How quickly do locomotives age? Specifically here is my question-- let’s say the Pennsylvania Railroad buys an SD7 the year they’re introduced (1952). How “aged” would it look 10 years later? Would it be about the same, just dirty? Starting to show some rust and wear? I wouldn’t guess it would be on its last legs-- the sd7 and sd9’s ran a long time. I assume they were well-taken care of. I’m trying to figure out how to weather it. What would your suggestions / opinions be?
Thanks!
John
Engines may be mechanically taken car of and also be cosmetically wanting. 10 years on the original cosmetics would have the engine looking rather poorly most of the time…especially PRR engines as they were in a declining financial condition during those years.
Thanks, that’s the type of info I was looking for.
What does a locomotive look like after ten years? Depends on the type of service it was used for, the weather and other atmospheric elements it was in, how well cared for by the railroad both mechanically and cosmeticlly. Just like an automobile.
Ten years isn’t a long time for paint any more, especially if it’s done right from the beginning. One doesn’t usually find rusty locomotives on most railroads (I can think of one, which I won’t name). Of course, rusty spots near the top of the engine compartments from flame-ups are more common, but that’s a builder issue, in most cases.
Keeping locomotives clean does a lot to improve their image. Pat and I saw some brand-new UP GEVOs a couple of days ago, coupled next to an older one, less than four years old, that evidently had been spending some time in tunnels. What a difference! There’s fading–some caused by washing, and some just by exposure to sun. Some paint schemes seem more prone to color changes due to fading. UP’s red decals are bad in this respect–how many shields does one see without the stripes on them, or lettering that looks white instead of red? Or take BNSF’s “peaches”–please! There was also UP’s clear coat applications in the early 1990s–those units soon began to appear like they had some dermitological plague. Washing those units only exacerbated the problem.
Crazy thing…you know whose locomotives look the best? Norfolk Southern’s! They may have an uninspiring black and white, but they’re almost always kept clean, and one doesn’t see rust or any signs of neglect, even on the units they use as pushers in Pennsylvania.
I have seen plenty of pictures of the PRR in 60-70’s looking pretty grim. Paint flaking, rust spots, less than perfect livery. They obviously weren’t paying much attention to those aspects prior to the PC merger-- with “paying” being the key word. What I wasn’t sure of is what something purchased at the beginning of the 50’s would look like by the end of the decade. Assuming it gets usual wear-and-tear on the mainline, and typical maintenance, etc. The Pennsy only had two SD7’s also and they weren’t located in the region I model.
Okay, I’ll mention one. The Virginia Railway Express. However, they paint over the rust bubbles.
On the bright side VRE exercised the option in their locomotive order to replace their entire locomotive fleet (instead of just part of it) after a series of embarrassing equipment breakdowns earlier this year.
Physical appearance can be misleading. When traffic levels were higher and the motive power was in greater demand, NS would overhaul its locomotives at Juniata without running them through the paint booth. The locomotive would still be wearing Conrail blue with a patch for the number but would be in great mechanical shape.
I model the pennsy and my question is primarily rooted in what a 1950’s vintage diesel in regular service would probably look like a decade later.
Based on your modling the PRR, I would suggest you look at books by Alexander or Wood or Ball about the PRR in that era. All three did photo books on the road plus Ball did several other generic photo books which included a lot of PRR. Also check back issues of Trains and MR.
Only in photos. If you look at them close up day in and day out, it is a different story. Esp. if you compare a fresh repaint with one that is 5 yrs old. They become a dark grayish instead of a nice black. And they are NEVER washed. You get filthy just walking on the walkways from one unit to another. Black just hides the dirt a little better than UP yellow.
Well, Zug, I’m not looking at pictures, but the units I see seem to have whiter whites than our reddest reds, or whatever. But you obviously get closer to them than I do, so that’s good enough for me.
They’ve really been letting the things get dirty the past year. Esp. the 70M-2s. They have light brown numbers and framestripes. When I get bored, I sometimes scrub off the numbers on my side, making them white again. Really amuses the guys at the fuel pad.
Check out the following site for period pictures from PRR