Modeltrains2021
Active Member
Hi there was wondering what colors I should paint my locomotives as I'm making my own railroad and can't decide any input would be greatly appreciated.
Thankyou.
Thankyou.
Colors for a model railroad
- Thread starter Modeltrains2021
- Start date
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My club designed four schemes using white and a dark green (Northern Pacific Dark Green specifically) with yellow pin stripes. The white ended up being too easy to smudge and get prints from club members dirty fingers. I would not do a scheme with primarily white again.
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Depends on era. Older eras tended to be darker colors so dirt didn't show up. More modern eras with better paint, had more color to them.
Generally darker colors (black, blue, green) were popular on the east coast. Brighter colors in the midwest or west.
Avoid yellow because its a particularly hard color to get to cover easily.
The lighter the color the more details (or defects) show up. The darker the color the more it hides defects or the lack of details. You can tone up or down a base color with weathering.
Generally darker colors (black, blue, green) were popular on the east coast. Brighter colors in the midwest or west.
Avoid yellow because its a particularly hard color to get to cover easily.
The lighter the color the more details (or defects) show up. The darker the color the more it hides defects or the lack of details. You can tone up or down a base color with weathering.
trailrider
Well-Known Member
Steam or diesel locos? Will they be pulling freight or passenger cars, and if the latter, heavyweight or streamliners?
Modeltrains2021
Active Member
This particular painting will be on a steam 
Modeltrains2021
Active Member
Okay thankyou just trying to choose a good color for a steam locomotive
D&J RailRoad
Professor of HO
choose grime color
Modeltrains2021
Active Member
Alright my decision is between black and green
Modeltrains2021
Active Member
I just like to hear others input.
cv_acr
Well-Known Member
99% of steam engines were painted black.
You might paint coloured stripes on the sides of running boards or other trimwork, and some RR's would paint coloured panels on the sides of the tenders.
Canadian Pacific's most modern steam engines had maroon running board skirts and a large maroon panel on the tender:
Older/smaller engines were plain black, but would sometimes have some gold trim around the edges.
Canadian National's last modern mainline steam engines in the late 1950s had olive green running board skirts, cabs, and tenders. Most engines were solid black.
Union Pacific's two-tone "Greyhound" sheme:
Southern Pacific's "Daylight" colours were pretty striking:
en.wikipedia.org
Southern's "Crescent Limited"
americanhistory.si.edu
Often the fancy colours were on passenger-assigned locos. No one particularly cared about freight units.
You might paint coloured stripes on the sides of running boards or other trimwork, and some RR's would paint coloured panels on the sides of the tenders.
Canadian Pacific's most modern steam engines had maroon running board skirts and a large maroon panel on the tender:
Railpictures.ca - George Schaller Photo: Canadian Pacific train #360, normally two RDC cars, was frequently too big and conventional power with passenger cars were added, sometimes with the RDC cars included in the train serving as coaches. CPR Ju
Tens of thousands of great Canadian railway photographs, discussions, and much more. Click to view the image or register for your free account. Please share this if you like it.
www.railpictures.ca
Older/smaller engines were plain black, but would sometimes have some gold trim around the edges.
Railpictures.ca - Bill Thomson Photo: CPR G5b 1221 (built by MLW in October 1945, scrapped February 1960) heads eastbound over CN’s Oakville Sub, crossing over Cooksville Creek (at Mile 11.8) east of Port Credit near “CN Lakeview”. | Railpictures.c
Tens of thousands of great Canadian railway photographs, discussions, and much more. Click to view the image or register for your free account. Please share this if you like it.
www.railpictures.ca
Canadian National's last modern mainline steam engines in the late 1950s had olive green running board skirts, cabs, and tenders. Most engines were solid black.
Railpictures.ca - sdfourty Photo: General Purpose Unit: CNR Mountain type Class U–1-f #6060 is on road switcher duty at the four track Washago Ontario junction of the CNR Newmarket and Bala subdivisions. Upper Canada Railway Society car #13 (forme
Tens of thousands of great Canadian railway photographs, discussions, and much more. Click to view the image or register for your free account. Please share this if you like it.
www.railpictures.ca
Union Pacific's two-tone "Greyhound" sheme:
UP 3977
UP 3977 UP Challenger #3977 is on static display at Cody Park in North Platte, NE.
www.rrpicturearchives.net
Southern Pacific's "Daylight" colours were pretty striking:
Southern Pacific 4449 - Wikipedia
Southern's "Crescent Limited"
Steam Locomotive, Southern Railway 1401
The 4-6-2 "Pacific" type steam locomotive for passenger trains was introduced late in the 19th century and perfected after 1910. It was among the most…
Often the fancy colours were on passenger-assigned locos. No one particularly cared about freight units.
Last edited:
DanRaitz
Active Member
Great Northern painted some with green boilers.
Dan
Dan
Modeltrains2021
Active Member
Thankyou that gives me some idea of what color I might like
Iron Horseman
Well-Known Member
I designed an arrowhead scheme with dark green and chrome yellow for freight, same dark green with silver for passenger. Used it on my paper railroad for almost a decade. It looked great on paper. THEN I started painting real equipment. The freight scheme looked like crayola crayon boxes. I've abandon that scheme and those colors.
My club designed four schemes using white and a dark green (Northern Pacific Dark Green specifically) with yellow pin stripes. The white ended up being too easy to smudge and get prints from club members dirty fingers. I would not do a scheme with primarily white again.
Modeltrains2021
Active Member
I like those color options
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