MONON BOARD
MONON Trains => Rolling Stock => Topic started by: Jim Osborne on April 29, 2012, 10:19:36 pm
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I'm looking for photos of boxcars prior to the modern heralds, in an attempt to reasonably model a few. Got a set of Mont Switer's decals with its variety of heralds and reporting mark lettering styles, but I can't find any prototype photos that show which properly goes with what. Anybody have a snapshot or two they could share?
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By "prior to the modern heralds" I assume you mean before the advent of the Loewy Circle-M heralds. Here's a photo showing the script "The Hoosier Line" applied to 500 new boxcars in 1948. Also a couple of photos of cars acquired new in 1942 with the steam-era round "Reliable Service" herald. Note the unusual National B-1 trucks which about half of the 1942 cars were delivered with. These trucks are available in HO from Intermountain and a few others. The best color to use is Floquil's Southern oxide red. In HO, the Red Caboose 10'IH kit is the closest to these.
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Thanks, Tim. That's just what the doctor ordered.
Was there a system for determining which cars got "C.I.&L." reporting marks in lieu of "C.I.L.?"
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Jim,
The ampersand was dropped in the 1930s. This had to do with the AAR (requirement?) that got rid of them as a standard: so C&NW became CNW etc. All the "modern" Monon freight cars delivered from 1940 on had just C.I.L.. I have a photo of a 3500 series single sheathed car, built in 1912, which still has the ampersand in 1942, so it was transitioning then. I don't know if the C.I.L. lasted long enought to loose the periods as many reporting marks did. The covered hoppers delivered in 1953 still had periods between letters.
Regards,
Mike Aufderheide