Having worked as a trainman on those cars, and seeing the sign, I would agree that that is not Burlington lettering. Note the “B” on CB&Q; the B letter is fatter on the right hand side of it. The Q Zephyr lettering has always been narrow. The “Q” is also way too fat also. There’s always the possibility that towards the demise of the passenger cars, that during maintenance someone replaced the sign using a stencil not quite Q lettering. But in my time working with those cars I have never seen that kind of lettering.
From: CBQ@groups.io [mailto:CBQ@groups.io] On Behalf Of Ray Bedard
Sent: Friday, January 11, 2019 9:39 AM
To: CBQ@groups.io
Subject: [CBQ] Possible fake on EBAY
There is a listing on ebay for a "CB&Q" stainless steel passenger car sign, stated as an original from one of the stainless steel passenger cars.
Looking at the lettering, and comparing it to all the photos I have, including in all the books on the Q, the lettering style is different.
The letter "B" is "fatter", and the "&" is designed differently. All the letters appears to be too "fat" when compared with photos of actual cars.
The seller also includes a photo of one of the cars, which clearly shows the difference between an original and what he/she is selling.
Did the Q use the style of lettering as noted in the item being sold? I'm not saying that it is a fake, or that the seller knowingly is selling a fake, but it doesn't look right to me.
Here is a link to the item: