Richmond Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad
Lightweight Passenger Car Decal Set #203, HO-scale
Instructions April 26, 2022
Great Decals!, 3306 Parkside Terrace, Fairfax, VA 22031
www.greatdecals.com
This set is designed to letter any of the RF&P’s 38 lightweight passenger cars built during and after 1946 through end of service life and repaints through 1976 when the last cars were sold off. Being a bridge road the RF&P rostered many more cars than other railroads of similar size. They participated in pool service with the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Atlantic Coast Line, the Seaboard Air Line, the Florida East Coast Railway, and the Norfolk and Western Railway. Subsequent mergers during the 1960s added the Seaboard Coast Line and the Penn Central Railroads. By 1971 all the above were either out of the passenger hauling business or had become a part of Amtrak . Amtrak purchased 24 of RF&P’s cars beginning in 1972 and Auto Train purchased 5 more in 1976 along with 7 heavyweight express cars. A few of these cars still see service as part of the VIA HEP-2 program and others are privately owned.
This decal set is printed in three colors, gold leaf, black, and aluminum. The aluminum color is used on the purple letterboards of Atlantic Coast Line pool cars from 1946 to 1957-8. The black lettering is used on the Seaboard Airline pool cars from 1947 through 1967/72 (SCL). The gold leaf lettering is used on the RF&P’s own cars painted in the blue and gray passenger colors (matching the E and FP locomotives) and on the Pullman green headend cars. The gold can also be used for the 1947 ACF five car Old Dominion train set, and also when they were repainted in the 1950s. Finally, the gold leaf can be used on the three “King” series 10-6 smoothside sleepers from the Pennsy-N&W pool. To complete those cars you need Microscale decal set 87-892 to obtain the Pennsy “pinstripes”. Finally if any accurate models of 500 or 700 series coaches come along the gold leaf lettering can be used as numbers are included here for those cars as well as a limited number of mail and express cars. Also listed are suggestions as to which cars are closest to the prototype, although they may no longer be available new.
Atlantic Coast Line Pool Cars - Aluminum lettering on purple letterboards (future release mid-2009)
Coaches 801 to 806 (Rivarossi 1940s series coaches) Use CONDENSED lettering and R.F. &. P. initials
Coaches 810 to 812 (Con-Cor 85’ corrugated side Coaches w/ optional PS roofs) Dining Car (813) (NKP brass car sides + core kit Optional Walthers PS Super Chief Diner) Sleeping Cars (401-404) “County” class 10-6s. (NKP brass sides + Core Kits) Optional Walthers PS 4140 corrugated side 10-6s. (Caroline-Hanover-Spotsylvania-Stratford), Fairfax River (14-2), Byrd Island (21 Roomette), and Colonial Beach (ACF 6DBR-Lounge) NKP Brass car sides & core kits. All repainted with stainless letterboards and black lettering except Byrd Island.
Seaboard Air Line Pool Cars - Black lettering on stainless steel siding
Coaches 850-857 Walthers Budd (SAL) 52 passenger coaches (must add long letterboard strips!!)
Coaches 861-862 (No accurate or close match yet !)
Sleeping Cars Essex (MofW 207)/Chesterfield (405)/Lancaster (406) Rivarossi 1940s sleepers Pullman 10-6 cars w/Budd fluted roofs.
R F & P Old Dominion Cars - Gold leaf lettering
Coaches 840-843 Rivarossi 1930s series coaches Parlor Diner 844/Baggage Dorm 301/844 Rivarossi 1930 dining car for Virginia Dare (No match after conversion)
PS 10-6 Sleepers 407-409 Walthers PS 4140 plan smoothside 10-6s (optional Rivarossi 1930s 10-6 sleepers) King George, King William, and King & Queen. 407 (ex-KG) repainted 1970 to solid silver gray no name Black lettering and numbers. Car replaced damaged “ESSEX” in SCL pool) Note: Small “Pullman” ownership lettering used until 1968. Replaced with 400 series numbers (400-410).
Acknowledgments - Special thanks go to Sarah Fleming of Fairfax, VA, Craig Harrison of Vauxhall, NJ, Vickie Hays of Microscale, Dale Latham of Waldorf, MD, and Rob Wingo of Mineral, VA, without whom this project would never have happened.