In the spring of 1976, Scenic Rys hired Ernie Robart to paint and letter 484, which was being returned to service after sitting out the last couple of seasons. In scraping down the side of 484's tender, Ernie uncovered the original lettering Baldwin Locomotive Works applied to the tender in 1925. Ernie managed to trace off the lettering and created the font seen in the pic of 488. The result was an approximation of the original 1925 lettering style.
When Baldwin lettered the engines in 1925 they used the D&RGW's standard gauge-sized tender lettering and cab numbers.
This size and font was later applied to 483 that summer and 487 a couple of years later. It was the standard font until it was replaced by a computer generated "equivalent" (but not a replica) in 1991. The Speedline "Cumbres & Toltec" arrived with the 497 in 1992.