I'm having a little decal problem and could use some help.I just painted up quite a few older PS-2 Two bay hoppers in multiple scales in CSX tan.that is where the problem starts.

The scales I am working in are Z,N,and HO.I have the Z scale decals,but so far have not been able to find any N or HO decals.

Can any of you steer me in thr right direction to find these decals.I need enough to do 4 cars in each scale.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give,and no Micro-Scale does not have any.

Do you have access to a CDS catalog in your local shop? They are not producing any more, but the back stock is still impressive.

Andrew

There's nothing for CSX in either the C-D-S or Champ catalogues, either.

Wayne

Hi Catt,

If you have the Z scale decals ........ this is only an idea but could you scan them scale them up to N /HO scale and print them out onto clear decal film ?

Highball Graphics at <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.mgdecals.com">www.mgdecals.com</a><!-- w --> had just released Penn Central and Conrail decals for these cars. The website said that new decals are being released, you may want to email them. At present time they do not have CSX decals.

Bruce

So if I read you right, you want to decal something like this:


Looks to me like you should be able to get what you need from the Microscale 504 decal sheet - boxcars, gons and hoppers:


They have it in N (60-504) and HO (87-504).

Or most of the Grain Express (4212) sheet would work too, I think:


Or am I missing something?

[quote]Or am I missing something?

Yes neither set has decals for the PS-2 (style) covered hoppers.I find it quite interesting at how easy it was to aquire the Zecals yet there are none available in N or HO for one of CSX's most common covered hoppers.

Along those same lines these were used on center- flo hoppers too. Micro-Scale is dropping a lot of their decals for lack of sales ,it seems like nobody is painting and decaling their own model railroad cars anymore.A statement I know for a fact to be a huge crock of BULL PUCKY!

John,

How is the pictured PS-2 different from what you're trying to do? Can you post a pic of the scheme you're trying to do?

Catt,
Check the advertiser's index in MR, to see if Rail Graphics is still in business. I used them for custom decals for my home road. They're not cheap ( there is a minimum order ), but they do an excellent job. They can do the art work, or you can provide. If you provide, they were asking for black on white at 2X actual size. They do have a color selection, I was able to get a very close match for Floquil "Coach green", and "Railbox yellow" . The alternative is the ink jet compatible decal paper. I haven't tried that myself, but I have heard relatively good things about it.
Pete

OK, you're shooting for something like this, right?

So it looks to me like the Grain Express sheet has everything you need to do it. Unless the CSX is in some completely different colour.... which is hard to tell from photos and the web.

Sumpter250 Wrote:see if Rail Graphics is still in business. I used them for custom decals for my home road. They're not cheap ( there is a minimum order ), but they do an excellent job.

They are. http://www.railgraphicsdecals.com I have my home road decals made by them and I agree they do an EXCELLENT job.

Dave

Quote:So it looks to me like the Grain Express sheet has everything you need to do it.

Well except for the fact that it's for a different type of covered hopper,it's a different number series, and it will only do one car,plus the data would be all wrong.I have a total of 10 cars to do.Plus back when I started this project last summer they had the decals,now nobody does because CSX in all their wisdom charges a licencing fee.Did I mention the decals are now $5.00 plus a sheet.Oh and this sheet only does one car.

Catt Wrote:Well except for the fact that it's for a different type of covered hopper,it's a different number series, and it will only do one car,plus the data would be all wrong.I have a total of 10 cars to do.Plus back when I started this project last summer they had the decals,now nobody does because CSX in all their wisdom charges a licencing fee.Did I mention the decals are now $5.00 plus a sheet.Oh and this sheet only does one car.

Well, since you've already found that there's nothing "off the shelf" that's going to do it, unless you spring for custom decals you're going to have to cobble together what you can from what's available. Which is what I was trying to point out.

Yes, I realize the Grain Express cars are not PS-2 2-bay hoppers.... but there's enough on the sheet that you could make do with, and maybe scab the car data from another set of decals. As far as only 1 car per sheet, that's pretty common.

So, you're either going to have to make do with what you can get, try to find someone who's got some old stock of the pre-license fee decals, or spring for custom-made.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

Catt Wrote:Well except for the fact that it's for a different type of covered hopper,it's a different number series, and it will only do one car,plus the data would be all wrong.I have a total of 10 cars to do.Plus back when I started this project last summer they had the decals,now nobody does because CSX in all their wisdom charges a licencing fee.Did I mention the decals are now $5.00 plus a sheet.Oh and this sheet only does one car.

Can't help you with the fact that it does only one car, but you can easily cut up the numbers on the sheet to give you the numbers which you require, even if it's digit-by-digit. Likewise for the dimensional data.

Last week I received over $60.00 worth of lettering from Champ, ordered because I wanted to get it while it was still available, even though I'm not going to use all of it immediately.

And, if my sense of things is correct, you're unhappy with CSX because of the licensing fee, re-paint the cars and letter them for a road that doesn't impose such restrictions - CSX won't care, but at least you'll have registered your personal protest to this state of affairs. While this may not fit with your original plans, nowadays it's wise to have all of the really necessary materials on-hand before starting a project.

Looking around on the internet, Railroad.Net I discovered that the large "CSX" is in a font called Lubalin Graph Bold, and that the numbers and reporting marks are Helvetica. These links may give you some idea of where to get dry transfers, although you'll need to determine the point sizes which you require. HO scale dimensional data, in black and in a suitable style, is available from Champ.

Wayne

Quote: if my sense of things is correct, you're unhappy with CSX because of the licensing fee

No sir, I am not.It is their logo and they have the right to protect it and licence the use of it.The point is I can not get these decals done by a commercial decal company unless that company is licenced by CSX to use their logo.For them to do so would put them in trademark violation.

Now that you have brought it up how many $5.00 decal sets would you buy to cut apart and make fit some other car when the set only did one car?As far as repainting them for some other railroad I don't want some other railroad,if I did I would not have wasted my time painting the cars CSX tan.

By the way if you ever meet the idiot that said we don't paint and decal our own models anymore smack him once for me me will you? Thanks.

Subject closed.