Casey and I have been working on making some new glass numberboards for the 483 charter next month. We wanted to make a set that would be prototypical to what was on the locomotive back in the Grande days. Mr. Dylan Hutson has been helping us with onsite measurements, and Mr. Russo Loco has been helping with historical photos.
Earl has told me the headlights originally had a piece of frosted glass behind a metal "filter" containing the number, and then clear glass outside of that. This allows the light inside the headlight to shine through to light the numbers. So... that's what I did! I frosted a piece of glass with my cheapo sandblaster, and the filter was cut on my laser from a plastic material called Rowmark. I drew the numbers in Corel, and they are based and traced from historical photos.
The beauty of this is, to renumber the locomotive, just slide in a new filter. We plan on making enough to renumber the 488 (loco and tender,) but could make enough for the entire fleet if so desired.
Let me know what you think!
Unstacked pieces.
Pieces stacked together.
Add the light!
Cody Akin
Irving, Tx
"Rio -Gran"de