Q: In the November Ask Trains video, you were standing in front of a display case filled with Milwaukee, Racine & Troy freight cars. Some featured the familiar square MR&T herald. Other models looked to be from an earlier era. What can you tell me about those cars? — Bert G.
A: Alan Cerney, an illustrator in Kalmbach Publishing Co.’s art department from 1975 to 1978, designed the square Milwaukee, Racine & Troy (MR&T) herald that we’ve used on our freelance HO scale club layout since the late 1970s. Models featuring that herald cover the 1970s to the present day.
A few years ago we decided to offer MR&T models appropriate for the steam and steam-to-diesel transition eras. The MR&T herald Cerney designed was far too modern for those cars, so we needed to come up with something different. The MR staff worked with Rick Johnson, our now retired lead illustrator, to design era-appropriate looks for the MR&T.
We came up with a couple designs for the steam and steam-to-diesel transition eras. The first, and simplest, was spelling out the MR&T’s name in a Railroad Roman-style font without a herald. Many railroads did this over the years, including Gulf, Mobile & Ohio; Norfolk & Western; and Northern Pacific. We’ve offered Accurail’s two-bay offset-side hopper and 41-foot gondola in this scheme.
We also worked with Rick to develop a herald for the early days of the Myrt. We stuck with the square shape, but spelled out the railroad’s name over three lines (think Detroit & Toledo Shore Line and Grand Trunk Western, among others). To date, we’ve used this herald on Accurail’s 40-foot wood-side refrigerator car, 40-foot single-sheathed boxcar, 41-foot gondola, and wood-side two-bay hopper, as well as the ScaleTrains steel offset-cupola caboose kit.
Then we wanted a scheme that would serve as a bridge between the steam-to-diesel transition era and the 1970s. It’s not a big secret that I’m a fan of the Burlington Northern and its predecessor roads. I turned to the Spokane, Portland & Seattle as inspiration, as its road name featured three city names, similar to the Milwaukee, Racine & Troy.
The first car to feature the scheme was Accurail’s 40-foot steel refrigerator car. Though it looked OK, I wasn’t entirely happy with the look. We refined the scheme on Accurail’s 50-foot double-door boxcar kit, shown in the image above.
If you’re curious what era an MR&T car is designed for, check out the product descriptions at Shop.Trains.com.
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