Atlas O has issued flat cars in its Trainman line in two colours for UP, brown and yellow.
The slogan on the brown car makes me think that that item is probably meant to represent the earlier paint scheme, while the yellow car has a more contemporary look to the lettering.
As the Atlas illustrations are not large enough to see paint dates or similar information, can anyone let me know when the paint scheme changes were introduced?
There is a limit on the number of books i can buy; I’ll be broke soon from buying stock for this project! I had this question posted elsewhere, but despite 76 ‘views’, nobody posted an opinion, let alone a definite answer. A changeover commencement date will be sufficient guidance.
My references indicate that Union Pacific was painting flatcars yellow by 1964, and perhaps even earlier. Since boxcars started getting the yellow paint no later than 1962, it’s likely that the same is true for the flats.
Of course, older red-oxide units were around for a long time after that.
That’s a nice era you’ve chosen. Depending on your own tastes, you can run an array of steamers, diesels, and turbines, and (if you love Armour yellow half as much as I do) still enjoy it on all your power except steam and on all your cabooses (the red ones got repainted in the late 1940s), as well as on your passenger trains.
This time frame also allows you to include either C&NW (up to 29 Oct 1955) or Milwaukee (30 Oct 1955 and later) cars in your yellow passenger trains, along with SP, Wabash, and PRR, all matching.
New York Central sleepers ran on the UP as well, but NOT (according to my references) painted to match.
About 20 years ago somebody did an article in the UP historical society’s magazine about detailing and decorating an Athearn 50’ double-door box as an as-built (c.1936) car. The writer recommended using zinc-chromate primer (a light tuscan or rusty red) for the cars. I painted one up and decalled it (though I didn’t do much of the detailing[:I]) and it looks good color-wise compared to color pics I’ve seen of the real cars.