Re: 497 above Lobato before the fences went up

>Well Bill, if I was on the next charter, I'd expect no less smiling smiley and I have been on a paying charter just in case you thought I was sideline musing.

>What I was getting at was is there any thought given after a restoration to replicating the minimal Lettering seen in the 60's as a departure from the Micro-Trains look? Mother Nature will do the weathering for you.

Short answer: Yes. But those of us who spend our time and money working on these cars usually want to make it look at best as possible, at least when we're done. Mother Nature *has* been doing the weathering since the beginning of time. Usually, no artificial help is needed. Just leave it outside for a couple of years and it will get into the rundown condition appropriate for the last days of the Rio Grande.

If a charter operator or movie director wants a specific period and usage scene, they can negotiate with the railroad (not the Friends) to modify the equipment for the needs of the event. They, of course, will pay for that, and returning it back to the condition they found it in. On the trip you were on, they apparently didn't feel their customers would pay for that.

Bill Kepner
Who's been doing this work for a year or two.