Brian, When wood gets wet we say "it raises the grain". Perhaps the softer parts absorb more water and raise more - providing a surface that is easier for dirt to collect and paint to wear? You can ac

Hi all, Weren't chalk marks used for "local routing" such as from a yard to an industry or from one track to another during yard sorts? Many of you are saying "very common" - I don't dispute that ...

How do you do these and -change- the handwriting from car to car? Some cars would have been marked by the same person but others would not have. You certainly don't want all the cars on your layout to

Guys, guys, guys, To paraphrase Jim Wells ... "Just trust your eyes". We are making way too much out of the concept of "the perfect color match" - and even applying it to the color of weathered freigh

Hi, We often hear of equipment that was "banned from interchange". I get that and it doesn't surprise me. So here's the thing ... if something like the Allied trucks are banned from interchange it is

RJ, Just use a simulated "hazardous" label that says "Don't couple with another NP reefer" and most won't notice the difference in the lettering .... ??? - Jim

Gene, Great shot. The car is 30 years old and still ready to serve. I found that stencil on the left door "This Door Is Stationary" ... interesting, velly interesting (credit to Laugh In). - Jim

OK, I have to admit my "dirty little secret". I don't consider it important - at all - to use any kind of "prep" for decals. I float my decals on using just distilled water. Then I wick off the extra.

Ray, Take a box car you don't really care about and weather it. Build up the weathering slowly - taking a day or two between to just look at it several times a day to see "when it is enough".. Work fr

... having just spent almost 2 hours reading prior posts related to galvanized roofs I will attempt to answer my own questions: 1) Galvanized roofs were used for most metal roofs starting in the early

Eric, Thanks for sharing John Golden's step by step for salt weathering. All, 1) When did the use of galvanized on roofs become ubiquitous? I associate "peeling paint on the roof" with more modern car

Claus, The type of anchors you have are the kind used for sailing vessels and early steam powered ships and would be unlikely on anything diesel. And very unlikely on any "large, modern -ship- such as

Jon, " $200 WOW! " Don't be too surprised about eBay prices for stuff like this unpainted brass tank car from Overland being sold by Trainz. Many sellers put a price on something simply by guessing at

Tony, I believe you have told me before that the SP Overnight was one of the exceptions. Perhaps I have gotten to that point in my life where I have forgotten more than I know. I am sorry to have offe

Allen, And to add to this excellent summary ... there was a fad of painting up some regular box cars for "expedited" service. The SP Overnight, B&O Sentinel, GN Orange and Green, etc., etc., etc. All

Hi guys, The photo is identified as being of cars on a repair track. Not sure if that is correct or not - the guy with the portable welding set up could be using it to secure tie downs? I like this ph

... so we have degenerated into paying attention to the history of who made what models and when - instead of what models best represent what prototype and how to improve them to make them more accura

Schuyler, There is a town about 20 miles from me that used to have two cement plants - Superior Cement and Washington Portland Cement and the town is called "Concrete". Actually it's a little more int

Tom, Yes, the silk trade was the hottest stuff on the railroads for almost a decade. I believe that the primary route was from Asia to the Western U.S. by ship, to the Eastern U.S. by rail, and then t

Todd, Thanks for both of those. The second emphatically shows how busy that area was (long string of box cars, for example) and also shows how effectively the industries used the river on one side and