Your responses to my earlier post were most helpful. Kurt Bell pointed me in the direction of a specific Dulux product Charcoal Metallic 4980-DX. Others have given 4-4-0 Eureka as the correct example of the color. Are we talking the same thing here? Can anyone tell me the application on the Eureka?

wrj494@aol.com

> Your responses to my earlier post were most
> helpful. Kurt Bell pointed me in the
> direction of a specific Dulux product
> Charcoal Metallic 4980-DX. Others have given
> 4-4-0 Eureka as the correct example of the
> color. Are we talking the same thing here?
> Can anyone tell me the application on the
> Eureka?

Dan Markoff who owns the Eureka seems to monitor and post on the Narrow Gauge Railroad Discussion Forum. You might post an inquiry over on that site. Dan seems to very willing to answer posts about the engine, etc.

Narrow Gauge Railroad Discussion Forum
bnorden@gateway.net

> Your responses to my earlier post were most
> helpful. Kurt Bell pointed me in the
> direction of a specific Dulux product
> Charcoal Metallic 4980-DX. Others have given
> 4-4-0 Eureka as the correct example of the
> color. Are we talking the same thing here?
> Can anyone tell me the application on the
> Eureka?

David,

I received a letter from Brian Norden who said you had some interest in the jacket on Eureka. I hope the following is of help.

The original jacket on Eureka was Russian Iron. I still have it but it is rather beat up. However, it was good for making a pattern for the new one, and there was enough of the Russian iron color to get a match for the new one.

I looked at a lot of engines, and all of the restorations used a paint on the boiler jacket. It never looked quite right to me. Also, most all others were static display, except Eureka and the Inyo. Both engines are 1875 Baldwin 4-4-0s. Since I was going to run my locomotive, I did not feel paint would stand up very well with extremes in temperature and rain, snow and what have you. However, having been involved in shooting for many years, it seemed that the bluing process used on guns would be about as close and more durable than just about anything. So, I got together with Chris DeWitt at the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City, Nv. and we blued both the jacket on Eureka and the Inyo at the same time. That was back in 1991, and I have had Eureka in every kind of weather you can imagine since then, and it has held up beautifully for 10 years. Also, the color with the original jacket is virtually identical.

The process is very caustic, and can be dangerous as the solution is also heated into which the sheets are dipped and cooked. Yet, the end product is beautiful. One bit of advice though.....regular oiling of the jacket keeps it in top notch shape. Also, no one but me touches the jacket, as some folks have a tendency to get ham fisted, and can grind scratches into the finish from sand and dust that gathers here and there. Like a fine rifle, if you treat the finish well, it will protect your metal and look great.

Dan Markoff

Transyard@aol.com