Excerpt from Model Railroader
From the January 1998 issue of Model Railroader, page 164:
What color were the Pennsylvania X29 express boxcars commonly found in the consist of Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe train nos. 7 and 8, the Fast Mail Express? They appear Pullman Green in some photos, but they're usually so grimy and dirty it's hard to tell for certain. Is the Red Caboose HO kit a close representation? Champ decal set no. HB-303N appears to be a dead ringer. Is it? -- Bill Van der Meer, Montgomery, Pa.
The PRR express-service X29s were all painted "Freight Car Color" just like the HO freight versions Red Caboose has already released. They got pretty grimy in service, which may account for the gray or green appearance in photos, but they were red underneath the crud. A photo of an express-service X29 on the bottom of page 75 in the PRR Color Guide to Freight and Passenger Equipment (Morning Sun) shows traces of red paint through the weathering.
The Champ decals are indeed correct, and I used them on a rebuilt Walthers X29 model I did a few years ago. Red Caboose plans to release an express version of the X29. -- Andy Sperandeo, editor
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