Welcome to The Hand Lettering Forum!
This is an interactive Bulletin Board on the topics of Sign making, design, fabrication, History, old Books and of coarse Letterheads, Keepers of the craft. The Hand Lettering Forum features links to resources, sign art history, techniques, and artists profiles. Learn more about Letterheads at https://theletterheads.com. Below you'll see Mchat has been added as a live communication portal for trial, and the Main forum Links are listed below.

Train Car Lettering

Hand Lettering topics: Sign Making, Design, Fabrication, Letterheads, Sign Books.

Moderators: Ron Percell, Mike Jackson, Danny Baronian

Post Reply
Robare M. Novou
Posts: 424
Joined: Thu May 06, 2004 11:18 am
Location: Milwaukee
Contact:

Train Car Lettering

Post by Robare M. Novou »

Does anyone on this site have any information or leads to information concerning train lettering? To be more specific, Railroad trains from around the turn of the century (1800-1900).

RMN
Mike Jackson
Site Admin
Posts: 1705
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2004 11:02 pm
Location: Jackson Hole, WY
Contact:

Post by Mike Jackson »

Robare,
I don't recall owning a book specifically dedicated to train car lettering, but there are references in the ICS books.


Image
This plate was lettered in 1893 and copyrighted in a folio collection of other ICS oversized plates in 1899. I had to splice this image since the plates are bigger than my scan area. This is darned close to most rail road car lettering I've seen personally.

The text begins with this sentence:
This style of letter, as its name implies, is designed to fill spaces such as the frieze and dado of railroad coaches, that are too long in proportion to their height to admit of the use of any other style.
Image
I digitized that alphabet for my own use a long time ago, as shown above.

I think Dover sells a book or streetcar and trolly car images. Seems like there might be something similar for trains. Gary Godby posted a link on the old BB which takes you to a bunch of historical photos listed by specific subjects. You might look through them for more images.

Hope this helps,
Mike Jackson / co-administrator
Golden Era Studios
Vintage Ornamental Clip art
Jackson Hole, WY

Photography site:
Teton Images
Jackson Hole photography blog:
Best of the Tetons
Roger R.
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2004 9:06 pm
Location: Bessemer City, NC 28016

Post by Roger R. »

Robare
I was shown by Southern Railway shop how they made
metal stencils. If this information is of any use, I can
explain.


Roger
Roderick Treece
Posts: 1086
Joined: Sat Apr 10, 2004 8:04 pm
Location: San deigo Calif
Contact:

Post by Roderick Treece »

Train Cars,Now theres a beutiful backgroud to paint on.
The fist time I saw a train being hand painted I was at Knott's Berry Farm with my six grade class and we saw this guy lettering the locamotive in ghost town.I you can imagin how proud i was when it turn out to be my dad.
Later we lettered a train for the Walnut Creek Train Station Restaurant (Calif) .If you go to the web site www.ghosttownsigns.com I have pictures of that train.It shows some very nice lettering and scrolls.Hope that helps and let me know if you need any more info.
Any body that gets to paint a train is truly fortunate.I'm glad I did and will alway feel grateful for the oportunity

Roderick
Rick Sacks
Posts: 68
Joined: Thu Apr 15, 2004 3:17 pm
Location: Mendocino, California
Contact:

Post by Rick Sacks »

Just what is it that you want to know? I have a train customer. Everything from steam engines, coaches and gondolas, depot signs, and the round house. Jim Ingram does most of the work for the railroad museum in Sacramento. They might be a connection for what you want.
Mendocino, California
"Where the redwoods meet the Sea"
Robare M. Novou
Posts: 424
Joined: Thu May 06, 2004 11:18 am
Location: Milwaukee
Contact:

Train Lettering.

Post by Robare M. Novou »

Im looking for information on the passenger train cars. Not the frieght cars or Engines, just the passenger compartment cars.

RMN
John Studden
Posts: 150
Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2004 11:40 am

Train Car Lettering

Post by John Studden »

Robare,
If is helpful, the Typestyle shown on this page is available from Letterhead Fonts, it is named Pullman Train.
John
John Studden
Valencia Signs, California
Mike Jackson
Site Admin
Posts: 1705
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2004 11:02 pm
Location: Jackson Hole, WY
Contact:

Post by Mike Jackson »

Image

Here's a more complete showing of John's font at:
http://www.letterheadfonts.com/
Mike Jackson / co-administrator
Golden Era Studios
Vintage Ornamental Clip art
Jackson Hole, WY

Photography site:
Teton Images
Jackson Hole photography blog:
Best of the Tetons
Carol
Posts: 28
Joined: Mon Apr 12, 2004 9:50 am
Location: Oregon
Contact:

Pullman lettering

Post by Carol »

I googled Pullman car lettering and found this book:
Pullman Paint and Lettering Notebook, ISBN 0890242917. It might be for model train buffs, but I think those people are pretty accurate. Hope it helps.
C.
Art is a technique of communication. The image is the most complete technique of all communication.
Claus Oldenburg
You are invited to visit www.carolchapel.com
Post Reply