Hi all,

After reading a post about the Pullman Green paint, I thought again to different paint types and how they "weather". Freshly painted equipment speaks volumes to the public about the health of a museum but does it represent the fabric of the history of railroading. I have read that Don Ball had thoughts about displaying equipment in a natural, "weathered" state. It seems to be an interesting approach to present equipment in this manner. Most railroads only painted equipment during major shoppings as was evidenced in photos of in-service steam and a ton of freight cars that only received the paint job that the builder applied. That said I can't imagine 1401 "weathered".

Is there anybody out there beyond Mr. Ball that has ever pondered this? Tourist railroads not withstanding due to the daily operating nature.

minterjr@mindspring.com

> Hi all,

> Is there anybody out there beyond Mr. Ball
> that has ever pondered this? Tourist
> railroads not withstanding due to the daily
> operating nature.

I guess it was a standard practice in the good old daze to keep your "varnish" in pristine condition on both the railroads and the interurbans ...while they were making money. Sort of advertising the "health" of your company right where it interacted with the public. This required (from what I have been told) a redo every four years to keep the shine. You could tell when a traction company was hitting the skids ...they quit painting and cleaning. With all the hoopla about "good quality" paint I gotta ask if anyone has ever condsidered automotive finishes and the wash and wax that goes with it ...the paint on your car easily last 5 years with minimum care.


lamontdc@adelphia.net

IIRC, The late Don Ball had the IC #790 weathered at Steamtown for an early '80s Railfan Weekend. Can't recall if any other engines were similarly weathered.

drotarinoh@webtv.net

A few more comments - I read a Pullman Company specification for some steel smooth side sleepers for the Pennsy dating from the 1950's. If I remember correctly there were something like 14 steps in the painting process including coats of clear varnish over the finished paint and lettering. Same references of using multiple coats of clear varnish over paint for older wood and interurban cars.

No doubt that was the origin of the term 'varnish' referring to delux passenger equipment. But varnish is not that weather resistant either and would have to be renewed frequently.

But for a freight car or locomotive, probably no way. So where does a troop sleeper fall on this spectrum - freight car or 'varnish'???

If your site has the luxury of even basic indoor storage to minimize weathering, a good paint job may last as much as 25 years with or without the varnish or other clear coat. If outdoors the varnish may actually look worse quicker, especially with the UV effects on the sunny side.

Bob Kutella


68trolley@comcast.net

Back in 1984, Mid-Continent had a wood-sided ex-Iowa Central boxcar freshly painted, and then lettered (as a Pennsy car) and professionally weathered for the filming of a movie. The weathering was done basicly as is done to model railroad cars. The weathering stood up quite well, and the car remainined looking good (although mother nature did add a little bit of "natural" weathering), so Mid-Continent did not repaint it for 11 years. It was repainted (and had it's ends rebuilt to remove work-train service doors) in 1995 to return it to one of it's former identities for a C&NW Historical Society convention.
It's my personal opinion that lightly weathered cars add to the authenticity of museum restorations. A display building full of nice, shiny equipment doesn't give the proper "feel" of the real world of railroads. Heavy weathering on the other hand, would give the impression that the museum doesn't take care of it's equipment.

Boyd

Minneapolis & St. Louis (Iowa Central) #4570

bowens@rypn.org