Illinois Railway Museum Blog

Lots of pictures to show you for this installment, all taken as usual by Kirk Warner.  Thanks Kirk!

Lettering Layout Work

I was going to say the first step is to lay out the position of the lettering on the car side.  But of course, first comes the research into what is correct for the car and era, then drafting the artwork, and handcutting a pattern to be used for transfer to the car side.

Painting

While much of the larger graphics on a railcar are 'hand' painted, the smaller stenciled information needs to be applied to look as though it WERE stenciled.  In this case what seems to work is a durable mylar stencil, cut with the same font, size of letters, and bars holding the stencil together.  Then a small pad of closed cell foam is use to apply the paint.

Touch Up

And of course, a rail car side or door has relief or texture to it.  In this case there are seams and laps in the metal skin, and rivet heads.  So, out comes the small brush and a hopefully steady hand to complete the work.

So Far

It sure seems like a LOT of work for a simple plug door, but WAIT, more is coming!  I know this may seem slow to you but put yourself in my position, doing the prep work and dodging sometimes 'iffy' weather to apply the paint.

B End

Meanwhile Victor Humphreys was wire brushing and cleaning down to bare metal on the B end of the car.

Priming

And by the end of the day a large area has been primed.

Hardware

Kirk Warner was re-installing the door stops, grab iron, and finsihing up siding.

Near the Roof

With the help of Dick Cubbage, Kirk installed the fascia or boards running under the roof eave.  These are all new as the existing was pretty much crumbled.