Helpful Hint
Does anyone recall when today's Exxon was "Esso"? I do (before 1972). Companies change their logos or their trade names or both over the years; the internet has made searching such changes relatively easy. Copying those logos to create a sign for your model railroad layout is also easy. A sign such as this (see above) is a nice touch to include in a model railroad when trying to signal the time period your layout is set in. Give it a try on a billboard, or a gas station, or perhaps just a modeled cardboard box set somewhere in use or perhaps on a trash heap.
And some of our visitors just may not be old enough remember Esso (the name change took place in 1973), so this would give them an opportunity to ask questions and perhaps learn a bit about our American industrial heritage. I am told, Esso as a brand and logo is still used outside the United States. This is just one example of how we can communicate to our visitors the era we are modeling.
Company logos can do more than set your modeled era - they can set the region you model. Many businesses in America - both today and in the past - were not national, they were regional. Modeling a sign for a regional chain can set the location of your layout more precisely, than just geographic scenery.
My friend Chris' dad was employed at Esso at the time the switch was made to the Exxon brand name and logo. I recall that they gave him some commemorative paper weight or some such souvenir to commemorate the change. Mr. Peknic proudly displayed it at his home.
The Esso name is a trademark of Standard Oil Company of New Jersey.
Revised January 15, 2020
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