This page is a guide to the history and application of the Great Northern Railway's distinctive lettering and paint scheme used on it premiere passenger train, the Empire Builder, and other cars associated with the GN streamlined car fleet.
Illustration by Jon Snyder
I've been working on compiling information from various sources to come up with a comprehensive illustration showing how the Great Northern applied lettering to its Empire Builder and other streamlined trains. This has involved a deep dive into the history of the lettering itself, and consulting original source material to determine the intention and initial design of the lettering and its applications used by the GN, and related CB&Q and SP&S cars.
I've used original drawings and builders photos from GN, and car manufacturers Pullman Standard, Budd and AC&F to find out the first specifications, and also explore later revisions and modifications and how the designs were actually applied in the field. I've also looked through hundreds of photos in books, and online sources such as the joint GN/NP Archive, the Great Northern Railway Historical Society, The Lake States Railway Historical Association Collection, the Minnesota Historical Society, the Barriger Collection at the Mercantile Library in St. Louis and its ACF archives, The Newberry Library in Chicago, and the Pullman Library collection at the Illinois Railway Museum, among others. Ben Ringnalda and Eric Hopp have also been instrumental in providing me with materials and real-world experience as owners of GN cars.
My aim is to provide a definitive source for reference for those looking to paint and letter everything from small scale model decals to full-sized stencils for lettering prototype cars.
Square and extended lettering versions
When looking at a photo of a car's lettering it may not be evident at first that the EB used two basic variants of the EB lettering — "square" and "extended" versions, and they were used for very specific lettering applications. Before undertaking this project I was absolutely convinced that the EMPIRE BUILDER lettering on the letterboard used the extended version, but after reviewing original source materials, and hundred of photos, I've found no evidence of this. Part of the confusion could be that the "m" is identical in both versions, and it's difficult to find side view photos of cars to compare.
I've traced the letterforms from the 1950 Pullman drawings, and added additional versions of some characters found on the 1947 GN drawing. I was not able to locate drawings of the square version letters, so I've adapted the information from the extended lettering drawings to follow the proportions of the square forms.
It's also very difficult to tell the difference between the two variants from photos since the lettering usually appears small, is in different sizes, and at an angle, but looking at a few of the key letters can provide clues. In the 1946 Pullman builders photo below, the EMPIRE BUILDER letterboard lettering is 8" square lettering, and the car name is 5" extended. Notice the differences between the R, P and E. Also note the use of a squared-angle L in "BUILDER", and the rounded L on "LAKE" below. The square L is unique to the EMPIRE BUILDER letterboard only.
The lettering on this 1947 builders photo of diner 1250, Lake of the Isles, shows the differences between the extended and square fonts - notice the differences in the "L" and "E". Also note the square "L" in "BUILDER" and the round "L" in the car name. (The photo has been "un-distorted" using Photoshop to approximate a full-side view).
By enlarging the 5" car name lettering to match the 8" letterboard a direct comparison can be made showing the square lettering used for EMPIRE BUILDER. The letters outlined in red above are superimposed on the extended lettering below for comparison.
It's also interesting to note that the M an N characters of both versions use lower case forms m and n, and the m's are identical on both the square and extended versions. All of the other letters are capitals.
The extended version was used specifically for car names, RPO lettering, numbers, and the "Pullman" label on cars operated by Pullman, and the square version was used for the EMPIRE BUILDER and GREAT NORTHERN letterboards, and car ownership lettering at the ends of the cars, where applicable. There are a few exceptions to this - such as ACF using square lettering on the PULLMAN labels, but the majority of uses follow the above pattern.
Other examples of the differences of the two variants shows the extra space between the terminus of the G's stroke and the left side, and the C on the square version has curved ends.
The difference between the square and extended letters: The pink outline shows the square proportions.
Going to the source
I produced the lettering samples here based upon Pullman, ACF and GN lettering drawings, and reviewed hundreds of prototype photographs to determine how the lettering appeared over the years. I've included are only letters that were actually used in practice on cars, for instance, there is no evidence of the squared L in use for the square version of lettering, so that's not included in that set. Alternate versions of some letters are included, such as the squared-off W, V and Y in the extended version, which appears on original lettering diagrams, but was probably not used.
In addition to the Great Northern, the C.B.&Q. and S.P.&.S. operated the Empire builder over their lines, and owned cars used in the train. The ampersands used in their car I.D. lettering varied, and three distinct versions have been identified that seem to correspond to each railroad. It appears that some characters were not defined in lettering diagrams and it may have been up to the paint shop workers to design them on the fly.
