NYC Lettering

[tree68]

Web searches have gotten me nowhere as yet.

Anybody know what typestyle NYC used on its passenger cars?  I've got some prototype lettering to do.

[wjstix]

Depends when you're talking about, in the heavyweight/steam era I think their passenger cars used extended railroad roman (Champion decals calls it "wide antique Roman"). When they introduced the streamlined Twentieth Century in 1938 they went to some sort of sans-serif typestyle (or Gothic?); not sure what it was called right now. I've got a book at home on the Century, I think it mentions it in there. I'll check when I get a chance.

[tree68]

I think "modern" would be the proper era - our motive power is frequenly F's and an RS3, so we're kind of sticking with that era.

[wjstix]

The only thing I could find was a reference in Classic Trains "Streamliner Pioneers" saying that for the 1938 steam/streamlined Twentieth Century, Henry Dreyfuss designed everything from the strealined Hudson to "a triumphant logo for the Century, with 20TH CENTURY LIMITED stacked in clean sans-serif lettering...."

It would appear the logo lettering matches the cars, so I would assume that was "Sans-Serif" too, but I suppose it could be "Railroad Gothic" which also appears close.

[tree68]

A member of an NYC forum provided me with a source - it'll cost $10, but it's worth it.  The unique part of that style is that the web (width of the lines) isn't consistent as you would find in most Gothics.

http://www.railfonts.com/cgi/font_shop/fontshop.cgi?ACTION=enter&thispage=page9.html#