It’s hard to tell from photos, were the green WP unit’s trucks and fuel tank painted green or black? Did it change when they went to new image green?
Thanks in advance
cdbird
I am ignorant on that subject. If you joined groups like the following, you would be closer to knowledgeable sources on the Western Pacific.
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/wplist/
Mark
If I remember correctly, they are black.
Trucks black, but usually weathered to grey
The sides, but not the ends, of the fuel tanks appears to be green on many units. Difficult to tell because of dirt, grease and oil on them and weathering. Some are black.
I looked at photos on this site:
cdbird,
Western Pacific under Al Perleman, painted the trucks, underframe and all of the fuel tanks black. Actually, that portion of the loco had been black from the beginning of dieselization. it was the visible outer frame pilots, steps and hood and cab that changed. Under Perleman, all of that was a shade of green that has been difficult to match with hobby paints–always had to be mixed. At times, a “Hunter Green” has been useful as a fairly close base, but the particular paint line that had it has long since vanished.
That green also did funny things to Kodachrome slide film, so much so that I ended up using Agfachrome for a lot of WP shoots toward the end. Most railfans were using Kodachrome, so you need to understand an important feature of the film, as those images are what you must rely on today. Kodachrome was designed to render reds and yellows very well–getting the skin tones right. Unfortunately, the color range for dark green was quite limited. The practical effect for photographers was that the color “blocked up” and was rendered as almost black, hence your confusion in looking at photos.
The shade of green shifted a little as the years went by, but the difference was very subtle. Allegedly, “New Image” green is a a little lighter, but that was difficult to detect track-side–other than clean/fresh vs. grimy. the principal difference with “New Image” concerned the solid orange nose and hood end vs the earlier stripe schemes.
Good Luck!
After looking at more photos on-line and in books I agree that the tanks should be black. I still think some were green, but would hesitate painting a unit that way without clear documentation. In most cases a very faded grimy black would be appropriate.
The New Image appear to be green, but it is hard to tell.
Alfred E. Perlman became President of the WP on 12/1/70. The WP began using a paint called MacLeod Green in 1970 and went to the lighter Perlman Green in 1971. Data from D-Day on the Western Pacific by Virgil Staff.