I have an Atlas HO GP40-2 diesel locomotive that I would like to have professionally renumbered. I want it renumbered so I can run it on my club’s layout and there is already a locomotive with the current number on the layout. Does anyone know of a locomotive detailing business that would be able to renumber a diesel locomotive including lighted boards?
(And yes I could probably figure out how to do this on my own, but I have so many other projects to complete and this is probably a one time job that I really do not want to take it on.)
You should try to find someone at your club or LHS to do it. By the time you factor in shipping, labor and materials, you’re getting into the neighborhood of $50-$75. It depends on how difficult it is to remove the old body numbers without damaging the underlying paint.You can contact me for more info off list.
It’s really not that hard to do it yourself. It could be done in about 2 evening sessions. A sheet of Microscale Decals, number and numberboard decals, some Poly S Decal and Paint Remover, (or 92% alcohol,) the locomotive’s paint color, Solvaset, and Dulcote is all you’ll need.
That’s about $25 worth of material. Triple it if you want someone else to do it. If you are in HO scale I have a lot of left over Roman and Block numbers and number board numbers plus the tools to do a neat, professional job. If you pay the postage, i’ll do it for you for $60.00…send me an e-mail…chuck
I’ve got a cheap Model Power GP9 that I relettered and numbered after removing a bad CSX paint-over to return the loco to its original Conrail blue paint style. The removal took out all the CR logos and numbering, so I went to Google Images and found a Conrail blue logo. I opened a Microsoft Word doc and played around with the size until it fit the hood, then copied and printed the logo. I used a gluestick and Scotch tape to secure the logos and did the same with the numbers. I didn’t have to do numberboards considering the only lightbulb was missing and the socket a pancake, plus the things were a good 1cm recessed in the shell, and the numbers had to be custom made using Word again. Now, CR 1206 (I copied the Unstoppable AWVR SD40-2 numbers as a joke with my dad :P) runs as a regular short train locomotive and a switcher. Total cost, $0, and now the loco looks like the logos and numbers had to be repainted onto the loco and the area around it repainted, so it kinda looks a little weathered, too. If that is what you’re looking for, then that’s what you’ll want to do. However, I’m not sure, but I think a place like Voss Signs would do someting like that.
I think step one should be to identify which roster numbers are still available at the club. No sense going to all this effort just to change the number and find I am duplicating yet another engine.
It is probably not beyond my skill level to renumber a locomotive, but I have so many other projects that to get done that I can not outsource that paying to have it done makes sense.