Ok, I have my assortment of bridges assembled, and am about to hit them with the spray brush, but have been arguing with myself on what color. Do you paint all your bridges the same color, and did the prototype do so? Will it look incongruous or odd odd having a truss one color, and having the through girder below a different color?
I’m thinking of going with a Brunswick Green for my Truss, it’s almost a black, but wonder if a green shade will look monotonous given all the green scenery too. Also was thinking of grey, or just going black. I have the following steel-involved bridges:
50’ open deck girder - owned by shortline which bought branchline
60’ of 30’ deck girders, with support bents - also shortline owned
30’ open deck girder - also the shortline
50’ through girder - also the shortline
Large, long truss bridge - shortline owned.
40’ concrete deck with steel girder support - class one owned bridge.
Any thoughts, suggestions, experience, wisdom on painting bridges? I hope not to have to paint 'em more than once!
Dave - my freelance shortline operates a branchline bought from NS, which was originally a Norfolk and Western branch. However, there could have been maintenance on it and it not be in the original N&W color.
The class one is either -depending upon what locos I’m operating at the time - either Norfolk Southern or CSX. I like to have operating flexibility with my “class one” mainline.
I used a rattle-can spray paint called “Moss Green” for some of mine. It’s pretty close to Brunswick Green. I think the off-black shade is a good one.
I had some fun with my venerable Atlas Chord Bridge. (Out of production now, replaced by their truss bridge.) I started with that Moss Green color, but then heavily weathered and rusted most of it, and gave the rest a “fresh” coat of silver. Here, the da Vinci brothers go to work on the bridge.
Black or aluminum were the most common colors used. Aluminum has the advantage in that the detail is seen more readily. If you’re going to paint it black, I’d suggest a very, very dark gray or weathered black. Straight black is too intense and on the prototype would fade. Also, added weathering/rusting effects will help bring out the details.
Mr. Beasley - BTW - I’ve got to commend you on your tag line, because it’s simply the best, and I’ve picked up on it and found myself using it often to answer attitudes about model trains - “…because it’s never too late to have a happy childhood”. Brilliant, simple and sums it all up nicely. Shuts 'em up every time! [swg]
Just taking this quick opportunity for the kudo and acknowledgement!
Mark, thanks. Guess I’ll play with some weathered tones of black, or darken up/play with that Brunswick green. Thinking to avoid Aluminium color since I think it will leap off the layout, too intensely bright for my truss. The Truss already kinda dominates my layout in a visual sense.
I can see a main line bridge on CP from my house, it is a plate girder affair. It is rusted but was a light blueish green to light turquoise. It spans the TransCanadian Highway where CP passes over.
Actually the “aluminum” paint used on some railroad bridges is, well, aluminum paint.
The 1970’s Mopac standard for painting bridges and other metal structures was two coats of Rust-o-leum brand aluminum paint. That specific brand was standard.
i just put together a NOCH Truss Girder Bridge (snap together and no glue) that I spray (can) painted with Testors Silver. I primed the model with a medium grey primer and then sprayed the silver somewhat lightly from about 12 inches. After a couple of coats the inpression is that of an aluminum or silver painted truss that has aged and weathered since hints of the darker grey primer show through. In some areas there is a dappled effect that looks like paint peeling.
I picked the lighter color, because the next step (not done yet) will be to ‘rust’ at points where water might accumulate such as lower corners, or where surfaces could trap water like where the rivet plates hold the I-beams together. I think the rust will show better on the lighter color.
Now to figure out how to give an aged appearence to the plate girder bridges on each side of it. They are black with only a heavy application of Dulcoat. Should be fun.
Shawnee, you didn’t say what era you’re modeling, which may be important. As others have said in this thread, in modern times the railroads suited themselves, but back in my salad days of the '50s, I never saw a bridge not painted black, with or without RR name or logo. I suspect you’re modeling fairly recent times, but one of the reasons the late Paul Larson gave for changing eras (1912 short line in HO to 1920s/'30s Class One in O) was that he wanted to get into signalling and signal masts and boxes silvery aluminum–but aluminum paint was almost unheard of in the early part of the 20th Century.
In a later addition to your post, you mention that you’d decided not to paint the big bridge aluminium because it already dominates the scene. I think this is wise and IMHO dark-colored bridges, either dull black or dark (Brunswick) green would blend in better with your scenery and trains and would be more realistic from a modeling POV.
The only oxide-red bridge I regularly see is the Golden Gate Bridge. But yup, follow your prototype or establish a policy of your freelanced railroad. Now of course, prototype railroads don’t necessarily paint all their bridges the same color. (Of the two BNSF bridges near my home which are within two miles of each other, one is painted black, the other aluminum/silver)
I’ll second Dean-58’s suggestion/post. Silver didn’t appear untill after WWII, prior to that weathered black or other very dark colors - with some rust thrown in. [:)]
My bridges are all black. Well, not ‘black’ actually, I paint them a ‘weathered’ black and overspray them with a little rust here and there, but they’re all the same basic color (my railroad is set in the 1940’s, before a lot of silver or aluminum paint was used).
Aluminum (or gray) of course brings out rivet detail better, but it wasn’t widely used out here in the west until after WWII, so I just keep 'em a grimy, kinda/sorta rusty black. And I’ve got 15 of them, so I can always find them in the scenery, LOL! If I ever update my railroad (yah, SURE!) I might repaint them, but not now.
