I am repainting Bachmann 44-tonner to be a plant switcher in myt cement plant, which ws a Lehigh Portland Cement Co plant. I found a few pictures of smaller GE boxcabs that they owned (never had a 44 tonner, oh well - mine does!) and even the B&W ones look like they very well could be this shade of blue. I also have to go throught he signs that have been posted in the Layout and Building section to see if there are any Lehigh Cement logos such as the ones shown applied to this loco so I cna get decals made - unless someone knows about some decals that have already been produced.
A line drawing on the site this picture comes from shows a smaller unit as just having the words “Lehigh Portland Cement Company” without the use of the logo. Also, this one appears awfully shiny considering a)it’s in a cement plant and b)it’s no longer even on rails - a least, I see no rails under there.It is a 70’s picute, and I model the 50’s, but the small 20 and 23 ton units were purchased in the late 30’s. Seems reasonable for there to be a 44-tonner in 1956.
Hmm, could be. Doesn;t have to be exact, although come to think of it I think the corporate logo they used to use that is in the pattern shown on that loco might have had a blue background - unfortuantely they recently changed the logo, but next time I get past the office I might have to pull in anc check, it might still exist on the sign. I almost though a cerulean blue such as used on the Reading Crusader but the loco looks darker in that photo.
Of course whatever it is will have plenty of cement color streaked down the sides as I can only imagine a 50’s cement plant would have been even dustier than a 70’s one.
Up around the headlight, it looks rather like the Strato Blue used on USAF trucks in 1980 or so.
Incidentally, there are rails under that machine, barely visible in the dust. I wonder if the broom behind the cut bar was used to sweep out switch points so they could be thrown.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - where the dust was coal, not cement)
Randy, if you click on the link below, you can mix the top three primaries with a secondary to get the approximate ratios of each to derive the colour you think most closely matches the paint.
For example, I clicked on the blue, then the green beside it, and then on the secondary purple/magenta. From that point, I just kept clicking the blue until I came close.
How many months has it been faiding out in the sun?
All these factors affect the color of the original paint, which is not going to bee seen in the photo. Weather ages and lightens paint. Therefore, getting an exact match to the paint in the photo, which is not necessarily the same color that it was painted with originally, should not necessarily be a high priority.
If you are going to use an airbrush, add a small amount of light gray to the blue that you choose to lighten it up a little bit. If you are going to use a spray can, apply white or light gray chalk to the loco after painting, decalling, and an over-spray of clear flat.
