Renumbering a Car - Advice?

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Greetings all. I recently picked up a pack of Branchline cars for my railroad, but I ended up with two of the same number. I’d like to use them both, so I am looking for an easy way to renumber one of them, while keeping it in the same series. The car numbers were C&O Road Numbers 5516 through 5588. They were 50 plug door refrigerated box cars - I’d like to choose a new number that’s in the same series, and then renumber one of the duplicates. (The duplicates are both number 5588).

And now that I have rambled on and on, I think I’ll see if anyone has any suggestions for me.

Thanks!

–Greg

2

You could take the easy approach and remove part of the last 8 in 5588 making it 5589.

3

Very carefully remove one of the last two numbers and use a decal of the same size, colour, & font and renumber the car. Then dullcote the car to hide the decal.

Removing the number could be done by painting over it with a matching colour paint or removing the number by carefully scraping it away.

4

It’s been my experience that an 8 usually can be converted easiest into a 3, 6, 9 or 0. sometimes by the careful light scraping of an Xacto knife.

5

I’m not sure I totally understand your question, in regard to the total number of cars you have in the series…But I assume you just want to pick a random number in the series and renumber one car. If this is the case, it is a pretty simple and straight forward task.

As Jeffery has suggested, numbers can be manipulated by removing parts of them and / or adding to them. I have done this with an office eraser (the type that looks like a pencil that is then sharpened) to remove part of a number, or a pinpoint of paint to add to the number. The easiest numbers to play with in this method are 1, 3, 8 & 9.

As for completely removing numbers and then replacing them: I have had best luck using the office eraser to carefully remove the number. This is a slow process and does take much care, but I have found it the best method for me.

Once the number is removed it can be replaced with a “like style” and sized number. For the most part I have been able to match number styles and sizes with WS dry transfers, although there are other brands and even custom stuff out there. BTW, I do like the dry transfers MUCH better than decals…But I don’t have a lot of experience with decaling

6

Thanks for the suggestions. I’m a little nervous about scraping the number off with a knife blade, as I don’t want to mar the surface any more that necessary, but I may hold onto that as a last resort. I may give that office eraser trick a try this weekend - I’ll have to find one first.

I’ll post a message and some pictures of the results once I get done.

7

I know a guy that was an expert at kiting checks by changing the numbers. I’ll have him get in contact with you… in 5 to 7 years.

Mark B

8

Acetone free nail polish remover applied with a fine tip works wonders. It doesn’t take much.

9

I have changed some car numbers by overlying a new decal on top of a single existing printed number. An “8” will overlay a “0” or a “6” and sometimes a “5”; for example changing “1516” to “1518”.

I have also used the suggestions above to remove the last two digits in the car number and re-decal the car with a new number using decals that match the size and shape of the printed numbers.

10

I have heard you can use Pinesol to remove lettering,that might work.

11

I’ve been succesful using the method Jeffrey and a couple of other posters mentioned above. With a fresh exacto blade, just lightly scrape at the number to change an “8” into a “6”, or similar.

The lettering is printed on the painted surface, and is real easy to remove without damaging the paint. Also, an extra fine brush with a little paint the same color as the lettering to touch up as needed.

Rotor