Jack and I started out with a goal. Well, mainly Jack's goal. To dig up some decent blueprints at the B&O RR Historical Society's Archives in order to create a good rendition of a font and logo to go on the side of B&O I-5 caboose C-1909 in Sykesville, MD. After some searching, and help from the intrepid Archivist and crew, we turned up the right pieces.

The Font letter diagrams were in good shape. Not a whole lot of extra work had to go into scanning them, besides the tedium of lining everything up on a small flatbed scanner. The Logo drawing, on the other hand, was nearly a complete loss. After countless years stored folded up, damaged by water and dry cycles, it was brittle and torn in many places. Not to mention that the last person to use it traced directly on the blueprint itself making it difficult to see the original lines. Nonetheless, both drawings would work fine for our project.

The Font and Logo were scanned in, bit by bit. For the Font, the scanned drawings were brought into FontLab and traced over to create a perfect rendition of the letters. The Logo was scanned in by placing the scanner upside-down and scanning piece by piece. The images were then brought into Adobe Photoshop and assembled like puzzle pieces. Minimal rotation and stretching was needed. Guides were established and adhered to so as to provide as close a geometrically accurate drawing. Interestingly enough, it turns out the circle is a bit oblong. Maybe a flaw in the original blueprint process, maybe a consideration for the viewing angle of the logo from the ground below. After piecing together the blueprint, the file was imported into Adobe Illustrator, a vector based drawing program. The blueprint was then traced over, each line and curve carefully reconstructed so as to provide an accurate rendition of the logo.

The files here on the site are a result of many hours of work by both Jack and Myself. We enjoyed every minute of it. From the hunt to the creation and finally to getting to share the result with the rest of the B&O fan community. A side note to this; one driving factor for myself has always been a desire to see accurate markings on model trains of the B&O Logo. So often, one or more aspects of the logo is just not right. Hopefully offering the files here will allow for more accurate renderings on more products.

Questions & Comments are welcome. Contact Ben at cpl_clegg *at* yahoo.com (address altered to reduce spam)

Note: To view the PDF files you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. A free download from Adobe.com. Click here to get it. The EPS files are intended for use in professional design environments. The TTF font files can be installed by dropping them into your Fonts folder.

Loco & Passenger Car Font DOWNLOAD: 44KB TrueType font. Can be installed on either Mac or PC. * Download the Notes from the creator, Jack. "Modeler's" Version of the Loco & Passenger Car Font DOWNLOAD: 32KB TrueType font. Can be installed on either Mac or PC. Edited by B&ORRHS member Kenneth Van Mechelen for use by modelers. Contains changed spacing, additional characters and some other minor tweaks. Instructions in PDF format can be downloaded HERE. Station Sign Font DOWNLOAD: 16KB TrueType font (in .ZIP format). Can be installed on either Mac or PC. * Includes two Word documents illustrating some B&O station sign examples and rules. Created by B&ORRHS member Kenneth Van Mechelen Locomotive Font DOWNLOAD: 16KB TrueType font (in .ZIP format). Can be installed on either Mac or PC. You'll notice there are only letters for BALTIMORE & OHIO as this was used only on locos & tenders. * ZIP file Includes a PDF document illustrating usage, details and rules of this font. Created by B&ORRHS member Kenneth Van Mechelen. EMD Diesel Number Board Font DOWNLOAD: 36KB TrueType font (in .ZIP format). Can be installed on either Mac or PC. * ZIP file Includes a PDF document illustrating usage, details and rules of this font. Created by B&ORRHS member Kenneth Van Mechelen. B&O Passenger Car Font NEW 12/28/06 DOWNLOAD: 64KB TrueType font (in .ZIP format). Can be installed on either Mac or PC. * ZIP file Includes a PDF document illustrating usage, details and rules of this font. Created by B&ORRHS member Kenneth Van Mechelen. Font: Alphabet drawing DOWNLOAD: PDF, 760KB | EPS, 2MB "Baltimore & Ohio R.R. Co. Loco. & Pass. Equipt. Cars Lettering 1 1/2" Full Size Alphabet." Originally created in Baltimore 8-13-03. Latest effective date 1-16-1959. Font: Alphabet Original DOWNLOAD: JPG, 436KB "Baltimore & Ohio R.R. Co. Loco. & Pass. Equipt. Cars Lettering 1 1/2" Full Size Alphabet." Originally created in Baltimore 8-13-03. Latest effective date 1-16-1959. Font: Numerals drawing DOWNLOAD: PDF, 696KB | EPS, 1.9MB "The Baltimore & Ohio R. R. Co. Pass. Cars & Locomotives 2" Figures, Full Size", Tracing T-16553 9-16-1903 Font: Numerals original DOWNLOAD: JPG, 292KB "The Baltimore & Ohio R. R. Co. Pass. Cars & Locomotives 2" Figures, Full Size", Tracing T-16553 9-16-1903 Logo: Original Blueprint, after assembly DOWNLOAD: Large JPG, 940K Here is what the blueprint looked like once it was pieced back together. Logo: Digitally traced drawing DOWNLOAD: PDF, 948K | EPS, 2.8MB | ZIP of EPS, 1MB Once the logo was brought into Illustrator, and traced over, this is the result, including all the text markings on the drawing (revisions, etc.). Logo: Digital DOWNLOAD: PDF, 142K | EPS, 1.7MB | ZIP of EPS, 588K This is just the logo. B&O Emblem & Stencling Guides B&ORRHS member Dr. Chris Barkan worked to produce these 3 guides which can be used in conjunction with the logo and font files to create decals and correctly place the images on your models or restorations. B&O Emblems 1937-1960 DOWNLOAD: PDF B&O Boxcar Stenciling 1920-1960 DOWNLOAD: PDF B&O Hopper Stenciling 1940-1960 DOWNLOAD: PDF

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