Hello Everyone-

With the recent rash of thefts, we are looking at making a couple extra reproductions of our "Property of Grand Trunk Western" plates on the exterior of our combine and our "Fort Gratiot Car Shops" repair plates that cover the pins that hold the trucks to the carbody in our combine's floor. If there is anyone out there who has a vintage GT or GTW car (freight or otherwise) that might have had these plates, let me know, as quantity will help us out as well. Oh, and taking a cue from the Ohio Central, our display copies will be engraved on the back "Stolen from the Thomas Edison Depot Museum, Port Huron, Michigan." Let 'em try and sell those!

TJG

Port Huron Museum
tjgaffney@phmuseum.org

I can't help but wonder-
If there is a market for stolen plates, then maybe there is a ready market for good repros.
They might make a decent one time fundraiser or regular gift shop item.

1. Having extras for the gift shop is a good idea and should lower your costs.
2. If the use warrants it, consider using latex molds and casting reproductions in resin. This converts the high cost project into a do-it-yourself job since the molds can be easily made and resin cast as needed. Any such item if stolen can never be passed off as an original ... ask the museums that regularly cast copies of the originals before they lock them away in the vaults.


lamontdc@adelphia.net

One interesting tactic I have had personal experience with:

One locomotive I have worked with needed replica plates made to prevent theft of the original(s), so I volunteered my services at a local high school foundry. We discovered that cast aluminum unfortunately made theft-worthy replicas that could have been passed off as originals, so I went to a newspaper and acquired a quantity of type metal, formerly used in Linotype machines (lead, tin, zinc, and antimony). It's soft (and vulnerable to wear or breakage) and it melted in 5 minutes compared to a half-hour for aluminum, but it's so heavy that a decent-sized number plate would NEVER pass as an original, and any thief of a cast builder's plate would give up rather than drag it about! I cranked out a couple more duplicates of a PRR GG1 builder's plate; one of them rode the front of a friend's VW for years before he replaced the VW.

If type metal is unavailable, try fishing-weight lead.

Note: I make no warranty against the EPA condemning your loco for lead content.

lner4472@bcpl.net

> If type metal is unavailable, try
> fishing-weight lead.

> Note: I make no warranty against the EPA
> condemning your loco for lead content.

Just remember that lead and its alloys "fume" when molten so take the necessary steps to avoid them. Always wear gloves when working these materials and no smoking and wash your hands before eating etc,etc,etc.

PS: this sounds like a job for your local technical school foundry.


lamontdc@adelphia.net

The Sumpter Valley RR gift shop has several reproduction builder plates for sale both for the Heisler and the Mike. They are cast in alu. and are really quite reasonable, and we have sold a number of them.
Ron

http://www.svry.com
ronbrin@eoni.com

I would like to display a replica of a long gone builders plate of one of our ships.

Can one be made using a plate or is a pattern necessary first?

Ted Miles

ted_miles@nps.gov

There are serveral ways to approch this...

There are local (San Francisco area) Foundries that make historical placks and the like who have standard letters and such on hand, and can make a pattern based on photos...

Or if an original is avalable, laytex molds can be made, and the letters changed as needed.

Call me for local information.

Randy Hees

http://spcrr.org
hees@ix.netcom.com

There are two markets. One, to manufacture the items. I could suggest that every piece of equipment have reproductions on them, not the originals. Is there someone good at that?
Two, sales.
I have advised the Monticello Railroad Museum to sell their computer generated lettering masks as a means of earning money.
I made an extended font so they could letter their NKP cars.

CliffVDY@juno.com