I read somewhere when N&W started dieselization they purchased locos red in color . What color Red was this & how many engines/types were done before switching to blue or black. Was the blue used & then they went to black or what ? All photos I seem to find are in blk/wt so it’s hard to tell what colors are. I have a can of spray paint i bought that was called N&W red, but this looks like a maroon when used. Thanks for tips. Randy…
Off the top of my head, and courtesy of the Withers N&W 2nd generation diesel book, the following:
They started with black, using gold lettering. With Herman Pevler’s arrival, or thereabouts, the freight diesels were now to be blue. Passenger diesels started black like the freight units but then switched to Tuscan red and later to blue.
Maroon is not inappropriate for an N&W diesel or passenger car, more or less.
The red color echoes even today as seen in this geometry car. Its a dark red, almost maroon color, the exact hue of which I cannot say. It looks sharp with the gold trim…
For the SD40-2 and C30-7 locomotives Herald King’s decal suggested Floquil paints using 2 parts Caboose Red and 1 part Tuscan Red. The result matches this picture and the one I have at home of #6175.
Scalecoat Paint also makes N&W red, which is a close match also.
Rick
Randy, Keep in mind that even if a railroad changes colors, there is much lag time between when the first prototype color combo was painted on the first loco to display it, to the time when 50% or more of the fleet is actualy painted. Railroads do not, as a rule, repaint older locos just because of “new” colors or heralds. There is an abundance of real world information you can gather yourself just by sitting next to a busy rail yard for about 15 minutes. Just today I saw two Conrail locos- now how long has it been since Conrail became a fallen flag? These units were used by NS, repainting them in the prancing pony black was evidently not in the cards.
Bottom line is that unless you want to paint a specific loco # during a certain year span it’s probably safe to paint the loco in the “current” colors of your favorite road. Older locos can still sport the older schemes even if a more modern pattern is in use. Black and white photos can be irritating when trying to distinguish colors like gray or yellow, dark blue or red, it’s part of the research game. Perhaps a historical society or rail museum will have an actual piece of the loco with original colors, or even a color photo in the archives. NS has a rail museum at the Norfolk HQ, maybe calling them might help.
Hi Randy, The N&W’s “Redbirds” were GP9 passenger diesels. The first were delivered in solid black (like all the N&W’s freight diesels of that time) in 1957. Originally numbers 762-762, they were renumbered 500-505 when repainted red in 1958. The remainder of the group, engines 506-521, was delivered in 1958 in the red paint. The red paint was called “Metallic Tuscan Red,” and was the same color used for the red stripe on the streamlined 4-8-4s and 4-8-2s. The Redbird Geeps were painted this color down to the walkways, and black below. They had imitation gold Scotchlite lettering and striping, and gold-on-black N&W medallions applied to circular plates mounted below the headlight on each end of the hood. The red Geeps (and red passenger cars) lasted until 1965, although a simplified N&W medallion was adopted in 1963. In 1965, the N&W adopted a dark blue color for all locomotives and passenger cars, still with imitation gold striping and lettering, and using Scotchlite on the locomotives. Scalecoat no. 14 Caboose Red is a close match to the N&W’s Tuscan Red passenger car color, and airbrushing thin coats of that over a metallic silver undercoat would give a good approximation of the metallic version. So long, Andy
I have photos of C30-7s #8076 and #8078 in operation in the 1980’s. It is more of a maroon. The color of the new track geometry unit in this thread appears to be the same shade, but of course in operation things become dull and somewhat darkened by grime. Lettering was gold. These units were often used on inspection trains out of Roanoke, as they matched the color of the passenger equipment.
I believeN&W also had some blue GP9s with steam generators to match the passenger equipment that they had picked up off of the Wabash, and I rode behind those on the Pocahontas from Cincinnati to Christiansburg (VA) and back in 1969.
Bill
Hi Bill, The N&W began painting all its diesels blue in 1965, including its own 500-series passenger GP9s, the former “redbirds.” So long, Andy
Appologies for reviving such an old post, but this is exactly the same question I am currently trying to answer. What shade of maroon would be suitable for the N&W locomotives.
I’m looking to create a model of a N&W C30-7 in the Tusan Red scheme.
There is a fantastic picture of 8079 and 8080 on page 77 of ‘Norfolk & Western in Color - Volume 3’ by Morning Sun Books, these locomotives look really sharp in red and gold, and they caught my eye.
According to the book, in 1978/79 N&W took delivery of six C30-7’s and an SD40-2 in these colours and judging from the pictures in the book they were often used on passenger service or inspection trains.
Here’s a photo of C30-7 #8076 taken at Shaffer’s Crossing (Roanoke, VA) in August of 1985. The tuscan color tended to get grimed up some when in service.
Hope this helps. Bill
The Tuscan on passenger equipment can be closely matched by spraying the loco or car a light coat of gloss black as a base, then spraying LV Cornell Red as the finish coat. This will give you a Tuscan that closely matches the N&W tuscan.
Thanks for posting that pic!! I never seen that locomotive or geometry car before so I was inquired to google it. Quite a interesting story behind it.