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#4459279 - 01/30/19 05:51 AM Number Boards  
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malibu43 Offline
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Yesterday's little project was adding number boards to all my Athearn Blue Box GP's (some dating over 20 years old) and my IHC Mogul (also about 20 years old). Since I don't have a layout or get to use my train stuff, I've been enjoying detailing these old locos lately, treating them more like models than toys.

The number boards are just white text printed on black text boxes in MS word. There was a little experimentation to get the size right. Then I covered the printed paper with some packing tape to help protect the number boards during handling. This it was just a matter of cutting them out, trimming to match the individual loco, running around the edge with a black sharpie to help eliminate white edges, then gluing them in place with an Elmers kid's glue stick.

I'm pretty happy with how they turned out!

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]

Last edited by malibu43; 01/30/19 05:51 AM.

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#4459280 - 01/30/19 05:55 AM Re: Number Boards [Re: malibu43]  
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malibu43 Offline
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For those not familiar with model railroading, this is what the "number boards" looked like before, with clear plastic lenses.

[Linked Image]

Last edited by malibu43; 01/30/19 06:12 AM.

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#4459408 - 01/31/19 08:57 AM Re: Number Boards [Re: malibu43]  
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goon Offline
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Those look great. I hope you will have a layout to run them on soon.


cheers
Gareth

UNDERSTEER - is when you hit the wall with the front wing.
OVERSTEER - is when you hit the wall with the back wing.
HORSEPOWER - is how fast you hit the wall.
TORQUE - is how far you can take the wall with you.

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#4459411 - 01/31/19 10:14 AM Re: Number Boards [Re: malibu43]  
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RSColonel_131st Offline
Lifer
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Vienna, 2nd rock left.
The original looked like headlights?

#4459427 - 01/31/19 02:09 PM Re: Number Boards [Re: malibu43]  
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Sunchaser Offline
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That small detail makes for a great improvement. Number 522 is a beauty.

No layout? Lack of space or time or both?

If I could afford it and had room, said room would be filled with trains.

#4459434 - 01/31/19 03:41 PM Re: Number Boards [Re: Sunchaser]  
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malibu43 Offline
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Originally Posted by RSColonel_131st
The original looked like headlights?


Ya, I don't know why Athearn decided to go that route way back when. I guess so they would light up when you ran the train in the dark...? Actually, the GP9 (diesel next to the steam locomotive) does not have the clear number board lenses and just has a framed rectangular spaces molded into the shell. So they didn't do it with all of their diesels. Any new locomotives these days come with actual number boards.



Originally Posted by Sunchaser
That small detail makes for a great improvement. Number 522 is a beauty.

No layout? Lack of space or time or both?

If I could afford it and had room, said room would be filled with trains.



Thanks. You can still get those IHC 2-6-0's on ebay, sometimes NIB, for about $80. It's DC (as are all my locomotives, DCC conversions will be a project for if/when there's a layout), so you can find them for pretty cheap.

I have a SP Daylight GS-4 (with a set of passenger cars) as well, that wasn't part of the number board project.

Technically we have room, but it's not really a priority. I already have a desk with a HOTAS, Guitars hanging on walls with an amp in the garage, and a '67 Chevelle taking up half the garage. I have too many hobbies, and not nearly enough time. So dedicating space to a train layout would be a little silly. A lot of other free space in the house is for the kids and their toys or whatever they're doing/building anyway. My son is starting to get interested, so maybe in a few years we can build a small layout for him (and I can run my trains on it when no-ones looking). For Christmas this year, I got my son and daughter (7 and 4 yrs old respectively) some locomotives and cars off of ebay, and occasionally we set up ovals on the carpet for them to play with.

I got my son an ICH 2-6-0. It was cheap as some of the plastic is warped, but he loves it. And I got my daughter an old (and very noisy) F7/9.

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]

A couple weekends ago, my son and I made a Lava Rock load for his hopper. He loved that too.

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]


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#4459456 - 01/31/19 06:54 PM Re: Number Boards [Re: malibu43]  
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Pooch Offline
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Don't think you have room for a layout? Try N Scale. Here's my 8'x 2 1/2' setup. You can do a lot in a small space.

Attached Files IMG_1314.jpgIMG_1319.jpg
Last edited by Pooch; 01/31/19 06:55 PM.

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#4459458 - 01/31/19 07:12 PM Re: Number Boards [Re: malibu43]  
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They are small, but with some patience, and my glasses on, I managed to do some detailing. JNL is my fictitous short line. I bought all black locos, then I painted over the company logos and put my own decals on. Time consuming on such small trains, but fun.

Attached Files IMG_1332.JPG

"From our orbital vantage point, we observe an earth without borders, full of peace, beauty and magnificence, and we pray that humanity as a whole can imagine a borderless world as we see it, and strive to live as one in peace."
Astronaut William C. McCool RIP, January 29, 2003 - Space Shuttle Columbia

#4459461 - 01/31/19 07:20 PM Re: Number Boards [Re: malibu43]  
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Passenger service is handled by these beautiful little RDC's I bought at a train show.

Attached Files IMG_1331.jpg

"From our orbital vantage point, we observe an earth without borders, full of peace, beauty and magnificence, and we pray that humanity as a whole can imagine a borderless world as we see it, and strive to live as one in peace."
Astronaut William C. McCool RIP, January 29, 2003 - Space Shuttle Columbia

#4459501 - 02/01/19 01:59 AM Re: Number Boards [Re: Pooch]  
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Dart Offline
Measured in Llamathrusts
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Originally Posted by Pooch
They are small, but with some patience, and my glasses on, I managed to do some detailing. JNL is my fictitous short line. I bought all black locos, then I painted over the company logos and put my own decals on. Time consuming on such small trains, but fun.


Looks very reliable.

[Linked Image]


The opinions of this poster are largely based on facts and portray a possible version of the actual events.

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#4459967 - 02/04/19 11:15 PM Re: Number Boards [Re: malibu43]  
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malibu43 Offline
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A rainy weekend with my kids, so I set up a passenger depot and a rock loader for an "operating session." biggrin

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]


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#4460110 - 02/06/19 03:37 AM Re: Number Boards [Re: malibu43]  
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Pooch Offline
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There's just something about watching trains running that I can't get enough of. By the way...there's something very funny about seeing Batman waiting for the train.

Last edited by Pooch; 02/06/19 03:40 AM.

"From our orbital vantage point, we observe an earth without borders, full of peace, beauty and magnificence, and we pray that humanity as a whole can imagine a borderless world as we see it, and strive to live as one in peace."
Astronaut William C. McCool RIP, January 29, 2003 - Space Shuttle Columbia


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