PWRS spelling error - British "Colombia"?

[Davep]

Noob post. I'm new to model railroading for approx a year now, and have been lurking on The Railwire absorbing as much information as I can. However I ran across an ebay listing that I cannot believe. https://www.ebay.ca/itm/3-N-Scale-Pacific-Western-BC-Rail-40-Box-Cars-Scroll-Down/153135613809?hash=item23a7980771:g:Z1UAAOSwpJFbb0Aa   The lettering on the boxcar reads British "Colombia" not "Columbia". Colombia is a country in South America.

I did a google search and could not find any information about this slip-up. Is this a legitimate production error, or has someone doctored up the lettering using decals? Is this old hat information? If so, sorry, I did search first.

Dave

[Cajonpassfan]

That is a mystery. Perhaps Lieutenant Colombo should look into it... 

[BCR 570]

This car was a special run by Intermountain for PWRS some years ago.  Someone at Intermountain goofed and the error was not caught at PWRS prior to releasee.  I am not sure how much of a preview they would have gotten with a special run of an existing model, unlike the current manufacture of their own cars where samples are provided at every stage of development.

It is not something that an American should have got wrong, given that the Columbia River flows into Washington/Oregon States, you have the District of Columbia, you had a space shuttle named Columbia, and you are building Columbia class ballistic missile submarines.

The mistake was disappointing as I was looking forward to having BCOL 4049 and had supplied the reference photograph, and Intermountain will not re-run the car correctly as part of their regular offerings.  There were also errors with the concurrent PGE releases. 

I suppose that one could gently remove the BCR logogram and replace it with a correct decal, but I have elected to paint and decal my own as I wanted to remove the running board and cut down the ladders.


Tim

[peteski]

It is not something that an American should have got wrong, given that the Columbia River flows into Washington/Oregon States, you have the District of Columbia, you had a space shuttle named Columbia, and you are building Columbia class ballistic missile submarines.

I bet dollars to donuts that the artwork was done in China and misteak was not caught.    I have seen examples of similar (or worse) boo-boos in artwork done  in China. 

[southernman]

I bet dollars to donuts that the artwork was done in China and misteak was not caught.    I have seen examples of similar (or worse) boo-boos in artwork done  in China.

Or in your post lol

[peteski]

Or in your post lol

That was no misteak!  I included a smiley face to indicate that the misspelling was in jest.  So was this one. 

[Jon898]

Presumably a similar issue to the Atlas caboose I have marked Lehigh Vallley.

jon

[DKS]

This rates a 

[MK]

So does that typo make the car more valuable?  (I don't know how many were made and thus cirulating.)  Sort of like misprinted stamps. misminted coins, etc.

[Rossford Yard]

Sum fokes wood bea moor upset if the break wheal was 1 inch to large for scail.

[Davep]

This car was a special run by Intermountain for PWRS some years ago.  Someone at Intermountain goofed and the error was not caught at PWRS prior to releasee.  I am not sure how much of a preview they would have gotten with a special run of an existing model, unlike the current manufacture of their own cars where samples are provided at every stage of development.

It is not something that an American should have got wrong, given that the Columbia River flows into Washington/Oregon States, you have the District of Columbia, you had a space shuttle named Columbia, and you are building Columbia class ballistic missile submarines.

The mistake was disappointing as I was looking forward to having BCOL 4049 and had supplied the reference photograph, and Intermountain will not re-run the car correctly as part of their regular offerings.  There were also errors with the concurrent PGE releases. 

I suppose that one could gently remove the BCR logogram and replace it with a correct decal, but I have elected to paint and decal my own as I wanted to remove the running board and cut down the ladders.


Tim

Thanks for the detailed reply. Having been in the graphic arts industry for almost fifty years, I have seen a lot of typos that slipped by everyone in the approval process. It is a standing joke in the printing industry that the shipper finds the most mistakes in a print job, while looking at it during their coffee break.

I assume a proof of the artwork was sent to PWRS for approval pror to production, and no one at PWRS noticed the mistake, otherwise Intermountain would have had to accept some, if not all, liability. All that said, I'm surprised the cars were released for sale with that error.

[jdcolombo]

If it were a minted coin with that kind of mistake, it would be worth a fortune!

John C.

[Point353]

British "Colombia" looks like an interesting travel destination: https://travelguide.michelin.com/north-america/canada/british-colombia
You can take a ferry to get there: https://www.directferries.ie/british_colombia.htm

[peteski]

LOL! So, does this mean that all the people who heckled the misspelling will now have to eat their hats?   

[mmagliaro]

None of this surprises me.  Sadly, our standard of correct spelling as well as our knowledge of geography has crashed and burned over the last 20 years.  When I was making travel plans to go up to British Columbia for the RRMBC this past May, I had to correct something that had to be done by phone, even though I had used Travelocity on line.

I got on the phone, the agent found my itinerary, and then she started questioning where I was going.
After a few questions back and forth, it became obvious that she thought I was going to ENGLAND ("British" Columbia, ya know)
She said, "Oh, so you are going to Canada?"
Me: Yes
Her: But you are going to British Columbia.
Me: British Columbia is IN CANADA!
Her:  Ohhhhhh....

I just hung up the phone.