Lettering for Bachmann Coach Kits

[BillingsRR]

Hello. I have recently built my G Scale railroad in my backyard. To go with my railroad I have made 5 coaches. I would like to add letters and numbers to the cars as well, but I can't figure out how to do so. I have a budget of about $30 for this project, since I have a very small budget since I am only a teenager. The men who i volunteer with at Longwood Gardens at the Longwood RR said I could use a puff paint pen, but i don't have very good handwriting so I don't wish to do that. I have found other possibilities, but they cost more then I can afford. Any one have any ideas?
Thanks,
BRR 

[the Bach-man]

Dear BRR,
I lettered the prototypes with vinyl letters cut on a sign making computer. On many, I used the Tiffany medium font, .25"high, forced to 150% length. A local sign shop should be able to do a sheet for you at a reasonable price.
Happy Holidays!
the Bach-man

[Kevin Strong]

Contact Jeff Damherst at Shawmut Car Shops. http://www.shawmutcarshops.com He'll do an 8.5 x 11 sheet of decals for $18, plus $3 shipping. You should very easily be able to get lettering for 5 passenger cars on an 8.5 x 11 sheet. (I fit 5 cars' worth on half that.) He also does vinyl lettering for $18 per foot (at 6.25" high). He's going to be your cheapest option. Stan Cedarleaf does custom decals, but he's around $30 for a 8.5" x 11" sheet. G-Scale Graphics does custom vinyl, and charges between $5 and $15 per car, depending on complexity. I've worked with all three gentlemen in the past, and would have no trouble recommending any of them.

Given the choices for what you want to do, I'd go with the vinyl. I used vinyl lettering to do some LGB coaches 20+ years ago, and the lettering was still holding very firmly when I sold the cars this past summer. (And you have the distinct advantage of being prototypic, in a retro-sort of way. Many tourist operations use vinyl lettering on their passenger equipment now. ) I really hate decals. Some days, they go on just great, some days they're a royal, well...

All you need to do is provide the artwork. If you have Photoshop, Paint, or some kind of drawing program, you can use that to lay out your artwork and send it. You may even be able to do it in MS Word. It depends on what the printer needs in terms of a file.

Later,

K

[BillingsRR]

Thank you all for your advice! This will also be used when i build my second layout. It will be based of Strasburg RR. I plan on getting to Bachmann engines for the line a blank 4-6-0 and a red Davenport. Sadly, the coaches will be Aristo. I can get the set really cheap at Nicholas Smith, a hobby shop in Bromall, PA. Does anyone know how the well the paint comes off Aristo Sierra coaches? Easily, hard?

[Sleeping Bear]

   I would recommend Testors E.L.O.-----Easy Lift off , a paint remover designed for plastic models.......or a lot of sanding,......later All......S.B.