Our lettering of the CA&E wood cars is based on mylar tracings of the 309 made by Barb Rayunec in 1974, from the final red paint scheme. From photographs, it appears that there was no change in size or style of lettering as the paint schemes changed, from maroon to blue to red. But it seems that the lettering at Wheaton Shops was largely freehand, since no two numbers or letters are exactly alike.
When Barb finished tracing the number '309' she took it to Bob Bruneau for approval. He walked over to the car and held her tracing up against the number, but it didn't match very well at all. "How did she do this?" There are six numbers on the car, and he finally found the one she had chosen to trace. They were all different, with variations of 1/4" to almost 1". The same is true of the letterboard. The letter A occurs four times, and these A's are all slightly different, although of course they're the same style and you cannot see this from a photograph. Professional painters could produce nearly consistent results with little or no layout required, it appears. But we're not that good - yet.
When Barb finished tracing the number '309' she took it to Bob Bruneau for approval. He walked over to the car and held her tracing up against the number, but it didn't match very well at all. "How did she do this?" There are six numbers on the car, and he finally found the one she had chosen to trace. They were all different, with variations of 1/4" to almost 1". The same is true of the letterboard. The letter A occurs four times, and these A's are all slightly different, although of course they're the same style and you cannot see this from a photograph. Professional painters could produce nearly consistent results with little or no layout required, it appears. But we're not that good - yet.
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