N-scale Pennsylvania RR Transcon "Rapids" Series Sleeper Decals For My COLA

[OldEastRR]

The Rivarossi (Atlas, Arnold) 10-6 is a model of the PRR ACF car, ...
<EDIT> It turns out that this is NOT the same car (see below) - the prototype has rivets(!).  My apologies </EDIT>

Except it IS a version of the ACF car that was made with smooth sides, but that lot wasn't used for Buffalo Rapids. The Atlas car has  a weird smooth roof that doesn't match either ACF, Pullman or Budd roofs, I don't know what it's supposed to be. No vents, either.

[peteski]

Greetings.  I can provide some of the Kato Rapids series sleepers (Shuylkill Rapids, Turtle Rapids, Octoraro Rapids, Raccoon Rapids) from the Broadway Limited set, if you really want them.

Robert Pierce

Does that "really want them" implies that they are priced accordingly? 

[robert3985]

Greetings.  I can provide some of the Kato Rapids series sleepers (Shuylkill Rapids, Turtle Rapids, Octoraro Rapids, Raccoon Rapids) from the Broadway Limited set, if you really want them.

Robert Pierce

Robert,

I "really" want at least a couple, but I might be up for all of them.  PM me with the details okay??

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[Sokramiketes]

I guess Microscale really let you down!  This set has every other railroad that painted stuff in Armour Yellow, but missed PRR:

http://www.microscale.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=60-1371&Store_Code=MD&search=60-1371&offset=&filter_cat=&PowerSearch_Begin_Only=&sort=&range_low=&range_high=

[nkalanaga]

Doesn't even have all of the letters needed to spell Pennsylvania...no V or Y.  The V could probably be kitbashed from an upside-down A, but the Y would be a problem. 

[Alwyn Cutmore]

Hi Bob,

Send me a pic and I will get my decal guy to run off what you want.

Regards

Al

[OldEastRR]

Hi Bob,

Send me a pic and I will get my decal guy to run off what you want.

Regards

Al

If you want to do something extra, run "Norfolk and Western" in its unique font and print them in PRR delux yellow for the N&W passenger pool cars that ran in Pennsy colors.

[Alwyn Cutmore]

If you want to do something extra, run "Norfolk and Western" in its unique font and print them in PRR delux yellow for the N&W passenger pool cars that ran in Pennsy colors.

Font does not mean a thing as most are done from pics if available.

Regards

Al

[robert3985]

Hi Bob,

Send me a pic and I will get my decal guy to run off what you want.

Regards

Al

Al,  Sorry about the delay...vacation time over the 4th.   You just need a color photo???  Like from straight on?  I can do an ultra high-res photo of the lettering on a Kato car.  Would that work?  Finding a prototype photo will be more difficult, but...not impossible (I assume).

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[robert3985]

Greetings.  I can provide some of the Kato Rapids series sleepers (Shuylkill Rapids, Turtle Rapids, Octoraro Rapids, Raccoon Rapids) from the Broadway Limited set, if you really want them.

Robert Pierce

Hi Robert...maybe you're not looking at your PM's.  If not, I want to do business with you and would be very happy to take all of your Rapids series sleepers off your hands. 

Contact me.

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[Sokramiketes]

Al,  Sorry about the delay...vacation time over the 4th.   You just need a color photo???  Like from straight on?  I can do an ultra high-res photo of the lettering on a Kato car.  Would that work?  Finding a prototype photo will be more difficult, but...not impossible (I assume).

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

Does the Pennsy car Kato lettered have the right font?

I know there was an issue with the four car foreign road set that they did.  Some of the fonts weren't converted to curves in the artwork, and the Japanese side didn't have the fonts used.  So I remember the Wabash lettering and one other being wrong on the production models. 

Something to watch for.  Otherwise, it should be a standard PRR passenger font.  The next question is red only, or black outline?  Some railroads outlined and some didn't when matching the UP scheme.

