I started out with an ordinary Athearn heavyweight baggage car. Painted it Tuscan Red. Then I have a sheet of decals, Microscale 87-891 Pennsylvania RR Tuscan Red Passenger Cars 1947-68.
Trouble is, the “Pennsylvania” (in extended railroad Roman) is too long to fit on the side of the car in between the two baggage doors.
I could place the leading PE, and the trailing IA onto the doors themselves. I could do a lot of cutting and fitting and squeeze out some of the space between all the letters. That could be REALLY tedious. I could put the NNSYLVAN in between the doors and the PE and IA on the other side of the doors. Leaving an ugly gap.
I could look around for another set of decals. Anyone know of a maker with a shorter PENNSYLVANIA decal?
While they’re no longer in production, Champ offered 14 different sets for Pennsy passenger cars, although not all of them would be suitable for a Tuscan Red car. I’m sure that there must be some still around somewhere. Based on the 1947-68 date which you mention, I’m guessing that the lettering is Dulux gold?
I recently purchased a Walthers undecorated kit for the Mb70n postal car used on the Broadway Limited. I don’t model the Pennsy, but couldn’t resist such a good-looking car ( it helped that it was on sale, too). [swg] I solved both the lettering problem and the incongruity of such a car on my layout by altering the Pennsy-style porthole windows in the doors, then painting it in my own road’s colours (CNR Green #11). The lettering is C-D-S dry transfers, applied one-letter-at-a-time.
Personally, I’d cut apart the decal you have, and apply it letter-by-letter, but I’ve also sent you a PM with a possible alternative solution.
Unfortunately you started out with a car that the PRR never had. The PRR standardized on the B60 Baggage Car, made by Walther’s and that car had a letter board over the doors that the Athearn car does not have.
Take a look at Microscale Decals set # 87-21, PRR diesels (1937-1968) The set has numerous sizes of the Pennsylvania name. Here is an example of two different sizes I used on some 50’ express reeefers. These are not the biggest size on the decal sheet.
Well, a bathroom remodel project in 1:1 scale got started and needed finishing and that slowed down the 1:87 projects. Here is how it came out.
I used the too long Microscale decals and trimmed out each letter in “Pennsylvania” separately and then lined them up carefully. Came out pretty well, if I do say so my self. The Tuscan is from a rattle can “Krylon Fusion Gloss, 2328 Red Pepper/Safety Red” with a top coat of DullCote which tones the red down a good deal. It could have more maroon in it, but it will do. The roof and undercarriage are dark grey auto primer, also from a rattle can.
The diaphrams are something new for me. I ran out of the traditional Walther’s folded paper type, and my “local” (40 miles away) hobby shop only had American Limited #9200, a molded styrene job with spring loaded moving parts. Instructions were sketchy, but they do move in and out, but they are fragile. I may have to glue them together to keep from loosing them on the layout. They needed a coat of paint to kill the plastic gloss.
