Step 1
To begin with I needed as many photos of the actual cars that I could get me hands on.  After learning that
many of these cars were from the Southern Railway, I purchased Alan Kincaid's Southern Passenger "
car and freight book.   Between the book , the above mentioned website, and google I have collected a wealth
of knowledge regarding these passenger cars.   My goal is to build a half a dozen or so of these cars. 

Step 2 would be to start collecting all the kits, parts, pieces, materials that will be required to replicate this train. 
  Once again this is proving difficult as many of these cars are or were not reproduced in HO scale.
Great News!  I found the NS Business Car Decals could be had at http://www.shellscale.com/
thanks to a fellow NS fan.

Step 3  Let the fun begin..  Car 24	Click any Image to enlarge
Bachmann still makes the full dome car under the Santa Fe road name.  This car was immediately stripped upon arriving at the Southern Exchange Shops. Its off to the paint booth for a quick wash, followed by a coat of gray primer. To get the color I wanted, I found that if I used black as an undercoat it provided a better color match to the photos below.  I have to be honest here though I've seen about 6 to 8 different colors used for NW and or NS Tuscan Red, so unless you have the color codes and the paint NS used I wouldn't worry about it to much.  I experimented with 3 different Scalecoat 2 reds. I did test sprays on plastic sheets using different under coat colors.  Of course photos taken under different lights also change the way the color is represented on the web.  In other words your painted cars/ locomotives look perfect on your layout.  :)
This ex RF&P 50 ft box car is nearly an exact match to NS Car 41. Details West provided the brass mesh material needed to make the vents. These were framed out using ultra thin pieces of sheet styrene. The electrical boxes on each side were made from wood, the three electrical conduits running into the box were made from left over Details West MU hoses..  The junction plugs on each end were cut from round styrene. The cat walk was removed prior to priming. It is yet to be determined whether or not to populate the interior of the box car.   Once the top has been painted white the car is ready for decals. As was the case with the Yellow Horsehead decals on the F's so is it with the Generator car.   I was unable to get anyone to make these decals for me so I set about doing it myself.  Like the F's I used Paintshop Pro and Microsoft word. The key was the burgundy color match.  I matched this by scanning the test strip that I painted when first selecting my color. The image below is not to scale.    Next you carefully cut out as close to the yellow as you can.
This Walther's heavy duty lounge car will do nicely for my third car.  Once again the car must be completely dismantled for painting.
Buena Vista Car documented here  along with "The Ohio"

Click any image to enlarge
 

NS #23 Buena Vista
EX Southern Railway
Business / Inspection Car

NS #11 Illinois
ex-SR 16 Tennessee, ex-6, ex-11, ex-3101, ex-Pullman 1708, nee-Osceola. Mod. HW 8-bedroom executive sleeper, ex-office car, ex-dinette - coach, nee-Pullman 12 - 1 sleeper.

NS #12 Indiana
ex-N&W 491. LW 10 bedroom crew car, rebuilt. from LW dining car

NS #21 West Virginia
ex-SR 8, ex-9, ex-12, ex-15. Mod. HW bus car

NS #20 Ohio
ex-SR 7, exx-20, exxx-3103, ex-Pullman 2632, nee-Ronneby. Mod. HW bus car, rebuilt from dinette - coach, former 12 - 1 sleeper

NS #13 Georgia
ex-SR 18. Mod. HW 8-bedroom executive sleeper

NS #9 Alabama
ex-SR 15 Mod. HW 8-bedroom executive sleeper

NS #7 Pennsylvania
ex-CR, exx-N&W.  Mod. HW bus car

NS #8 Tennessee
ex-SR 5) Mod. HW bus car

NS #6  Atlanta
ex-SR 2) Mod. HW bus car

NS #5 Maryland
ex-CR, exx-SR) Mod. HW bus car

NS #4
ex-CR 1, ex-SR 3, ex-10, ex-SR 3102, ex-Pullman 1816, nee-Shannon) Mod. HW bus car, rebuilt from dinette-coach, originally Pullman 12 - 1 sleeper