I don't know about all you other railfans, but I am very impressed with the REA car that is being featured on the Home Page today. Of course I am a bit biased! I aplaud the Horseshoe Curve Chapter of the NRHS for it's dedication to the Railroaders Memorial Museum. The chapter members have been integral in the developement of this musem and have played a crucial role in the restoration and installation of our turntable as well as in the restoration and stabilization of our other pieces of Rolling Stock. This REA Car is but another example of how two organizations can work together towards a mutual benefit. We get a cool car to show off and they get a place to show off thier car!
Thanks again to "The Chapter" as they are affectionately refered to at the museum.

Great job guys! Love them freight cars.

Any photos of the inside?

Scott Kwiatkowski
http://www.prrllc.com

Could someone give us some basic data on this nicely restored car? Things like when built, dimensions, when retired, etc?

Hmmm . . . I need to break out the maps, and see where we could run that car behind the Levins' E8s . . .

Beautiful.

JAC

Hello all,

Does anybody here have information about the research used to determine the font for the lettering. I am not familer with this font and have not seen it appear on other REA cars.

Many thanks,
Tom Cornillie

I didn't think freight cars could be sexy.

Until now.

KL

One question I had, how was the car moved to the contractor's shop in Hollidaysburg? By truck? If on its own wheels how difficult was it to get air brakes in date, inspections, what repairs were involved, and did the railroad issue a waiver for the movement? (I am pretty sure that car is over 40 years old)

Bob Kutella

Bob,

The car was stored for years by the N.R.H.S. Chapter on a leased siding along the Everett Railroad. The Everett interchange with NS is at Hollidaysburg, a mile or less from Millennium Rail shop where the paint job was done, making it a relatively simple switch move; likewise from Millennium in to the Railroaders Memorial Museum is less than ten miles. The car has roller bearing trucks but did require replacement of some missing brake hangers before it could go. As far as I know, all of the mechanical repairs were handled by members of the Horseshoe Curve Chapter, and they worked directly with NS officials to arrange transportation.

The restoration is a significant, meaningful and quality project. Everyone involved should be commended for the fine results. I would hope it provides yet another little dose of inspiration to other clubs and museums that have rusty treasures languishing on the back lot.

Alan Maples
Everett Railroad

The Horseshoe Curve Chapter NRHS website has a page on the car with several photos of its pre-restoration appearence.

http://www.trainweb.org/horseshoecurve-nrhs/REX.htm

The font shown in these photos is similar to that I have seen on other REA Express cars in this early 1960's paint scheme. Note that it is quite different from the font that currently appears on the restored car. Also note that the same font appears to be used for both the 'REA Express Refrigerator' and the REA logo in both the original and restored versions.

These photos may be useful for comparison-

Post-Restoration:
http://www.mercitrain.org/RyPN/briefs/layout/200701/images/IMG_6645_448_448.JPG

Pre-Restoration:
http://www.trainweb.org/horseshoecurve-nrhs/Photos/REX/rea_nov06/REA_May06-7.jpg

Tom Cornillie

Despite the fact that someone has found fault with the Horseshoe Curve Chapter's restoration efforts, they being guilty of a "FONT ERROR".......
I still think it is beautiful and am proud to have it in our yard!

I have to agree with Tom that the lettering is off. Looks like a computer genereated font that was close was used. What really looks off is the lettering style of the reporting marks.

Richard Wilkens

Dr. Mulhollen,

I don't think anyone has found fault with the font at this point, it is just that the question has been raised about the font used on this piece. I don't think "fault" can be found until/unless more info comes to light.

Unfortunately, as has been discussed on RYPN before, fonts are a very difficult part of restoration as very few modern "computer" fonts can help.

As also has been pointed out here, there is often a wealth of research available from model railroad manufacturers. Branchline Trains makes an HO scale model of this REA car and I believe they acquired a significant amount of paint and lettering documentation. I am *not* saying anyone should trust how a model is lettered, but there is some benefit to sharing research.

If indeed hindsight research turns out to show that the font is wrong, I would imagine there's not much that would be done at this point other than to take steps on future jobs to make sure the font is right.

As to your comment about being proud to have her in the yard, she does look pretty, and the public will see that, but is pretty the goal of the museum, or accuracy? Would you hold the same standard for #1361 if she rolls out of Scranton wearing a Courier font?

Rob

You guys sure are reading a lot into two photos. I guess it's true that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

The pre-restoration photo is taken up close, broadside. It's clear that the old lettering was easy to trace, to "get it right."

The post-restoration photo is taken from a distance, at an angle. The paint is new, and there is a great deal of contrast between the white lettering and the dark green, which can really mislead the eye, and the camera. And it's been resized for web publishing. Either one of these would make it difficult to effectively compare the old to the new - together, they make it impossible unless you want to compare apples to dump trucks.

I've done a few lettering jobs over the last 20 years, and gone cross-eyed more than once counting pixels or fractions of a millimeter from an old photo. The lettering may be awful, or it may be perfect - but there simply isn't enough evidence in these two photos to support the conclusion you've jumped to.

JAC

John,

Since you quoted me as one of "you guys" I want to clarify.

Me thinks you jumped to a conclusion which I did not. I believe I said there is a need for more evidence before anyone can say for sure, but Tom raised a very good question.

BTW the mix of one font for the reporting marks and one for the upper lettering was common with REA.

Rob

Having completed a few restorations, and having been hated (well, not really) by the sign company for wanting to "get the lettering absolutely as close as possible", I think it is readily apparent that the letter widths are not the same, at least in comparing the pre-restoration and post-restoration photos Tom posted. Look at the "R" in "RAILWAY" in the restored photo and the "R" in "REFRIGERATOR" in the pre-restoration shot. It becomes apparent the fonts are different, not only from this aspect, but also from the spacing of the letters. However, I don't think we need to be jumping on the backs of those who did an absolutely beautiful restoration job for the sake of "counting rivets".

Sometimes, at least in my experience in restoration work, especially where different parts of the restoration are being done by different entities, overlapping schedules require accepting "almost right" even when "exactly right" is the objective. I know the "issues" with the lettering I've applied to a couple of cars, but most folks will not notice them. I suspect someone, somewhere will come up with a photo that will show this was a plausible lettering font used by REA. If not, it still looks damn nice, and I, for one, wish I had a similar car to restore here.

It will be great to see this car along with the delivery truck once it is finished. Great job, folks! Keep it up.