Herby Meets the MISS
ExactRail has a history of occasionally adding monikers to our freight cars. This started in 2010 with a classic Bozo Texino on the side of Northern Pacific #75665, a PS-2CD 4427 Covered Hopper. After this car we have now added various other monikers such as Colossus of Roads, Coal Train, WaterBed Lou and Herby onto 7 freight cars in HO scale.
On our most recent release, the Evans 5277 Boxcar, we added our 8th as well as our 1st in N scale!
While creating the artwork for the Mississippian Railway scheme, on one of the reference photos that I was using of car #304044, I noticed a Herby moniker mingling with the dimensional data. After spotting this I knew I had to do this specific car number and include Herby along for the ride. It had also been a few years since the last moniker so it was time for another.
ExactRail will continue with the moniker tradition. So far we have only done some of the common ones from the 1970s and 1980s. Should we add some that are commonly seen today such as Tex Goth or Freight Bandit? Let us know or give us suggestions on other monikers that we haven't done yet that you would like to see in the comments below.
The Evans 5277 Boxcar with the Herby moniker is currently available and is only on Mississippian Railway #304044. Click on the links below to order.
Chris Brimley
16 Responses
Eric
There was a hobo named J.B. King Esquire that could write his entire name on freight cars without lifting up the chalk. It was all in one fluid motion and really cool to see/find.
HD K
Iconic Monikers:
The Kodak Kidd – Rest in Peace 2019. It would be a great tribute to a prolific artist.
Conrail Twitty – Rest in Peace 2008. Traversed the country by rail.
The Bench Reporter
Whistleblower
Hobo Shoestring – a modern day Hobo.
The Bookman
It’s a great thing you guys are doing. Keep it up!
Dave Taylor
Used to see “Kilroy was here” with drawing of a (usually bald) head peeking over a fence with big nose drooping over the fence and two hands hanging onto the fence. According to Wikipedia this is a meme popular in WWII. Saw it on many freight cars up until the ’80s when the graffiti became the mess it is today.
HD K
Iconic Monikers:
The Kodak Kidd – Rest in Peace 2019. It would be a great tribute to a prolific artist.
Conrail Twitty – Rest in Peace 2008. Traversed the country by rail.
The Bench Reporter
Whistleblower
Hobo Shoestring – a modern day Hobo.
The Bookman
It’s a great thing you guys are doing. Keep it up, you can’t please everyone!
MIKE BORGHI
While we are talking monikers, can we really forget the famous “KILROY”? He wad seen on trains, buses, and trucks all over the country ad well as inside public buildings.
Mitchell Bugg
The monikers were often the idle markings of a bored employee with a stick of chalk. The marks of Herbie, Bozo Texino, Water Bed Lou make sense, do not obliterate markings necessary to the use of the equipment and are not offensive. These monikers are a form of Americana instead of the stupid scrawls of criminal vandals who trespass to deface the private property of others. This garbage will NEVER be replicated on any thing I pay for.
David Patch
A few moniker chalkers I can think of include:
The Rambler (Port of Beaumont, Texas)
The Solo Artist
Ol’ Rock (KC)
Smokin’ Joe
Smokin’ Joe was a T&E employee on the Grand Trunk Western. I met him once.
Ol’ Rock’s marks always included ‘additional material.’ Most memorable to me was the following:
“Final Jeopardy Answer: Wedding Cake.
Q. What Food Kills a Woman’s Sex Drive?”
It was on an auto-parts boxcar, but my photo of the mark does not show the car number.
Bill Badger
When I was in grad school in Philthy Philly in the early ’70’s, COOL EARL and CHEWY were everywhere. I believe one of them got busted putting a ladder up on the tail of a commercial jet waiting for take off at Philly International airport. I didn’t see their monikers on railroad cars, but I am sure they were there, I was busy with school. I model the B&R sub of the Rutland in 1946, so none of this is relevant to me, but thought I would pass along the period info.
Walt Rieger
Leave the graffiti off. Let the end user apply. It wasn’t done at the factory or delivered that way. My 2 cents.
Charles H. Geletzke, Jr.
Smokin’ Joe
SantaFeJim
Love it! Saw this 1,000 times when I was a kid.
TIM HANESWORTH
Is there a date of the photo?
Ken Whitehead
Over the years I have collected numerous Raildog tags in my photos. However most are on modern tankcars, so allow this to provide some encouragement to produce a few tankcars….. (hint, hint)
Douglas W Watts
Don’t have a recommendation at this time, but a “tip of the hat” on your attention to car specific details.
Chris Howe
You should do smoking Joe, I seen his tag on many freight cars in the late 90s
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Mike Herbert
July 29, 2021
Yes , this is a tad late but I will say that I love this car and it showed that others did too with the way it sold-out so fast . Maybe y’all could do more of these ???? I know I’d buy more , I’d love to have more in my collection and running my clubs layout.