IF YOU LIKE THIS FONT THEN PLEASE SUPPORT IT BY PAYING THE SHAREWARE FEE
12/9/94
ABOUT THE ALPHABET TRAIN 1.1 FONT:
Well, if you are going to have a train font, you really should have a train font that you can say something with. Playing Dr. Frankenstein, I created a monster by blending Railroad Roman with Rail Freight. I have included two special characters in this font, a turn of the century caboose and the NP 328 (the steam engine). In my mind, it wouldn't be right to have a string of letters being pulled by a diesel... but I am partial to steam. For you diesel fanatics, I did include one diesel or you can use any of the locomotives found in my other railroad fonts.
After loading up the True Type file, print out a copy of "Alphabet Train Legend" for a quick overview of the font.
WHAT IS THIS FONT AND WHERE DID IT COME FROM?
I started making fonts that were trains. They came out looking really great, so, now I am dabbling in fonts that are trains caring letters. The key layout is fairly straight forward, you should print out the Alphabet Train Legend. In case you are not one to listen to helpful advise, all of the lowercase letters depict uppercase letters on flat cars. Clever, eh? You can use "AS" for a steam engine traveling from right to left and "KL" for a steam engine going left to right ("Z" and "M", respectively, for a diesel). The cabooses can be found in "D", "J", "X", and "n". My suggestion is to use the caboose that is closest on the keyboard to the locomotive you select. But, I'm a purist. In the event that the space bar doesn't give you an empty flatcar, "_" should. Finally, the q-car looks like an o-car in smaller sizes, so I provided an alternate q-car in the uppercase "Q" character.
Have fun with this font, use it for page numbers and titles. Or use the other railroad fonts and create a real mixed train. The possibilities are endless.
NEW WITH VERSION 1.1:
I went back and caught a couple of stray points in the steam engine and cabooses. They caused some odd shapes on some printers. I have also revised the documentation to make it a little more user friendly and reference my newest products.
1.1 Removed the stray points that were creating strange printing problems for some users (specifically in the steam engine and cabooses). Also updated the documentation.
IN THE EVENT YOU ARE UNABLE TO OPEN THE MAP FILE, THIS FONT USES THE FOLLOWING KEYS:
Letters: a-z, Q
Numbers: 0-9
Symbols: & - ~ ' _
Locomotives & Cabooses: AS D J KL Z X N M
GENERIC README (SIMILAR IN ALL OF MY FONTS)
HOW TO INSTALL THE TRAIN FONT ONTO YOUR SYSTEM:
Just drag the files: "AlphabetTrain.bmap", and "AlphaTra", onto your system folder (or put it in font folder within the system folder) and restart any applications that are currently running. System 6 users have to use the font/DA mover, it is fairly straight forward and you should have documentation.
IF YOU HAVE TROUBLES installing this font or it doesn't seem to print out correctly, PLEASE LET ME KNOW as soon as possible. I can either give you more specific instillation information or go and fix the bug. (e-mail is great for this, but snail mail works fine too)
If you use this font in publication or on a product, please let me know. It is always interesting to hear the clever uses people have had for my fonts. (I would also love a copy of your publication for my scrap book)
NOW FOR THE "ASKING FOR MONEY" BIT, AKA, THIS IS SHAREWARE:
You are free to use (play with, throw at the cat, etc.) this font for one week after receiving it. If you like it and decide to keep it, you should send a US $10 "shareware" fee to myself at the address below (for international users, see item 4 in "The Fine Print"). Please include a brief note describing where you got this font, what you like about it, and what you would like to see in the future.
If you just have to have the full collection of my train fonts (see "Product Ad"), send a couple of FORMATTED 3.5" HD disks (Two HD for Mac, or One HD for IBM recommended) and a SELF ADDRESSED STAMPED ENVELOPE to the address below. (I hate to format disks and you will be sure to get the right machine, Mac or IBM, this way)
I do not want to send any of my customers into bankruptcy, if you are honestly poor, (i.e., you ain't gonna support the American way and my education) please send a post card (the weirder the better) describing where you got this font, what you like about it and what you would like to see added to it.
THE FINE PRINT:
-Each font or icon package is an individual product. Thus, if you keep Passenger Font and Freight Font, you should pay $20, not $10.
-You may NOT use this font in any publication or any product unless you register your copy by sending $10 FOR EACH FONT YOU USE. Be sure to specify which fonts you are registering for. It is not fair for you to make money off of my hard work without paying the Shareware fees.
