B&O Enthusiasts,   I am sorry to say that there can never be an official unified B&O Font ever produced.   As I have created a file that represents the drawings T-16558 and 16453, these letters were used for a specific purpose. Even the act of merging 1.5” letters with 2” numbers is a stretch.   Why are B&O fonts tough to pin down? There are multiple drawings representing various sets of texts in different sizes such as “CAPY”, “LD WT”, “BALTIMORE & OHIO”, etc. These drawings were all done by an artists’ hand and have infinitely minor variations from alphabet sets. When one digs deeper into B&O history we can find several variations of the same font. Perhaps the most troubling reality is that there were several sets of similar fonts. There are drawings representing 2” alphabet, a 3” alphabet, and a 1.5” alphabet, each one hand drawn. These documents were not scaled from a master drawing and hence produce 3 (possibly more) unique sets of documents.   So when attempting to create a universal B&O font one must consider: 1 Photos only get you close to placement, spacing, look, etc. How can one obtain perfection? 2 What sizes of letters are trying to be reproduced? 3 How well were stencils cut and maintained in the paint shop?   So, what was I doing when I decided to make a font? The main reason for the creation is to provide an alphabet in electronic form for the Sykesville & Patapsco Railway, Inc. to maintain the stenciling for their class I-5D Caboose. They needed something authentic rather than Times New Roman.   The Beginning: I quickly tried to make a universal font for the B&O. I tailored letter characteristics from several drawings and some photographs. Ultimately failure occurred when merging solely the blueprints together. Merging character forms from drawings was unacceptable and produced conflicting results. After becoming frustrated I consulted with Ben Sullivan and changed my tactics.   The Solution: The act of merging and blueprints and photos into a B&O font produced something that was never used. In fact, I was just creating my own font with some B&O characteristics. The authenticity was lost so I decided to accurately reproduce a set of drawings so one can say this is an authentic B&O character set. It was used on the railroad and now we can use it to reproduce the railroad authentically.   Notes About the Font: 1 Heights of characters vary. This is most likely a sign painter’s trick so that when combined the letters appear to have the same weight. 2 This is a composite of 2 drawings and an Ampersand provided by Dwight Jones. 3 The font is 100% perfect recreation of original blueprints. 4 Character spacing is uniform and adheres to no standards, since there are none. 5 This font represents a fraction of the B&O lettering scheme. 6 Ben Sullivan’s 13-States recreation is a bonus character.   Last Remarks: I have enjoyed creating this font, and if there is one thing I must stress it is authenticity and accuracy. We have the digital tools, existing blueprints, and motivated people. There is no excuse why the B&O cannot be reproduced accurately.   Thank You, ~Jack     Jack Rodriguez (301) 335-3345 Jack.Rodriguez@gmail.com 4805 ‘B’ Rittenhouse St. Riverdale, MD 20737