Cab interior

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Pontiacguy1
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Location: Tennessee, USA

Re: Cab interior

Post by Pontiacguy1 »

There was one application where the floor grating was deteriorating quickly because of some acid that would settle from the process. The grating in a few areas would have to be replaced every 2 or 3 years. They tried some that was dipped in acid resistant paint, and it was pretty much that same color of green. Wonder if that green paint wasn't also a protective type to help with rust and corrosion, but also to help with light dispersion.

Also, if you notice that the natural gas lines that they put in the ground are about the same color.
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Atkinson_Railroad
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Re: Cab interior

Post by Atkinson_Railroad »

It's extremely difficult to determine the origin of color decisions.
It reminds me of a time spent researching choices about particular lettering fonts.

In a haphazard quick search using the search terms "DuPont, DUCO and DULUX" I found remnants of a 1997 online discussion with an accompanying chart referring to a Postal Green used on the interior of SOO Line equipment.

URL: http://www.hosam.com/paint/dup.html

The question of color choices could splatter to every conceivable industry.

Fire trucks have been red; taxi cabs have been yellow, electrical equipment enclosures have been gray, houses are white, etc. etc.etc.

In referring to the 1949-1951 Car Builders' Cyclopedia the only reference to painting certain items a specific color is made related to Trucks, Underframe, Brakes, Battery Box, Air Conditioning Units and All Equipment Below Floor. It states- Apply black enamel to all parts including those made of stainless steel.

As for interior finishing operations (prep and primer aside) it states- Spray with finishing enamel of color called for.

So if you could just find the person who called for and said, "Paint the cab green."

John
rkcarguy
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Re: Cab interior

Post by rkcarguy »

A lot of the good epoxy primers are a shade of light greyish green of some sort in their standard color, as least the stuff we apply to most of our steel at work is.
Already having bad thoughts of school green and school bus interior light puke green lol
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Greg_Lewis
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Re: Cab interior

Post by Greg_Lewis »

Well not trains, but years ago the Model A Ford restorers were having a debate about the green used on the car's engines. Some insisted it was light green, others insisted it was a kelly green. And various factions conjured up original engine parts to support their position. In the end, it was determined that the factory spec. was "green" and the individual factory superintendent picked the exact color green.

So it just might be that whatever was available for cabs was used. If a certain shade of green was on sale that week, that could have been it. We may never know.
Greg Lewis, Prop.
Eyeball Engineering — Home of the dull toolbit.
Our motto: "That looks about right."
Celebrating 35 years of turning perfectly good metal into bits of useless scrap.
Rwilliams
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Re: Cab interior

Post by Rwilliams »

Cab interior colors could vary between railroads and steam and diesel locomotives. Even the caboose interior colors could vary from road to road.

Baldwin for many years supplied their catalog locomotives with a medium green with a slight yellow cast for many years. The ATSF used a darker green which today we would call Forest green. Southern Pacific used a light gray color in their steamers and early diesels. Later diesels had the Leafy Green or Seafoam green that had been in use in their cabooses for many years. Perhaps it was an easy decision to standardize paint colors system wide.

The Union Pacific cabooses had a two tone light grey/dark gray paint standard for their cabooses for many years.

Early Baldwin diesels and GE 70 tonners also featured the light gray paint in the cabs. Many military diesels featured a medium gray color in the cabs along with beautiful hard wood floors. The floors alone must have been works of art when new from the builder.

Probably best to research the locomotive you are building to see if the correct paint color for the cab interior can be established. Be careful when studying museum survivors. I have seen way too many pieces of railroad equipment with bogus paint jobs by some well meaning restoration efforts that were far from original.
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