I wanted to follow up to my original posting about the differences in the illuminated neon tail signs for the Union Pacific 9000 ~ 9014 dome observation lounge cars. While I was digging around I found a few items that might help others who want to model the these neon tail signs correctly. As mentioned above, the neon tail signs for the 9000 series dome observation lounge cars were only used for a short time before these cars were modified for mid-train service. The only exception around today is the 9009. The Union Pacific changed the 9009 back so it can be ran at the end of the train again with a neon sign for excursion trips.
Starting with the City of St. Louis dome observation cars 9010 ~ 9014. The neon tail signs for the 9011 and 9013 have the City of St. Louis in a straight line with the words "Domeliner" underneath. While the neon tail signs for the 9010 and 9012 have the "City Domeliner Louis" in a straight line with the words "of St" on top.
If you are modeling the neon tail sign on The City of Portland dome observation lounge cars 9005 ~ 9009 all the photos I found looked the same. They have the word "Domeliner" on the top.
If you modeling the City of Los Angeles dome observation lounge cars 9000 ~ 9004 all tail sign photos from 1955 I found looked the same. The 1955 photos all show the neon CoLA tail sign sitting about 4" above the red strip.
It was only when the UP mounted the CoLA neon tail sign on the current 9009 for modern day excursion trips did I find a slight different on where the neon sign was mounted. In the photo below (I personally took this photo in May 1994 during the 125th Golden Spike Anniversary Excursion run through Cajon Pass, CA). The neon sign sits right on the red line. When Union Pacific updated the 9009 to meet modern day standards they must have removed the neon signs original hanging mounts from the back of the car.
Hopefully this information will help others trying to model the neon tail sign on a 9000 ~ 9014 series Union Pacific dome observation lounge car.
