New York Central RDC Safety Stripe Decals
HO-scale (#12), S-scale (#57), N-scale (#157)
Instructions 12/22/2020
William Mosteller, Great Decals!, 3306 Parkside Terrace, Fairfax, VA 22031
www.greatdecals.com
History - The New York Central's Budd rail diesel cars were delivered without the distinctive safety striping. After car M-498 was destroyed in a grade crossing accident in 1960, the railroad applied the zebra end striping to improve the cars' visibility.
The safety stripes carried over into the Penn Central era. When the New Haven was absorbed into the Penn Central, the 40 RDCs contributed by them also got the safety stripe treatment. Their New Haven script heralds were covered by Penn Central worms heralds. The cars ran with the safety stripes for early Amtrak and in the MBTA-era Boston commuter service. There were variations among the RDCs, it is best to consult photos if you wish to model specific units.
| Type |
Count |
Road Number |
|
RDC-1 |
16 |
M-450–M-465 |
| RDC-2 |
1 |
M-480 |
| RDC-3 |
3 |
M-497–M-499 |
Models - The decal layout has been checked specifically against an HO-scale Athearn car, an S-scale Omnicon car, an N-scale Kato car, and should fit any Budd car model.
Installation - Remove all window glazing on the car ends and sides before applying the decals. Apply the decals in two steps. First, apply the door decal and the thin stripe decal that goes over the door. If either of these decals are too tall for the model, trim them from their tops. The over-door strip is intentionally long to cover variation among different manufacturers models. (Extra over-door strips are provided against accidents.)
Once these decals have dried thoroughly, and you have applied a clear coat to them, then apply the larger end-side flaps. These pieces are intentionally longer and wider than necessary to accommodate manufacturer variations. Trim the top, the bottom, and the "rear" (the one that stops at the back of the side door) edges to fit your model. If your car's front doorway is lower than the decal's doorway notch, trim it at the top.
Once the decals are dry, set to your satisfaction, and clear coated, use a sharp X-acto knife to cut out the window openings. Apply clear coat again around the window openings, then restore the glazing.
Lettering in HO-scale - A few railroads are relevant:
New York Central - NYC Streamlined Passenger Cars - Microscale 87-1352 or 87-1353, get the “M”s from System or McKay,
or vintage sets: Walthers 71890 (71-89) or 71640 (71-64) or Champ PH-23.
Penn Central - PC Streamlined Passenger Cars Microscale 87-1383
for the small black worm on white background herald.
New Haven - NH Passenger Cars (1935-1968) Microscale 87-884
for the narrower white “New Haven.”
Amtrak - The herald for this interim scheme is on the decal sheet from the Walthers Metroliner, which lettered all various owners.
Properly stored, these decals should remain usable for many years.
Acknowledgements - This project would never have happened without the support from Bruce Alcock of Tuttle, OK, Sharon Barber of Strong, ME, William Brillinger of Precision Design, Altona, MB, the late Walt Danylak of Syracuse, NY, "El Greco," the late Leon Lavdas, of Strongsville, OH, Doug Nash of Hamilton, NJ, Ellen Schwartz of Sacramento, CA, Charles M. Smith, President of the NYCS Historical Society, and Stanley J Stokrocki of Poughkeepsie, NY.