<br>We plan to cast replica builder's plates for the 494, an 1892 Manchester Locomotive Works product. The original plates were lost long ago, but we have a replica from the 1939 rebuild to cast from. One outfit has quoted us $140 per plate with a one time $125 art charge for the computer work needed to set up the job. They don't seem to need the original, but are content to work from a rubbing and photos. I think the price is high and I don't know whether to trust CAD to get an accurate reproduction. Can anyone who has gone through this process give me some guidance on price and tell me whether CAD can give as good a result as casting from an original? The plate is nothing out of the ordinary, oval approximately 11" x 4". Any outfits that have given good service and results?<br>



wrj494@aol.com

I work with autocad 14 at school, if you get the proper dimensions, it will come out very accurate. However, I don't know what the cost would be. Go to some vocational schools that are looking for projects and they could do it for less than the other prices.<br>



mstolzenfels@hotmail.com