-If you decide to keep several of my shareware products and you are only using them for personal applications (or you are using them for a struggling NONPROFIT organization promoting railroads), then $10 a piece can get to be a bit expensive. Please pay what you think they are worth. I recommend $10 for the first font and $5 for each additional font.
-If you do not reside in the US, then getting a check in US$ may be difficult for you. So, I will also accept any interesting widgets, toys, books, time tables, postcards or what not. What's common place to you is quite possibly exotic for me. By the way, I'm a rail fan (hint hint hint)
-You may distribute this font for free, however, you may not sell this font or include it in any package for sale without the written permission of myself, Benn Coifman. I am very agreeable to CD ROM's and shareware packages for sale, however, I do want to retain some degree of control over my work. So, please contact me first. (note, this clause does NOT apply to dial up services like Compuserve, America On Line and bulletin boards that charge by the unit of time. Theses services may list my products without contacting me)
WHY SHOULD YOU SEND IN THE SHAREWARE FEE?
Well, I am releasing this font in it's entirety. I put a lot of hard work into this font. I have also gotten a lot of pleasure from it. Ignoring all of the capitalistic angles, your shareware dollar will speed up the development of new train fonts and help me afford new font tools. My goal is to at least break even.
Only 39 people have registered my shareware products since I first released them ten months ago. There are a lot of expenses that go into these fonts. My font editor cost almost $300. Then there are the little expenses like ink cartridges (you wouldn't believe how many ink cartridges I go through) and paying for a mail box. Oy! And you want to talk about memory... 40 Meg of hard disk devoted to fonts and icon development.
I would love to purchase the latest version of Illustrator and produce more clip art. I could also use more disk space to keep these toys in.
BENEFITS OF PAYING THE SHAREWARE FEE:
Enough of what shareware fees do for me, what will they do for you!? I will spend less time on school and more time on producing shareware. You will also be entitled to a peek into things to come. If you send a disk (or two) along with your payment, I will give the Demo font that includes all of the odd characters that haven't quite found a home yet (including a number of steam engines!). In addition, I will rush you out the most recent versions of my fonts and icons. I might even toss in a couple of pre-release fonts.
GIVE IT TO YOUR FRIENDS, RAIL FONTS MAKE GREAT BIRTHDAY GIFTS (GRIN):
You are free to distribute this font, as long as you include all of the files that it came with it (see the beginning of this document for the packing list)
NOW SHOWING: (i.e., other great shareware products to look for)
(available for the MAC or IBM unless noted)
NEW
-Warbonnet- Mac only- a gray scale type3 font &/or color eps clipart depicting the streamlined passenger trains of the AT&SF
-Daylight- Mac only- a gray scale type3 font &/or color eps clipart depicting the 1937 SP Daylights.
-Zephyr- an art deco font styled after Zephyr Gothic, the letterface used by CB&Q, WP et al.
-TrainTracks- snap track for your word processor.
IMPROVED
-RailPassenger- a high resolution picture font that allows you to couple together a passenger train ca. 1950.
-RailFreight- a high resolution picture font that allows you to couple together a freight train ca. 1960.
-RailModPax- a high resolution picture font that allows you to couple together a modern day passenger train (i.e. Amtrak).
-RailroadRoman- a high quality roman font in the style of hand lettering on railroad cars ca. 1900.
-EmpireBuilder- styled after the typeface used by Great Northern on their passenger trains ca. 1950.
-AlphabetTrain- RailroadRoman meets RailFreight, i.e. letters on flat cars, good for titles and page numbers.
-RailHeralds- a picture font containing a collection of high resolution (I use that phrase a lot) rail heralds.
-Rail Icons- Mac only- approximately 60 rail related icons (locomotives, cars and heralds).
Look for them on the net, the WEB, Compuserve, AOL, your favorite bulletin board, or send me a couple of FORMATTED 3.5" disks and a SELF ADDRESSED STAMPED ENVELOPE. I'll fill the disks up and return it.
YOU WANT YOUR CAR (OR DREAM CAR), LOGO OR HERALD ON YOUR KEYBOARD?
I am willing to do custom work, as my time allows, at reasonable rates.
Benn Coifman
ASUC Box 624 # 4510,
Bancroft & Telegraph
Berkeley, CA 94720-4510
--Please include your e-mail address with all correspondence--
