After a few days waiting for the mail (and working on the Fruit Car in the mean time) I set to the task of applying decals to the flat cars. Here's my setup:
And here's a closeup of the right-side data. Note the decaling casualty, the vertical brake staff:
I've gotten pickier since I lettered box car 1603 a few years ago. That's why I had to order new data sheets to go on these flats. Research is wonderful and terrible, especially as a freelancer. For these flats I came across a car builder's catalog with similarly sized and constructed truss rod flats that showed a capacity of 80,000 lbs, and a light weight of around 28,000 lbs. The data sets I had from Rail Graphics (unfortunately out of production) didn't include a light weight anywhere close. I would have had to chop up tiny little numbers and rearrange them - not fun. Decaling already stresses me out a little. I didn't want to complicate it any further.
Sure, some modelers would have said, "So what? Just use any number, nobody's going to look that close, and once weathered it won't be that legible." But, just like detailing building interiors, I would know it's there. In fact, looking closely at box car 1603, I may go back and re-weigh that car. Right now I've got it a little too heavy for its age and construction. Wouldn't take long, especially since I've got all the tools and parts out and handy...
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