The recent discussion below in these Forums about decals
http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/t/269329.aspx
has me asking if anyone know of any HO decals (or dry transfers) for labeling box cars for hide loading only? I cannot seem to find any. Perhaps they are part of a larger set or part of a set for a particular railroad's boxcar which would explain why I can't find 'em.
I model the late 1960s by which time just about the only single sheathed wood (the so called "outside braced") boxcars you still saw were in hide service and were so labeled. Some older steel cars were also seen in dedicated hide service.
The labels were things like "For Hide Service Only" or "For Green Hide Loading Only" and variants on those phrases. A car in dedicated untanned hide service was on its last legs - there was no lower use to which it could be downgraded. But there was considerable demand for such cars at the time - a siding I model had two tanneries on it and both were rail served and got cars every week. I distinctly recall seeing a car with a built date of 1919 and that was in the late '60s.
I always wondered about the weight data for those hide cars. Was that with horseflies or without horseflies?
So -- anyone know of such decals or dry transfers? I probably have a dozen different cars I need to label in that way so I am not using the same car or cars over and over. I suppose it is possible that truck trailers are similarly labled so even such a truck decal could be used. The labels were near the boxcar doors and rather small lettering so I'd sure hate to have to try to piece together my own label from a letter set.
Dave Nelson
I have some decals for that, Dave, but they're on the last set of custom decals which I got from Rail Graphics. Unfortunately, I don't have enough to be able to share them.I also included notations like "Sugar Beet Loading Only", "Do Not Nail Or Cleat Doors", "This Door Is Sealed And Cannot Be Opened", "This Car Not For Interchange", and a bunch of stuff for MoW cars and others in dedicated service.If you could find enough interested parties, you might consider getting a minimum order of such custom lettering, and then splitting it amongst the participants.My first order from Rail Graphics was for a road name set to honour a late friend, a Member of both this Forum and Big Blue, and I simply asked if any others would be interested in participating. I had very good responses, and no difficulties with anyone backing out or not paying. Unfortunately, Rail Graphics is gone, but there are others out there who could do the job.It's a bit of a job organising something like this, and I was fortunate that my brother had the expertise to do the artwork, which saved a fair amount of money for all of us.Most custom decal suppliers have a minimum order requirement, but if you have enough responses, you could order the minimum amount and smallest sheet size, then simply have the lettering repeated as many times as would fit. That should save on the artwork and layout, as it could simply be copied and repeated. Then, if it were convenient, you could cut the sheets so more people could take part, as some would need only enough lettering for a handful of cars, rather than a full sheet.
I haven't yet used any of my latest custom lettering, as I still have to build the cars, but this is a sample of memorial letering...
The dimensional data is from Champ.
Wayne
if i remember the artical on them correctly making a hide loading only would not be too hard as some of the ones in the artical looked like a 4 inch brush job.
Home made decals for this car:
These are the two I put together from Tichy kits. I found them on a back shelf at my LHS for a few dollars each, and they were already undecorated! My tannery is the Walthers Empire Leather Tanning Company, so I took the name. The fact sheet that came with the instructions also mentioned that tanneries use salt and acid, which gave me an excuse to add a chemical tank car to my fleet.
I think I just copied the dimensional data from similar cars and made up the decal images in MS Word, then printed them to decal paper.
For the required salt, I built a Bowser covered hopper, again from an undecorated kit, and created the ficticious "Salzburg Salt" company to own it.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
doctorwayne... the last set of custom decals which I got from Rail Graphics. Unfortunately, I don't have enough to be able to share them. It also included notations like "Sugar Beet Loading Only", "Do Not Nail Or Cleat Doors", "This Door Is Sealed And Cannot Be Opened", "This Car Not For Interchange", and a bunch of stuff for MoW cars and others in dedicated service.
Well Wayne it is good to know they existed so I know what to look for - I did not expect or want anyone to part with anything out of their own collection. One would think there would be general commercial demand for all sorts of dedicated service decals given the supposed interest in more prototype modeling.
And just to make clear, the cars I saw had this notation as a very clear stenciled label near the door. It was not brush painted or improvised. The restriction needed to be clearly understood and obeyed by all concerned! The slaughter houses (shippers) and tanneries (recipients) didn't care, but every other customer sure would.
Hide service is sort of like someone smoking in a non smoking hotel room. Once it has been smoked in it never really is a non smoking room again.
dknelson...I did not expect or want anyone to part with anything out of their own collection. One would think there would be general commercial demand for all sorts of dedicated service decals given the supposed interest in more prototype modeling....
I agree that it's surprising that such lettering isn't available on a readily-available decal set. I've sent you a PM regarding this topic, and a possible solution.
your right dave the ones on the BN had small lettering near door , the brush jobs i remembered were ones in colorado in the early 70,s were not as fancy as the BN ones they looked like refuges from a rip track don't think they ever left the rio grand trackage. and i don't think the crews would like them near the caboose, never got close to a rail car one but once did some work on a otr trailer that hauled hides , peeuuuu.
also tichy is offering custom decales now.