lettering for GTW’s 50’ autocar w/end doors

The Grand Trunk Railway was formed in 1859, as a railway system that operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario, and in the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. Named after the famous highway in British Imperial India, the Grand Trunk was first gaged at 5’-6” running in Canada, but when economics changed between Canada and the US, the 300 mile segment was regaged overnight to 8’-4-1/2” in 1874 - an incredible feat in itself. The Grand Trunk Railway’s mainline ran from Portland, Maine to Montreal. The three main subsidiaries were the Central Vermont, which operated in Quebec, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut; the Grand Trunk Pacificc, reaching all the way to British Colombia; and the Grand Trunk Western, the latter operated in Michigan, Indiana and Illinois. Offices were in Montreal, Canada and London, England. These three were the precursors of today‘s Canadian National Railways. When the railroads emerged from the Great Depression, automobiles became a hot commodity, and the GTW was no exception becoming a major automobile carrier, purchasing 800 all-steel 50’ end-door automobile cars from Pressed Steel Car Company under Lot 5566. This lettering set is for the 800 car 1937-1944 Series 591000-59799. Note: for data decal application, Series 591000-591199 and 591600-591799 were 10‘-4” IH, while Series 591200-59599 were 10’-6” IH.  

Paint and Lettering: Car body and trucks painted with GTW’s mineral brown: this was close to the Santa Fe’s Mineral Brown which can be achieved by mixing 4 parts of TCP-139 & 1 part TCP-19. Roof painted black and underbody coated with black car cement; lettering all white stencil paste with the light green parallelogram. Beginning in June 1954, for new cars and repaints, the GTW switched to Glidden Freight Car Red, and the horizontal maple leaf was applied, dropping the road’s name over the reporting marks - see 591590 over. 

Decal set designed and created at Protocraft Decals
Printed by Microscale Industries