In 2010, Protocraft Decals was established to supplement and finally replace the old Champ and Walthers Line, which by today’s standards are on a thick stock with a too thick clear, and sometimes created with inaccurate or generic lettering. Many artists have contributed to the decal line such as Rick Leach, Ted Culotta, Greg Komar, Bill Schneider, Bruce Blalock and James Hickey to name a few.

Much of the decal line art work is created in Protocraft’s shops in Sonoma, California having its own extensive research library, drawn in vector art using Adobe Illustrator, and employing hundreds of original railroad mechanical department arrangement drawings, supplied by the Pullman Library in Illinois and the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis, Missouri (AC&F), the Barriger Railroad Library at the University of Missouri, and over 5,000, 8x10 photographs, many supplied by the National Archives of Canada and the Smithsonian Museum’s railroad department. Today the Protocraft Decal line has over 650+ individual and extensively researched decal sets for all major and many branch line railroads in the U.S. and Canada, with limited decals in HO scale. At Protocraft Decals all artwork is arranged on a sheet and printed by Microscale Industries in Southern California using the finest decal paper. Each set is finished with 5 extremely thin layer’s of clear that is feathered at the edge of each block of lettering or artwork. The decal line is constantly being added to as well as providing accurate decals for Protocraft’s brass models.

While mostly dealing in freight cars, the decal line is expanding to include passenger trains, both heavyweight and streamline lightweight cars; as well as some steam engines: Santa Fe and Western Pacific to date.

The following lettering sets are new
or click here for the complete decal line

October 2021

10/16/21	URTX Dubuque-1	lettering for URTX leased 37’ wood reefers to Dubuque Packing Co	10362-Active
10/16/21	Oscar Mayer-1	lettering for GATC leased 37’-3” wood reefers to Oscar Mayer Co	10363-Active
10/16/21	SLRX-1	lettering for St Louis Refrigerator Car Co 36’ wood reefers	10364-Active
10/16/21	PSL/PCCX-1	lettering for Peabody Short Line hoppers	10365-Active
10/16/21	NKP Covered Hopper	lettering for Nickel Plate’s 50-ton two bay covered hopper cars	10366-Active
10/16/21	NKP Hopper-1	lettering for Nickel Plate’s 50-ton two bay hopper cars	10367-Active
10/16/21	C&O-1	lettering for C&O’s USRA Class B5-1 boxcars	10368-Active
10/16/21	RF&P-2	lettering for RF&P’s PS-1 1952 boxcars	10369-Active
10/16/21	RF&P-1	lettering for RF&P’s USRA single-sheathed boxcars	10370-Active
10/16/21	EJ&E-2	lettering for Elgin, Joliet & Eastern’s rebuilt 9’-2” IH boxcars orange and green scheme	10371-Active
10/16/21	CRR-2	lettering for CRR’s 1932 ARA 9’-4” I.H. boxcars	10372-Active
10/16/21	RF&P-3	lettering for RF&P’s PS-1 boxcars 1961-64 scheme	10373-Active
10/07/21	D&RGW Fowler-1	lettering for D&RGW’s Fowler design boxcars	313-Active
10/07/21	C&I-1	lettering for C&I’s 70-ton 2-bay hopper cars	10358-Active
10/07/21	WP-1a	original lettering for WP’s early wood 40-ton boxcars	10359-Active
10/07/21	WP-1	lettering for WP’s early wood 40-ton boxcars	10360-Active