This isn’t mine, but I’ve got one JUST like it! [:D]
https://train-station.com/cgi-bin/shop.pl/page=6-8687.html/SID=11707
Nice Green instead of the Orange and Blue scheme!
Yeah, it’s always puzzled me why Lionel did the Orange (properly tangerine) and Blue scheme on the 1950’s produced Trainmaster since it was totally incorrect. Trainmasters were always in “Sea Green” with “Dulux Gold” striping. Lionel’s people could have taken a short ride to Jersey City to see for themselves!
However, the initial deliveries of FM’s 1500 horsepower roadswitchers to the Jersey Central were in blue with orange stripes! Here’s one of them.
http://archives.anthraciterailroads.org/view_image.php?photoID=40
A little Trainmaster lore, Jersey Central crews ALWAYS tried to run Trainmasters short-hood forward whenever possible, and it usually was. The reason being if a Trainmaster was run long-hood forward diesel exhaust fumes would drift into the cab nauseating the crews!
Anyway, I got trainshow “Right-time, right-place!” lucky with that TM, and I didn’t pay anywhere near $395.95 for it!
I don’t know if I’ve ever read/heard something of this sort in the past to make me think this (so I’m just thinking out loud here, not claiming this to necessarily be historical fact), but I half wonder if Lionel picked that paint scheme due to it being close to the Orange and Blue of the company colors.
It’s not like they made an Orange and Blue Santa Fe or NYC F3 ;). But I could see given the choices, they might have picked the colors correct for the road name, but not that particular engine for this reason.
Plus it is a Pretty Striking paint scheme that could attract buyers ,like the Red and silver Sante Fe Warbonnet scheme
It is a little over the top ,so I went on the Bay and found a beater Lackawanna body that had been poorly repainted Stripped it down and painted it for my NYC scheme…
That’s as good an explanation as any. The tangerine and blue scheme WAS pretty striking on the Jersey Central’s F3’s, but it didn’t hold up well.
I’ve read that when asked about the bright shiny unrealistic enameled paint schemes of his products, Joshua Cowen answered …“do you know who actually BUYS Lionel Trains? It’s the women. The mothers, aunts, sisters of the boy who go to the stores and do the shopping. And women buy on color.”
I guess there was something to that. As the saying goes “Nothing succeeds like success.”
(Unless it was the “Lady Lionel,” but that’s another story!)
Anyone else out there got a Trainmaster? And it doesn’t have to be a Lionel, at least as far as I’m concerned.
I have noticed that when I post something up,the only replies I get are from Penny or Flint! what’s up with that?
Do we know when the model appeared? Is it possible that the model was started before the CNJ trainmasters were delivered, but after the order was announced? That was the problem with the Hornby Dublo “Deltic” model, which went into production before the real locomotives appeared and had a quite different paint scheme.
It also occurs to me that the CNJ model might have been able to use the paint masks of the black and yellow VGN scheme.
Peter
Well either nobody’s paying attention or they’re just shy. There’s 346 views so somebody’s looking in.
Yes it is strange!
Good guess Peter, and that could very well be the case.
Historically the Jersey Central purchased their first Trainmasters in 1954 and then another batch in 1956 for a total of 13 and they were always in the Sea Green with Dulux Gold striping. Lionel’s JC Trainmaster came out in 1956 and was only made for one year.
I’ve just read an article on the post-war Lionel GG1 and what a hassle it was for Lionel to do the “cats whisker” striping on the model, so maybe to save themselves the trouble prototypically striping a JC Trainmaster model they just went with the striking tangerine and blue paint scheme? I don’t think we’ll ever know at this point.
Wayne
Don’t have a Trainmaster. But I’ve always liked the Virginian in blue and yellow. Which is odd considering blue and orange is my favorite color.
The blue and yellow (University of Michigan grads would call it blue and MAIZE!) on the Virginian Trainmaster does work well on the model!
well, technically Orange is just an enrichment color of yellow. (yellow and red mixed correct?) [:D]
I have both the yellow & blue and the yellow & black. just don’t have pics at the moment, and there not easily obtainable.
Hey, just do what I do and link some examples. Here you go.
https://www.tandem-associates.com/lionel/lionel_trains_2331_diesel.htm
Works for me.