[robert3985]

Okay...just a little update here.  I'm in the process of buying four Kato Broadway Ltd 10-6 "Rapids" series sleepers...which have the properly centered vestibule end small windows, unlike the Walthers car, and I should have them within the week if all goes well! 

I don't know if these have the correct single, lower "belt rail" or two of them, but that can be easily removed and/or added depending on the builder (Pullman or ACL)

I'm planning on stripping them, adding stand-off details like shiny stainless .007" grabs and Harbor Mist Gray grabs on the roofs and ends, diaphragms, more detailed interiors, people, visible interior stainless handrail running along the isle-way, window shades and window tint.  They'll be painted UP yellow & gray, matching the Kato COLA colors using Bill Denton's True Color paint formulation, with gray trucks.

I'm working with a friend of mine who has a functional ALPS printer, inks (or whatever they're called) for the UP colored Pennsy lettering, who has done UP decals for me before to get the proper red color with the tiny black outline on the lettering which Pennsy paint charts say is appropriate for these UP colored transcon cars.  I'll be making a sheet with at least three names... Tippecanoe Rapids, Stoney Rapids and Buffalo Rapids. There is evidence of a fourth yellow car, but I can't remember the name right now seeing it's 3:44AM.

The Buffalo Rapids car is different than than other two, being built by ACL with no small vestibule end, centered windows, slightly different skirting, and an upper "belt-line" above the windows.

Rumor has it that sometimes Pennsy ran a 10-6 Rapids sleeper in the COLA which wasn't painted in UP colors, so the fourth car will be properly detailed, and painted a proper (if it needs it) Pennsy paint scheme (I haven't done any research on that yet...so the car may be just right "as is").

This is turning into fun project for me, and I'll see if I can get several sets of decals for any of you who may want them for a small stipend!

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[MVW]

Rumor has it that sometimes Pennsy ran a 10-6 Rapids sleeper in the COLA which wasn't painted in UP colors, so the fourth car will be properly detailed, and painted a proper (if it needs it) Pennsy paint scheme (I haven't done any research on that yet...so the car may be just right "as is").

Thought I might have seen a photo, but it turned out to be what appears to be a gray NYC sleeper on the Challenger.

I have a Jan. 10, 1954, C&NW timetable. Under equipment for the COLA, it lists 10-6 double bedroom sleepers from the NYC and Pennsy, along with a notation that some cars do not operate every day.

Certainly doesn't seem unreasonable to expect that there would occasionally be a sleeper in non-UP colors.

Jim

[AlbertSpor]

Hi Bob.

I will be in for a set.

Thanks
Albert Spor

[jmlaboda]

There is evidence of a fourth yellow car, but I can't remember the name right

Ah,... no there's not.

I checked the Pullman Car Construction Records database to see what the fourth car might be only to find there wasn't a fourth car.

Not sure how familiar folks here on the forum are with the CCR but it is an extensive work by Tom Madden who has spent probably 10,000s of hours at the Newberry Library in Chicago, home of the Pullman archives and Pullman records, scouring through car records and placing them into an usable format.  It lists all sorts of information (how many steps, how many ice bunkers and how big, who bought a car, which cars were sold to the Government or scrapped... literally extensive record keeping that includes paint schemes various cars while the cars were either owned by Pullman or leased by Pullman.  It it isn't listed then it didn't happen.

Only the three cars already mentioned, Tippecanoe Rapids, Stoney Rapids and Buffalo Rapids, were shown to have received "UP colors", Tippecanoe Rapids on 29Apr55 (repainted PRR 6Feb57), Stoney Rapids 9June55 (repainted PRR 3Jul58) and Buffalo Rapids 6May55 (repainted PRR 3Jun58).

Under the "Items of Interest" category Buffalo Rapids, unlike the other two cars, was delivered in two-tone gray paint prior to being repainted into UP colors.  Not sure whether it was the Overland TTG or Pullman's TTG but I thought that was mighty interesting.