Another aspect of all this we need to remember is the postwar era was the golden age of standardization on the railroads. Paints were no different and the manufacturer's fleet color systems helped relieve some of the burden in that department. Here's a pic of a guy in the CNW paint lab giving samples the hairy eyeball I lifted off eBay...

That pic appears colorized, though. He might be looking at Traditional Green. LOL

Anyway, I was going over my hard drive and completely overlooked this one which should be back on Page 11. Here we have as-downloaded modern 1547 again vs. an as-downloaded modern 2015...

Tough picture to work with but I got the yellows on the locos somewhat closer to where they should be according to the photo of the chips. Notice the two different greens on the ex-RDG GP-30 with the Conrail patch job...

You’re trying to match photos of weathered paint to the wrong color chips. Or visa versa. It’s an exercise in futility that has no value rail preservation. I don’t get it. I give up.

Because I'm saying they're the right colors, Eric, just different numbers. 93-1226 is a known code for CNW's Traditional Yellow. On the same page of actual chips, if I can match that color half-decently, the Reading's yellow should match half-decently as well. I'm not trying for perfect, either, because it probably won't happen.

I don't have access to the mixing formulas for these codes but perhaps someone else does. That might be a good method of testing the theory. Pick one or two of the suspected colors and compare them that way. We have established the fact that DuPont (and PPG) issued unique codes for the same color to different fleet customers so unless we have those master lists which are no doubt proprietary, I'll continue to remain "creative" in this endeavor with the limited resources I have at the moment. LOL

Here, I'm manipulating both pics in an attempt to meet somewhere in the middle. Turned the 1290 chip into that lovely dull orangey-pinky yellowish peach color which is all too common in old photos of Reading diesels...

That lovely dull orangey-pinky yellowish peach can show up nicely on old photos of brand new units as well. Just taking some of the excessive red out of the pic makes the coloration far more accurate...

I'm dealing with a 57-year old memory here, but as I recall the upper photo of GP35 6503 more closely resembles how the "yellow jackets" looked when they were new, and the lower after they had been in service for a while with dirt, fading, etc.

There is no date but the GP35's were delivered in the 6500's and soon renumbered in the 3600's so the photo is from 1963.

Phil Mulligan

Looks like it still has the shipping labels attached, Phil. LOL I like the way those pilot stripes match the safety barrier.

This is one I color-corrected based solely upon memory taken about eleven years later at Rutherford. At this time, I had just turned thirteen and was spending quite a bit of my free time goofing around over at the tracks. The original Gottschall photo can be found here...

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPi ... id=2730516

Here are the other two green chips I have under a clear blue sky. Morat Green is all the way on the left and Narva Green, all the way on the right...

A couple of the Dulux 93-005 Black chip pics off DuPont Dodge sheets from the last century. 44 is the Duco number, 88 and 99L are Lucite, and 99A is Centari...

I know I've been slacking off on the thread because it is spring and all that but I do have some more research stuff coming in the mail soon thanks to my coronacash windfall. LOL

Ever since I posted that early-sixties Rutherford engine terminal pic back a little ways, I've been thinking the Reading did use the regular imitation gold yellow on the older diesels so I'll get back on that here eventually. It is good to take a break from this stuff once and awhile also. Last year, it was all summer.

I'm still okay on the greens for the time being.

Here's a goodie from the 1963 fleet color spec. book, the late REA Express red is 93-24118, also known as Mack Truck Red and Massey-Ferguson Tractor Red...

http://paintref.com/cgi-bin/paintdetail ... pont=24118

That would be Plate #41 in my 1954 chip book and you can put that one on your list, Eric.

Just in case any slight hint of doubt exists concerning Armour Yellow and Swift Red, these pics should take care of that. LOL

BTW, 93-55092 Yellow, Plate #21, is also Armour Yellow and was used on Dodges. The two chips, that and Plate #20, are identical.

The listings are scanned out of the spec. book and the chips are from a 1951 sheet of Chevy colors...

Here's a Sunday sunrise special update on that funky Train Master, RDG #801. I know the yellows definitely won't match but... LOL

The WPYR's green does appear to be slightly lighter than the Reading's. Early on, I had looked at 93-79039 Green as a possible choice for Woodfield but dismissed it as not quite dark enough. Here's its page on PaintRef...

https://paintref.com/cgi-bin/paintdetai ... pont=79039

Basically, it's the next lightest shade of the Singer/Seven-Up green. 93-79039 was available on 1968 Ford Mustangs as "Special Green". The White Pass's latest green, especially, seems to match that color pretty well...

Further research indicates this color is also known as Ford Forest Green, 6864, and appears to be very similar to the 1969-1971 Ford Grabber Green, 5206...

https://paintref.com/cgi-bin/paintdetai ... upont=6864

https://paintref.com/cgi-bin/paintdetai ... pont=5206L

A restored 1970 Ford Torino Cobra in Grabber Green along with a doctored-up 1977 pic of WPYR GE 25-tonner #1...