Another source for lettering diagrams has been the Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) in St. Paul, (images from Ben Ringnalda's collection), home of the lettering diagram G.N. Ry Car Names Lettering & Spacing - MP Dept. St. Paul, Minn. July 22, 1949. Drawing 44080.
This detail from another drawing from the MNHS dated 1946 that shows the original EB lettering. MNHS
Empire Builder lettering History
The lettering style that defined the Great Northern Railway's premier passenger train, the Empire Builder, is as distinctive and elegant as the train itself, but it's unclear how and where it originated. It is likely that the designers at Pullman came up with the lettering style for the inaugural of the new 1947 Builder, the first post-war streamliner to hit the rails. This new train introduced the distinctive Omaha orange and Pullman green motif to GN's passenger car fleet — a color scheme that had been used for diesels since 1941. The colors and lettering design became one of the best known designs of post-war passenger trains, and remains popular to this day, with BNSF adopting a modified version of the design for its current corporate identity.
Whether the new type design came from the cars' builder, Pullman Standard, or the engine builder, Electro-Motive Division of General Motors is not known, but the "Empire Builder" lettering style first appeared on the new E-7 diesel locomotives built by EMD for the Builder, delivered in 1946.
The Empire Builder lettering design may have been inspired by a popular font of the mid-twenties, Bank Gothic, which shares many characteristics with the EB letters. (Although the EB type style also closely resembles the popular fonts Eurostyle and Microgramma, those fonts were developed much later in the '50s and '60s respectively.)
Not a font
It would be misleading to describe the EB lettering style as a "font", since by definition a font would contain every letter combination of the alphabet, plus punctuation, alternate characters and ligatures, and would also include instructions that control how the letters are arranged, such as specifying letter and word spacing, and kerning pair definitions. The lettering drawings produced by the engineering departments of railroads and car manufacturers specified only enough information for the painters to do their work, and left many details such as non-specified characters and letter spacing to be figured out by the paint shop.
A digital font of the Empire Builder the lettering style has been produced by Ben Coiffman, and can be viewed and downloaded at Railfonts.com.
Ben Coiffmann's Empire Builder font uses upper and lower case to switch between the square (narrow) and extended versions of the font. there is also a "light" version here. Note that the font also omits alternate versions of some letters that appear in Pullman drawings such as the squared-off "L" used in "BUILDER" on the EB car's letterboards. The font also differs from the source drawings with a straight-ended "C" in the square (narrow) version of the font, and the horizontal arms of the "F" are equal, but should have a shorter lower arm.
Applications
Drawings specifying lettering placement were created for use by the paint shop to determine where the lettering was placed, and which master lettering drawing to use for each word or group of words. In some cases, the information is specific, such as where letter spacing is dimensioned, but in other cases - such as the car names - one example is given and it was up to the paint shop to figure out the details.
This set of drawings from the Newberry library for the 1950 Empire Builder and Western Star car orders specifies most of the dimensioning and placement of the lettering. The full-sized drawings for the extended alphabet used for the 5" car names and numbers was my source for tracing the letterforms of the extended font, and for re-creating the square version since I haven't been able to locate original source material for the square style.
The drawing from the Newberry collection titled EXTERIOR PAINTING OF THE GT. NOR. - C.B.&Q. - S.P.&.S. RY. CO. OWNED CARS ASSIGEND TO THE “WESTERN STAR” TRAIN. Post War lt. wt. Pullman built cars. Approved 11-10-50. Drawing D-5012 is especially helpful as it calls out placement dimensions of the car labels.
However, this Pullman diagram is specific to the cars built for the Mid-Century Empire Builder and Western Star in 1950, and it's important to note the various drawing revisions to determine which information is current, and what was specified in the past. For instance, the drawing is dated 1950, but the stripes and lettering are specified as Scotchlite — a change that is noted here as a revision in 1952. Evidence suggests that the Pullman Mid-Century cars were delivered with painted stripes and lettering, but the ACF cars from the same order were delivered with Scotchlite. The revision notes also include: "Change name from Oriental Ltd. to Western Star in title block 8-10-51." reflecting the results of the name-the-train contest the GN held to rename the Oriental Ltd.
