As stated in a previous post, I am working on AT&SF 999952 in Atchison, Kansas. I painted the car yesterday and now I am trying to track down a couple of 1970's relics to finish it;

- The car had four 4" X 6" reflective spots on each side (photo attached). These are not the modern honeycomb looking scotchlight. They look like reflective tape of some sort. Does anyone know of a good way to replicate them? I am redoing the caboose in its last paint scheme (1976) and don't want to go with the modern, honeycomb reflective tape. (car is not going anywhere so meeting current rules is not of any concern)

- Has anyone redone the 1960's / 1970's optical scanner blocks? Is there I guide any where that shows what information they should have and what color tape was used? (oddly, the tape used on these blocks is the honeycomb style, I just want to get the colors right). I did not paint over them and am not planning to unless I can figure out how to accurately redo them. A photo of one of the blocks and the freshly painted caboose is attached.

Thanks

Jason Midyette

Sometimes it's best to go to the source. Why not contact BNSF shops and inquire directly?

This should help with reproducing the barcode.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KarTrak

JR

Are you sure the older solid color Scotchlite isn't still available? This outfit seems to have something that will fill the bill, 15" wide and sold by the foot.

https://shop.novoworks.com/3M-Scotchlite-Reflective-Vinyl.html

Disclaimer, I have no experience with these folks, just the first good hit on the web.

You might want to talk to a sign shop that has a vinyl cutter; they should have a similar material, and could pre-cut the "circle crosses" from a good tracing.

On edit:

Be aware that those circles had a black detail inside which mimicked the railroad's logo. I suspect the black was non-reflective, silk screened on the Scotchlight. Sand through one to find out.

Sample pic:
http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/atsf/atsf999632jpa.jpg

Thank you everyone.

Dennis, looks like the scotchlite you found will work perfectly, thank you. For better or worse, I don't have to worry about the cross in circle reflectors, the Santa Fe painted them over last time they painted the caboose (1971) and put the 4x6 rectangles over them.

The Kar Trak tag was in place before 1971 as it was masked over when the car was painted then (last coat of Santa Fe paint was higher than the black of the tag) Almost hate to re do it.

Jason Midyette

I think there's a story to tell there on the basic failure of the ACI label system, and that should be part of the interpretation of your car. Today nobody thinks about it, but the RFID tags have solved the entire problem. Back then, it worked, sorta, if it was really clean, not vandalized.... two things that are really hard to say about railroad cars in general.

Nice work Jason, we'll be in Atchison in October for the annual Halloween observances, looking forward to seeing this caboose looking much better than the last time we were there. What condition is the interior in? Was this caboose upgraded in Wichita or San Bernardino it's active life? Being here in Wichita (and a native) I wish our local group would get ahold of one of the cabooses that was actually upgraded at the long-gone West Wichita (old Orient) Shops.

Dan

Sorry for the long delay between posts, I have been busy with the inside of the caboose.

The interior is quite complete and not in too bad a condition. Just 30+ years of dirt, open windows and minor vandalism.

999952 seems to have spent a lot of its life in Kansas, found papers inside it showing use on the now mostly defunct line between Topeka and Coffeyville in the mid to late 1960's. It's last rehab by the Santa Fe was at Kansas City in 1971 (judging by the original brake test date stencil still showing through) and it ended its service career in KC yard transfer service.

I have posted some more details on 999952 and the work I have been doing at http://www.myviewfromthecaboose.com

Jason Midyette

Jason,

Sorry for a late reply. Have you looked into local sign companies that do cut vinyl? They can either print on reflective material to make multi-color appliques with a reflective background or apply cut vinyl over Scotchlight. Also, to make masking easier, they can cut your design with a masking material that you stick on the car as a sheet and then peel off the top layer to leave a perfect mask for painting. They usually require .ai or .eps files for printing/cutting or you can pay them to do the design.