Input on BIG BLUE rolling stock decals needed

[ezdays]

Now is the time for your input to count, and this is the place to voice it.

Several people have asked about us having Big Blue Train Forum decals for starting a Big Blue railroad, or for just to decorate a car or two. We are thinking about having multi-color water decals, probably in 8 1/2" x 11" sheets. So I'm going to pose two questions for you regarding the decals, and one question regarding the general use of these decals. Note that these decals are independent of the vinyl stickyback ones we have already in the works.

1. The first question is in two parts:

1. should we keep the logo the way it is to put on our railroads, or should we adapt a name for the railroad and do the logo that way?
   
2. If we adapt a name, what should we call it? Like for instance, "The Big Blue Railway Co.", or "The route of the Big Blue Express". These are suggestions, we'd like to hear yours.

2. I would think we could combine both HO and N scale on one sheet, and O and larger on another. Or we could make full sheets for each scale, so again, a two-part question.

1. Should we have one sheet for each scale, or multiple scales on a single sheet?
   
2. What else would you like to see on the sheet besides the logo? Road markings, car numbers and/or other markings are some possibilities. I would like to make the decal sheet as versatile so it could be used to decorate several cars and possibly even a engine or two.

3. Now for the kicker, if we adapt a railroad name, we're going to need a paint scheme, especially for our engines. We're open to suggestions.

Now this is not a contest, it's an honest effort to get your feedback and suggestions. We will consider all inputs, but Mikey and I will have to make the final decisions based on practicality, appearance and cost.

Feel free to post your thoughts and ideas in this thread.

[nachoman]

I would like to see something that would look good for the wooden car/steam era.

[Ralph]

I don't think the images of the locomotives should be on the decals. An oval with the railroad name would do it for me. Now...what to call it?
How about "The Big Blue Route"?

I'd like to see car numbers on the decal sheets for sure.
Ralph

[MasonJar]

I'm with Kevin... Something for the steam era sounds good! Plus it takes advantage of things like "Gauge Northern Railroad - The Big Blue Route" and so on. Plus, no paint scheme is needed for the engines - they're all black!

Andrew

[eightyeightfan1]

I think, one sheet for each scale. Reason: With split sheets (two scales on one) you would only get a certain amount for each scale, even if they are different sizes in each scale, And I hate to be finishing up a car, and ruin a decal only to find out there were no more on the sheet. Also, having different eras available is a good idea, maybe steam, transition and modern eras could be represented. The present logo(without the locos) is good example of a steam-transition era logo.


As far as the name for the railroad........

What am I suppose to do with these?        

[ngauger]

Leave them be as they are, proud mementos to a bygone era, where Shamus and Matthyro still ride the rails................

[Bigsteel]

ill agree with what has been said,have a steam,transition and modern era logos. maybe the steam era can be the whole logo (without the engines on it) with the slogan then the transition can be just the words "the gauge railroad ,keep it gauged"and finally the modern can be like the BNSG swoosh or something with just "the-gauge" and maybe a resized or different font "keep it gauged".just some ideas.--josh

[Bigsteel]

maybe "big blue" could be the modern name also? like when the C&O merged with the B&O and just made the Chessie system.and also,seperate scale on seperate sheets,no need for an HO guy to buy N decals.--josh

[Dan85]

Great idea!

I like the GAUG reporting marks as is - but if you guys wanted to do something different could use "AWG" (American Wire Gauge) as some reporting marks? lol It's a little out there but it's a suggestion!

For some reason I immediately thought of the Conrail logo, and I thought you could do a similar logo with the 'G' in gauge, with one line going through the center of the 'G' as a track.

I also agree with one scale per sheet on the decals.

Only RR name I thought of Gauge Lines? Could make a Zealot Lines and patched to read gauge? lol

- Dan

[Sumpter250]

Only RR name I thought of Gauge Lines? Could make a Zealot Lines and patched to read gauge? lol

That could be dangerous, but............I like it!!!!!

For the modern era, if the reporting marks aren't already taken, BBGX "123456", for Big Blue Gauge company.
Logo: remove the locos, and "keep it gauged" as a separate, perhaps under the logo instead of in it. Or... Steam era, two steam locos(mirror image loco)...transition era, steam and diesel...modern era, two diesels(mirror image loco).

[sgtcarl1]

One scale per each sheet. Route of The Big Blue. These page colors. Markings for different types of cars, hoppers, tankers, etc. Image as is for transition era, two steamers for that era, and two diesels for modern. OR just as is to sgnify how long the railroad has been in operation.
My 1 1/2 cents worth.

[Russ Bellinis]

If an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet was done with only one scale per sheet, it should have enough room to do multiple freight cars in all but the largest of scales. In that case putting both the logo without the locomotives and logos with the locomotives might be a nice touch. The ones without the locomotives could be used on rolling stock, while the ones with the locomotives could be used for billboard advertising.

[ezdays]

Lot's of suggestions here that are meaningful. I definitely am going to factor them all in. Mikey and I both like the idea of three eras, early, transitional and current. I'm arranging with some guy from Star Feet command, he says his name is Spock. Anyway, he thinks he can transport me back 50, then 100 years so I can get a feel for the times and come up with suitable logos for those eras. I'm hoping to get a glimpse of our railroad to see what it was called back then. I'll let you know how I make out., but in the meantime, keep your suggestions coming, especially if you can remember what our railroad was called through those eras, and even now... We forgot...

[sgtcarl1]

I don't forget things, I just dis-remember them.

[eightyeightfan1]

Some input Don.
Having printing out my own decals, I have found that "one size DOSEN"T fit all". Even when doing the old Gauge logo as seen in the pic I posted, had to be resized for each type of rolling stock I applied it to. The one on the covered hopper, had to be resized differently then the one I used on "Ol Blue".