Non-EMPIRE BUILDER assigned cars were lettered GREAT NORTHERN on the letterboards. The lettering was 8" high with 8" wide characters, indicating the letters were the square version, and typically 8" spacing between letters, except around the T's, which required tighter kerning at 6". This arrangement and size of lettering appears to be identical to lettering used on diesel locomotives.
Detail from Pullman lettering drawing D-5012, Newberry Library, Chicago
Detail showing SP&S lettering
The drawing below illustrates how the letter spacing for car names was defined - or not - since an example is provided for one instance, but the note below states: "Paint Department to follow above spacing when laying out rest of car names listed below". The standard spacing for these 5" letters for car names seems to be 4", but note the kerning between the W and A, E and R, and O and N, with adjusted dimensions specified. Space between the words is 15".
G.N. Ry Car Names Lettering & Spacing - MP Dept. St. Paul, Minn. July 22, 1949. Drawing 44080 - Minnesota Historical Society
On this 1950 Pullman drawing from the Newberry Library, the letter spacing seems to be 5", with 15" between names. It's possible that the tighter letter spacing was used for longer car names.
Pullman's sample for letter spacing on drawing D-5030, sheet 2, from the Newberry Library.
Drawings in my collection from the ACF archives of the Mercantile Library in St. Louis show details for the Mountain series cars built for the Mid-Century Empire Builder. This car had a wider bottom sill at 4" compared to 3" on Pullman cars, so the width of the bottom silver stripe reflects this. Letters and numbers are specified as "cut out Scotchlite gold", but the 4" car ownership lettering is specified as gold paint.
This lettering diagram from the authors collection shows letter placement for the 1950 sleeper-lounge-observation cars in the Mountain series produced by American Car and Foundry. These cars had the unique case of the upper gold stripe curving up to accommodate the outsized windows on the observation section, and that transition curve deserved its own drawing to define its shape. (Mercantile Library, ACF archives, St. Louis, Mo. - Author's collection)
The full-size drawing for the 5" tall extended letters of the "CHIEF" portion of #1295's name, LITTLE CHIEF MOUNTAIN, defines the stroke of the letters to be 7/8" wide, and the letter spacing is a consistent 4" — no kerning was required.
(Mercantile Library, ACF archives, St. Louis, Mo. - Author's collection)
Comparing the drawing to a builders photo shows how things can differ slightly from a drawing to its actual application on the cars. However, this particular drawing is not intended to define the lettering specifics, such as spacing, as that would have been an entirely different drawing.
This Budd drawing from 1955 shows the general arrangement of lettering used on the short domes. (Author's collection)
ACF drawing shows rounded "L" on "BUILDER", but the square L was used on the car. Sometimes the drawings did not reflect the reality!
Budd drawing compared to builders photo
The photo below of ACF-built Mountain observation car 1290 from the Barriger Collection at the St. Louis Mercantile Library is the clearest builders photo of Empire Builder lettering I've come across so far. It also shows how ACF's application of lettering differed from Pullman's slightly in using the square lettering for the 4" PULLMAN name. The Pullman lettering was removed at some point when the GN took over Pullman's operations of the Mountain cars.
ACF's lettering appears to be lighter weight than what Pullman used - another example of anomalies found during research.
Online sources such as the joint GN/NP archive also provided useful information, such as this juxtaposition of EB lettering used on mail cars showing the mix of extended and square letters, and use on locomotives. Note the curved-end "C" on the locomotive cab number using the square font. The "F" on the post office car extended lettering shows how the horizontal lower arm is shorter than the upper arm.
Comparing details in the above photo shows the differences between the applications of the EB lettering on cars and locomotives. The top two details are from the RPO car above, and the bottom examples from the F-unit. Note the difference in the "G" and the "A". The middle sample is the extended style lettering on the RPO. It appears that the arrangement of GREAT NORTHERN lettering on locomotives was the same as used on passenger car letterboards.
Variations
Passenger car lettering was, even in the streamliner era typically hand-drawn and painted, and the drawings and blueprints of lettering were manually re-traced to produce stencil guides for the painters to follow. It was ultimately up to the paint shop workers to interpret the drawings, which sometimes led to variations in practice as methods varied from shop to shop. Drawings were also revised over the years as usage and materials changed, and drawings were re-traced and redistributed with the expectation that the paint shops would keep their drawings up to date. In practice, what actually appeared on the cars varied. Alternate versions of lettering styles were used in different situations, and examples of different uses of styles and sizes can be found throughout the years. It's important to keep this in mind when consulting a particular drawing or photograph to determine what was common practice for lettering.
