Hey Folks,

Got busy at work, but finally finished this. I made a True Type numeral typeface from examples I found online.

Except for the 5 and 7, the rest of the numbers are surprisingly simple. Most can be drawn from 2 circles and straight lines. The 5 requires a medium-sized circle and the 7 requires a french curve that I didn't have. Just guesstimated this one.

The typeface isn't perfect. Some of the images I used had a bit of parallax, so the geometry is probably slightly distorted. Some of the lines are more curvy than I wanted, but I don't think its a bad first shot. I used a combination of photoshop, windows paint, adobe illustrator and Birdfont to actually make the ttf.

The first link should be the windows version, the second link, the mac version. (These are housed on my microsoft Onedrve.)

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AkHpI_S-8LgminL-fpZ ... x?e=4N2kov
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AkHpI_S-8LgminFc_ON ... h?e=iSwYB2

Anyway, hope this may help someone. Sometime in the future, I'll ask for the offical drawings and digitize those. If anyone has drawings of random PRR fonts, I could tackle that as well... given time. :)

thanks,
Joe

It's hugely helpful, and very much appreciated. THANK YOU!

Joe - Major tip: If you trace them in Illustrator, then you have scalable vector art that is easily manipulated. Converting the vectors to a font may be a bit self defeating unless you’re only going to use it for home desktop publishing. Any commercial use is gonna require vector art.

I do a lot of lettering for commercial purposes and I’ve never generated a font from vector art. Fonts are too hard to work with, not universal and nobody will accept them - you’d have to convert them to “outlines”, aka vector art.

That said, if you do come up with a scan of the drawing, I’d be happy to trace and scale the numbers for you. However, if you’re looking to have the numbers cast, it’s better done in 3D CAD.

Hey Eric!

Yup, that's exactly what I did. I cleaned up the bitmaps in photoshop and paint (yikes, I know, but it was easier to do that way) then traced them in Illustrator using the Black and White Logo setting. I saved all the letters as both .ai and .svg. The font conversion was actually pretty simple using that birdfont app. It "knew" which letter was which based on the filename, all I had to do was to be sure they were all the same size. I imported all 10 svg's as a batch.

But yes, agree... .ai, .svg, .eps is the way to go. I thought the ttf would be good for casual users and decal folks.

Having said all that, I can post the individual vector files too if there is interest.

I'd never created a font before, so it was kind of an interesting learning experience. :)

Joe

Amazing! Thank you for sharing it!

I used Adobe Streamline for 'raster-to-vector' conversions back in the days of the steam-turbine Macintoshes. Someone familiar with Adobe Creative Suite might check to see whether a modern version of Streamline is available as a tool.

I’m using CS6, the last stand-alone package. There is a tool in Photoshop or Illustrator that’ll detect outlines and create a vector. I’ve used it only a few times. With the amount of editing I had to do it was faster, less frustrating and more accurate just to trace with Illustrator. I’ll admit that if I need to do a simple quickie, I’ll use the old Microsoft Expression Design as I find it faster to use than Illustrator. I’ll then copy that vector into Illustrator since Design only runs in RGB and I need to generally work in CYMK for color artwork. That’s likely TMI for this forum.

Not TMI for joecomer -- he knows exactly how to proceed to get his vector version...

Numeral are great but alphabet would be "more gooder"!

Depends what you need. I have some lettering drawings to be traced when I’m bored and have done two PRR cars. If you have a particular project in mind, I’ll see if I have it. Also on the someday to do list is make a list of the lettering drawings I have and artwork completed.

When I do lettering for preservation, it’s usually for free with the caveat that it not be distributed (copyrighted). Some model manufacturers like to “borrow” artwork - with manufacturers, I prefer some sort of payment.

Just curious, is there a "standard" PRR font?

Also, since we're talking about number boards, I assume Baldwin/Alco/Lima had their own number typefaces as well. Does anyone have drawings of these? I'd be willing to give it a shot.

Joe

PRR standard lettering: Yes. And to make it fun, not just one. There are various lettering sets for various things i.e. cars, locos, structures, signs, etc. All evolved over time so it depends on the “era”. Photographs are gonna be your best friend to determine which era you’re shooting for.

Number boards: It’s a sure bet that PRR had standard(s) for number boards. I don’t have any of those drawings and really haven’t paid close enough attention yet to that detail. New units may have had the manufacturer’s standard unless PRR specified their own style drawing which is highly possible. Again, photos are your go-by. As far as the manufacturers go, yup, they had their own standards that you got if you didn’t specify.