| BLUE COMET Baggage Car |
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The Starting Point |
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| This is a close up of the Blue Comet baggage car "Barnard". There were only 2 baggage cars, the Olbers #391 & the Barnard #392, Both were build in 1916 by Harlan & Hollingsworth in Wilimington, Delaware. The other cars were built by Pullman (diner), Pressed Steel Car (combine) & Bethlehem Ship Building in the mid-20's. I took this photo a few years ago in the office of the SRRNJ (Southern Railroad Of New Jersey) It is from a full train photo of the Blue Comet that they had hanging on the wall in the office. The photo on their wall is over 6 feet long. I don't know the history of the photo or where it was taken. They also didn't know but, their office is in Winslow Jct. The Blue Comet used to travel the rails there to Atlantic City. I remembered I had that photo of it in my files So, I dug it out to use as a guide for this project. Aristo Craft doesen't plan on making this car to complete their set so, I had to complete mine. Other scales have had runs of the Blue Comet cars too. Below is an O Scale version on the "Barnard". Every train company takes the liberty to make what is the easiist and cheapest way to make a car.. Note the spacing and placement on the "Blue Comet" and the single doors vs. the real photo. Close Enough huh? I don't think so! (Aristo's doors are wrong too..Oh Well!) |
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| I spent more time doing research on this baggage car then it took me to make re-paint it. |
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| I looked at Aristo's new run of Heavy Weight baggage cars and saw the B&O version. I thought, "This is gonna be a breeze to make" Just remove the graphics and repaint the light gray ..Jersey Cream.. then add the Blue Comet graphics. and be done with it.. WRONG! It ended up being a total re-paint. The blue on the B&O is too dark and, the roof is black and clerestory windows are green. (None of the real BC cars had these windows. I painted them black). |
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| I've used "Automobile Break Fluid" before to remove Aristo "Gold" graphics and it worked well. I had just bought this tin of ELO for another project and gave it a try. (I used it on my CNJ F3 re-paint also) No sleeping on the job with this product.. I put some on a rag and wipe over the graphic to wet it. Within 30 seconds I start to wipe the graphic again and it starts to "erase".. Be careful not to remove behind the graphic. I wanted to retain the B&O blue and use it as an undercoat. Reason was that I coulld not get a perfect match for the Comet "Packard Blue". My match, I'd say is 98% ( with the darker blue undercoat)....My blue on top and then, a few coats of Dull Coat my baggage car is pretty, darn close |
The Re-Painting |
| I went to my local hobby store with a Blue Comet car in tow so to match the color up with color charts that they have.. These paints are WATER BASED ACRYLIC and can be thinned with water and airbrushed on. They are used to paint figures and other models so, I gave them a try, It was the first time that I used them & they worked out very well for me.. Check out the link that i've included here for more info. |
| I won't go into how I took it apart or how I masked it up. You should know how to do that by now. |
| Colors I used for the Body Center Roof |
The Decals |
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| The decals (left) were made by Stan Cedarleaf. The font used for my lettering IS NOT the same Aristo used on the new set. Michael J. (Aristo Craft) told me that he spent hours making the new set's lettering. Stan found a font called "Marquette Roman" that is very, very close. I told Stan to buy it. The first run of the Blue Comet 's lettering doesn't match the new Comet set or this purchased font but, they all are closely related. SOLVASET was used to "melt" the decals over the many rivets on this new baggage car. Close up car photo on right. |
The Finished Baggage Car |
| B&O -----------After -------COMET |
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| B&O -----------Before -------COMET |
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Olbers |
Barnard |
| Aristo Craft trains, Garden Railways magazine, G-scale trains, Jersey Central, |
