When I first started, out my plan was to model Hogwart’s. I created a bunch of engines and rolling stock. When my kids decided they no longer wanted to run trains, I gave up Hogwarts and moved West.
Now I’ve changed my time zone and two of the engines now fit in.
The engine on the right, my daughter’s Hogwart’s engine, is a IHC Premier 4-4-0, and is flat out the best running steam engine I’ve ever owned. I once timed it taking a 9" straight in 22 seconds with no jerking. Right now it has an el chepo MDC decoder and so I have very little control over the CVs, but I would add sound anyway.
The engine on the left, my son’s Hogwart’s engine, is an MDC 4-6-0 that I built from a kit. It is an okay runner with a lot of weight. I spent some time with it painting the gauges and adding an engineer and fireman.
Both have sentimental value and I would like them to have a place on the Rock Ridge and Train City II, as part of the Rock Ridge fleet in 1909.
But the problem (besides backdating issues) is obvious–they are red.
So what do I do? The red paint jobs are pretty good. I could leave it and slap Rock Ridge marks on them. Or I could re-paint them black, but each of them have 4-5 coats. More than likely, as far as quality paint jobs go, it will be downhill from here.
Suggestions? “It’s your railroad.” comments are not helpful. Is it even conceivable possible that a middle-sized road would have red engines in 1909? These would be the only two. The rest would be the more typical black.
Chip, the fact is, you must decide what Rock Ridge would have had, especially back that far and the trend/fashion to have coloured steamers back around that time, maybe earlier. Call it an old fashioned company that got new steam, but the owner wanted them painted purdy like the older 4-4-0’s he sold to Oxford Lumber and Shake three winters ago. Now, he has his purdy red engines, like Ma used to appreciate, but they could be dirtied and weathered quite a bit so that they’re not quite so garrish (if that term is acceptable)…?
In the late 19th century New York & New England ran “The White Train.” The entire consist was painted white, locomotive and passenger cars. Paint up some red passenger cars and use them on point [:)]
SRR’s Crescent Limited was green, B&M had some Blue, and Green pacifics, C&O had some yellow steamers… etc
Randell “Rock” Ridge is a self-made man that has all the couth of a miner. He is quite capable of painting an engine red because he saw a vision, his daughter asked him, or just because he likes the color.
So, get some decals, slap 'em on, and then dirty the heck out of the engines, or do some dry brushing. I think they’ll be fine. I would agree that adding yet another coat, and probably two to do the job properly, won’t help the detail at all.
Thinking out loud here: is Randell a redhead? Maybe he is also known as “Big Red” by his best friends. Coulda happened.
Or, paint one of them blue, leave the other read, and Randell’s Rock Ridge engines were known by their respective paint jobs…Red and Blue.
One engine, two engines, red engine, blue engine…[:-^]
I’d also reccomend heavily weathering them. Steam locomotive painted in bright colors (especially if they are used in freight service) don’t stay shiny long unless washed.
Heck - just leave ‘em red. The Chicago & Alton had red locomotives into the 1950s. Can’t see what would be weird about it. Certainly no more weird than the Southern’ s penchant for green locomotives, or the Pennsy’s Tuscan Red ones…
That IHC 4-4-0 really that smooth? I may have to investigate the possibilities… [:)]
The fireman looks like he just went on strike - he and the engineer have a bit of a dust-up, did they?
I had other IHC Premeir Steamers that were pretty good, but nothing like this one. Sold the others.
About the fireman: he always seems to be in a mood. That 4-6-0 crew is the only one that will have 'em. The crew knows to ignore strange whistle signals. The engineer sometimes just blows the whistle to shut the brakeman up.
I see no problem with a red loco or two. They are just reminders of days gone by (the old times according to 1909 standards). And even at that, they aren’t without counterpaarts on other RR’s of the day. And maybe the old man running the RR is trying to raise the public view of his RR so he can fleece the business world one more time! I’m with selector though, they need at least some weathering to tone them down a bit. The amount will be determined by how much of a “pride and joy” the owners red loco’s are, huh? They really are well done paint jobs as is.
If you want to go black and have them be a bit less noticable, then I’d say you’re going to have to strip them or the paint buildup will make them look poor and you’ll be sorry you did anything. You’ll end up stripping them anyways because you’ll be unsatasfied. BTW, Easy Off oven cleaner makes an excellent stripper.
Since there was only black & white photography at the time it is really hard to know, but I think the V&T had a couple of red locomotives. I believe at one time the “Bowker” was one of them. Later it is reasonibly known that the cabs of the “Reno” & “Taho” were red. Unlike yours almost all the driver wheels of the V&T fleet were red. V&T also used navy blue boilers.
I was expecting Chip’s seven foot tall bull rider…[:-^]
Seriously, if drawing inspiration from the Virginia and Truckee, that railroad switched from wood to coal in 1877, and from coal to oil in 1907-1910. In the early years the drivers and pilot wheels were painted red and the boiler jacket was probably, 'Russian iron," (a metal finishing technique now lost to history.)[sigh]
Judging by the idea that Mr Ridge pretty much had things the way he wanted them, I would imagine that, if he got a deal on a barrel of red enamel (which might have fallen off a Southern Pacific freight one midnight…[}:)]) he would have had the shop crew make good use of it.[^]
I agree that some dirtying up is in order. The only really clean steam locomotives I have ever seen are on static display indoors…[^]
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - with some rather unsanitary steamers)
John Allen had at least one red pasenger steamer, although not quite that red,it was more of a tuscan red as the photos show it. Looked pretty good. I think those locys would look good if they were toned down a little, maybe with a very light wash of very light gray airbrushed on or maybe just a light coat or two of dullcoat to knock the shine off.Just my [2c]
If you want the engines and they have five coats of paint on them I would seriously consider stripping them back to the plastic and putting one good coat of paint on them. You could also add some more detail at that time. The color doesn’t bother me. I would consider putting some brass boiler bands on them to really dress them up. A color like that is indicative of a very prosperous railroad that is image concious.
I wouldn’t paint my kid’s locomotives. Leave them red, find a way to use them or not, but leave them as is. Tyhe newness has worn off my daughter’s Grinch train, and my son’s military train too, but I notice they keep track of where they are, and ask when something similar, but modified, appears on the layout as mine. Their trains are their trains, and they will stay that way, and I suspect if that ever changed, regardless of what they say about trains, there would be trouble.
Save the memories and buy new locomotives if you need them.
