So, can anybody tell me what color Pullman "Dulux Gold" really is ?? To me, sometimes it looks yellow, and other times it looks gold, depending on ambient light, weathering, etc...

Dulux is the name of a brand of paint. Dulux Gold is not a single color but is several shades depending on the intended use.

It's my understanding, in the RR car business, Dulux Gold was a shade used for car lettering, replacing Gold Leaf. Your description sounds like it did as intended.

Here's a citation from Dulux: A luxurious finish that creates the look of shimmering gold. Ideal for feature walls, trim areas or furniture. Design Gold Effect is available in 5 colours, from a traditional yellow gold through to rose and bronze gold. Colour featured: Gold Vintage.

That citation is current; you're probably thimking 1950. I'd imagine they had the same effect then.

Phil Mulligan

Sammy - Technically, there is no such thing as “Pullman Dulux Gold”. Dulux was the alkyd enamel paint product line of DuPont, not something that denotes color. It seems the model railroader crowd like to call any gold-ish color Dulux. Dunno why but it’s certainly pervasive. Pullman’s lettering and striping color was officially and simply called “Imitation Gold” by Pullman.

Color is defined by a formula number. The DuPont color number in Dulux would be 93-1226 with the 93 denoting Dulux and 1226 is the color number. The same color by PPG/Ditzler was 81649.

A very rough approximation of the color can be found here:
https://paintref.com/cgi-bin/colorcodedisplay.cgi?type=paint&paint=176403&ditzler=81649&syear=&smanuf=&smodel=&sname=Yellow&rows=50

Gentlemen, Thanks for replying with this information.

I'm maybe thinking of 50's Pullman practice, but in Mexico there was a former branch of the Pullman Company operating into the 80's called "Servicio Coches y Dormitorios", which is what I'm trying to imitate. The decal makers just call it "Dulux Gold", and I added the Pullman part because that is the only way I knew to describe it so that gringos would know what I meant...

93-1226 is Diamond Yellow, Eric...

https://paintref.com/cgi-bin/paintdetai ... nt=93-1226

You guys are making it hard to concentrate on one color here, not like I need any help with that, so these are my new scans of DuPont 014 Imitation Gold and the NPRHA Imitation Gold card, which actually matches the slightly richer-looking Dulux Gold and New Caterpillar Yellow... LOL

I had a little paint color fun with this dude over on the truck site but he hasn't responded as of yet...

https://www.ramchargercentral.com/threa ... rc.334197/

The appearance of both those colors is highly dependent on how well the yellow pigment in each saturates, Sammy. The same is true with Pullman Green.

If I add more yellow to the NPHRA Pullman Green card as scanned, the color comes right in...

From the fan deck, here are Diamond Yellow (WE5558), New Cat Yellow (WE5904), and Imitation Gold (WE5903)...

Here you go, Phil, just in case you ever wondered what happened to caboose #94000...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKQx-yNqlho

The CNJ's red is definitely slightly darker...

When it's looking yellow, it kind of matches the "Diamond Yellow" card, but I'd call it "Canary Yellow", myself. When it looks gold, it matches, well, gold.

"Dulux gold" isn't the only ambiguous paint used by the former Ferrocarriles Nacionales de Mexico. Their second paint scheme for diesels featured a dark green color with a dash of brown in it, giving the "sometimes it is sometimes it ain't" look similar to PRR Brunswick Green...

I was coming back on AMTK 40 and the motor out of Harrisburg was 4935 in PRR Green. The day was cloudy and there was snow on the ground. The flat light made 4935 very, very green.

Phil Mulligan

Pete - ya caught me. It’s actually DuPont 7223. The 1226 is a boo-boo on paintref.com. I had caught that before, noted it and it got me again. The PPG number is correct at 81649.

https://paintref.com/cgi-bin/colorcodedisplay.cgi?dupont=7223&rows=50&syear=1971&smanuf=Ford&smodel=Fleet&sname=Yellow

Phil - PRR DGLE (Dark Green Locomotive Enamel) is a trickster depending on the lighting and/or how much dirt is on it. It goes from black to very dark green which it actually is.

My point exactly. In the Rolling Stock Hall at RRMPA 4935 is very dark and hard to tell it's green. In sunlight, back when it was running, the same. This snowy day, 4935 was the greenest I've ever seen a GG1.

Phil Mulligan

Well, if you're going to eff up paint colors, Eric, this is the thread to do it. LOL

Here are the CNW's traditional colors from the fan deck, Clover Green and Diamond Yellow...

We'll figure it all out eventually, Sammy, once we put the chips to it... ;-)

You didn't tell me the later Crusader cars were three different greens, Phil, and it almost looks like four... LOL