(This can be seen by the existence of three distinctive interpretations of ampersands, and different periods to be found in photos of the Builder cars.)
Variations of the ampersand seem to be related to car ownership.
Various ampersand variations
Luckily John Barringer III got this snapshot that shows another version of the ampersand on an SP&S sleeper, probably from the 1947 version. Barriger Collection, Mercantile Library, St. Louis, Mo.
Here we see a slight difference of the angles on the W, Y and V characters with the 1950 Pullman (top) and 1949 GN drawings, with the Pullman drawing showing hard angles and the GN one showing rounded. It appears from photos that the rounded version was more widely used.
Pullman Empire Builder lettering diagram drawing number D-5030, 5" Letters used for car names on girder sheets of G.N. -C.B.&Q. - S.P.&S. cars, Newberry Library, Chicago.
G.N. Ry Car Names Lettering & Spacing - MP Dept. St. Paul, Minn. Drawing 44080, Minn. Hist. Soc.
Scotchlite
Scotchlite is a brand of colored reflective material produced by the Minneapolis-based company Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing, more commonly known as 3M, and they were eager to explore uses for their new material in industrial use. The GN started experimenting with Scotchlite in 1944 on a few locomotives and freight cars, but it wasn't until 1950 that it was adopted for use on the gold striping, and for the car names and numbers lettering on passenger cars. The Scotchlite lettering would have been either cut by hand, or by using cutting dies to make individual letters. It's unclear whether GN or 3M did the letter cutting. Striping was supplied in 2" wide rolls.
Of the cars built for the 1950 Mid-century Builder, the ACF cars were delivered with Scotchlite letters and numbers, but the Pullman cars were not. A 1950 Pullman car Empire Builder lettering drawing revision notes a 5/26/52 dated change of the specification for numbers and lettering from Dulux imitation gold paint to Scotchlite, and an later note stating that Scotchlite was not used for CB&Q and SP&S owned cars — they would continue to be painted with imitation gold paint.
(The web site Utah Rails has some interesting info about the Union Pacific's use of Scotchlite.)
The Scotchlite stripes are evident in this flash photo of GN 1292 when it was on display at Kansas City Union Station. The lettering is painted. The car was renovated and repainted in 2006. (Ben Ringnalda photo)
In this photo from the National Railway Museum in Green Bay shows Poplar River with peeling Scotchlite, including the train name on the letterboard. Note that the "V" in the car's name uses the rounded form of the letter. (National Railway Museum)
And this...
I think the GN might have had a good case for trademark infringement with CN and its subsidiaries! The unmodified EB lettering is on the right. If the GN had used a capital form of "N" it may have looked like CN's.
SOURCES:
Pullman lettering drawing D-5012, Newberry Library, Chicago
Pullman Empire Builder lettering diagram drawing number D-5030, 5" Letters used for car names on girder sheets of G.N. -C.B.&Q. - S.P.&S. cars, Newberry Library, Chicago.
G.N. Ry Car Names Lettering & Spacing - MP Dept. St. Paul, Minn. Drawing 44080, Minn. Hist. Soc.
G.N. Ry Car Numerals MP Dept. St. Paul, Minn. April 14, 1949. Great Northern Empire Builder lettering Pullman Standard drawing 10-791-48-SK, Minn. Hist. Soc.
Empire Builder painting 1946 diagram G.N.R.Y. EXTERIOR PAINTING & LETTERING drawing No. 4613, Minn. Hist. Soc.
ACF lettering diagrams for "GOING-TO-THE-SUN MOUNTAIN" from the Mercantile Library, ACF archives, St. Louis, Mo.
Illustrated Treasury of Pullman Standard Railway Passenger Cars Since 1945 - Vol. 1.
The Official Pullman-Standard Library Vol. 3 by W. David Randall & William M. Ross
The Official Pullman-Standard Library Vol. 15 Western Railroads by W. David Randall & William G. Anderson
The Passenger Car Library Vol. 3 Western Railroads by W. David Randall
GN Color Guide to Freight and Passenger Equipment, David W. Hickox
Great Northern Pictorial, volumes 1, 3, 4, 5 - John F. Strauss
Great Northern Through Passenger Service, Geoffrey H. Doughty
Various GNRHS reference sheets
