<snip> Be aware that in older B&W prints it is not uncommon for areas of great contrast, such as white lettering on a dark car side, to 'swell' as the bright light affects the film emulsion slightly outside of the actual boundaries of the white object. When the negative was printed, this makes the lettering appear bolder than it should be.
...and that contrast flare can make '8' and '6' nearly indistinguishable, as well as 'O' and 'D' or even 'B' and 'E'.
There are some lettering styles that did have rounded serifs, more common today than during the steam era.
I have yet to identify a complete rounded serif freight car lettering set from the steam era. One can only imagine the greater difficulty in shop fabricating the stencils; with a rounded end needing to be cut at the end of every stroke. THROW AWAY that 'Arial Rounded MT Bold' !!!
