites with pictures and have tried to blow them up, but they are too fuzzy to read when I get down to the fine print. I think you have your own solution here, fuzzy decals............ Regards Ed
Ed- I have plenty of fuzzy decals. I tried the same thing on blowups and I think the pictures they use are 100x100 pixels and on a blowup are impossible to read.
I have found that I can copy some decals directly off a photograph for logos and large print, but to do the dimensional data I need to type it out in MSWord or WordPerfect. You can often make out the "fuzzy" lettering well enough to make an educated guess. If you're familiar with AAR rules you know what the letters say, so it's only the numbers you're guessing at. My best example is:
You could try some of Morning Sun Color Guide to different RR's freight equipment. At $49.95 to 54.95 each they are not cheap. You could simply collect a book for the home RR in your area. I have a book on L&N and CN. THey do provide dates with different paint schemes & slogans. Some of the best photos show dents & dings or repainted areas for rebuilt or repaired cars. You typically get one picture to represent a series of cars, with the oldest first to the newest last. some of this may depend on the number series each RR may give to a set of cars.
Quote "My era is pre- 1953 with just a shade of cheating, if required. I will look around for the Register." I found an April 1954 Equipment Register for $5 over 20 years ago, and I have built a special slipcase for it keep it from getting worn out when it pulled and pushed in and out of the bookcase.
So remind us, what's your era? The White book only covers cars up to about the 1930s or so. You might find them in used bookstores for half price or so, since many RRers were given them for Xmas but it did not fit their era, so they sold them off. ORERs are not cheap nowadays, not even the NMRA reproductions. Westerfield (who makes H0 resin kits) has a bunch of years each on CDROM; the latest is 1965. Then again, just give us some reporting marks and dates and maybe some here will be good enough to look them up. I've got some western road reference books and a couple of 1950-55 ORERs if that suits. EDIT: Ask about inter-library loan where you can get books from other systems. You may have to pay shipping costs. Expensive books (like most ORERS) tend not to get loaned out like this, though.
