With regard to the lettering used on locomotives #463 and all the others, vinyl has been used since 1990. The problem with the appearance of the #463 cab looks to be the size and spacing of the letters not the material. This opinion is based on the pictures posted on the web-cam site. The 463 on the side of the cab is smaller and crowded together compared to the size and spacing in the historic pictures. I know that #463 was lettered 455 a while back maybe the sign company sent the wrong size and font for the re-lettering when the 463 was put back on the cab.