When it comes to the PRR, I see there are two general styles of lettering and logos. I just want to get it straight which time periods they belong to. For example:
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Try looking up Pennsylvania Railroad museum dot com or on Wikipedia Pennsylvania RR.
Pennsy had a few designs and lettering styles.
Lee F.
The third is the white circle with keystone. Now roughly as I recall the white circle w/keystone stared in the 30's. The shadow keystone in the lower picture in early 50's. And then there was a simpler keystone in the 60's.
The poster above has it wrong. The cabin car in the top photo has pre-1955 lettering. The large "shadow keystone" scheme in the lower photo is 1955 and later. Prior to 1949, the grab irons were the same color as the car body. Yellow grabs started in '49.
The white circle with keystone scheme was only used on class N8 cabin cars beginning in 1950 when they were introduced and until 1955 when the shadow keystones came in. Note that cars were not repainted immediately. When they were shopped for repair, they would be repainted into the then-current scheme. Early schemes could survive for several years after the change over.
Here's a page that covers the paint and lettering schemes on steel cabin cars in great detail.
Ah yes I forgot to mention the white circle keystone. My question was also for rolling stock in general, not just cabooses.
Thanks for the info so far guys 
Freight cars and cabin cars (no such thing as a caboose on the Pennsy) had different transition times between lettering schemes. While the cabins went to the shadow keystone in late 1955, freight cars made the change in 1954. Here is a pretty good timeline of the styles.
http://pennsyrr.com/operations...s/painting-lettering
One of the nice things about modeling the PRR is that information like this is easy to find.
Gee, Bob I guess my original post was in FACT spot on!
Given that it looks like Nick was asking about letting in general, you were right. My apologies to you. Since the photos showed only cabin cars, I assumed (incorrectly) that the question was limited to those cars only.
I had just used those as a convenient means of comparison, sorry about that. However, my guesses for the time periods were actually correct. Circle (or lack of) Keystone is early, shadow Keystone is middle, and simple white keystone is late. Just needed the exact years. Thanks again!
Nick are you aware of that PC was required by PP&L to have specially painted brown cabins/cabooses to pull coal drags onto there properties? There were three. MTH modeled two of them (23065 and 23070) under item number 20-91155.
I was aware MTH produced that caboose but did not know that was their specific purpose. Thanks for that info!
One of my favorite "special" Penn Central cabooses is the ex-PRR focal orange type. Just one more vibrant color to cap off the already vibrant fallen flag equipment freight trains.
Nick have you seen the MTH 20-91287 a N5c in focal orange but still sporting an induction train phone antenna. And it is prototypical. Some where I have a picture found on the net of this cabin with autos in background from the 67, 68, or 69.
Don't believe it but found the picture. The back auto in background appears to be a 68/69 Dodge.
