OTOH, could be their way of saving $$$ on the pad printing?...same printing head both sides. Less factory confucius confusion. 
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There's another theory I heard re the lettering slant... After 'speed lettering' became the standard throughout the system, it's application to railroad cars rendered moot the issue of slant-right vs. slant-left. After all, railroad cars (freight and passenger) were bi-directional. It was deemed more aesthetically appropriate to standardize on slant-right. Eventually this became a de facto standard throughout the locomotive paint shops, too. Whether the slant-left stencils were 'lost' or merely set aside forever is unknown...the stuff of Grande lore, perhaps.
Regardless, I just paged through 3 publications with copious images of Rio Grande steam. LOTS of photos showing both slants on the left side of tenders. OTOH, I can assuredly say that I've never seen a slant-left version of "Rio Grande" on a freight car or silver/gold passenger car paint job. Anyone?
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Besides, one would question Jonathan's due diligence on this sort of issue????
Surely you jest! Sacré Bleu!!
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Meanwhile...back to the discussions du jour around the pot-bellied stove..
KD
