Before being folded into the Southern Railway System in 1963
the Central of Georgia consisted of the Savannah & Atlanta,
Georgia & Florida and the Wrightsville & Tenille.
DIESEL ROSTER
**DIESEL PICTURES**
MODELING DETAILS-CENTRAL of GEORGIA
click on item below to be transported there
CofGa RS-3's
CofGa GP7 & 18's
CofGa two Bay Hoppers
Passenger Trains
PAINT MIXES
All color mixes are based on PollyScale Acrylics paint numbers.
All bottle sizes are 1 fluid ounce size.
Capful refers to the cap on the bottle.
HK=Herald King decals for reference only these are no longer available.
MS=Microscale Decals
C=Custom made on Alps Printer
CG CENTRAL OF GEORGIA gray & blue with black trim
Gray-D&H Gray #414197
Blue-B&O Royal Blue #414296
Black-#414298
Decals MS #87-604
CG CENTRAL OF GEORGIA Pullman Green-Yellow stripes
Pullman Green-#414284
Black-#414298
Decals-Use 2" gold stripes MS #87-124-3
CENTRAL of GEORGIA RS-3'S
In a message dated 99-07-14 18:57:41 EDT, ljpuckett writes:
<< but the black band looks to narrow, anybody from the CofG crew have the
correct dimensions for width of it and the heights of the letters? I'd give
them a B+ on the colors but a C- overall becasue of the problems. Just having
anything commercially available in CofG is great but you'd think they'd try
to get it right.
>>
Larry and others,
According to Central of Georgia drawing 100-B-815 (RS3s 108-109, 133-159),
the black band should be 16" wide, and the each of the orange stripes should
be 2" wide. The black stripe on the Atlas model measures about 12". The
diagram also specifies that road numbers on both the cab side and in the
middle of the black stripe should measure 10". On the Atlas model, the cab
numbers are about 12" tall, while the number in the black band measures about
10".
The diagram also specifies that the roadname should be 6" letters. The Atlas
model is pretty close to that dimension. The biggest problem with the
lettering is that that typeface used for the roadname is incorrect. The
typeface that Atlas used is very similar to the style used on their recent
CofGa GP7. While correct for the GP7, the RS3s used an entirely different
typeface (to fit the space available on the hood). The letters "C" and "G"
are most obvious. On the typeface used on the Atlas model, these letters are
wider than they are tall. On the typeface used on the Central's prototype
RS3s, the letters are narrower than they are wide.
Atlas had copies of the CofGa drawing (courtesy of Bob Branin) as well as
photographs and they were contacted by the CGRHS with an offer of assistance,
but they didn't request any further information.
I realize that these differences will be inconsequential to some modelers,
but hopefully, others will want to improve on the Atlas paint job. The
Microscale decal set (#604) does include the correctly sized stripes, as well
as a much more accurate typeface for the RS3s.
Atlas is to be commended for producing a second locomotive in CofGa colors,
but the paint job on the RS3 doesn't quite meet the level of quality and
accuracy of their earlier GP7. But they do run nicely, and the lettering can
be made to look a little more prototypical with a little decal work.
Allen Tuten
8/29/01
bill.michael@juno.com writes:
<< I have a P2k Southern SD9 that I am thinking about relettering to
Central of Georgia. I know CG was absorbed into SR in 1969 but I want
to model an earlier time, early to mid 60s.
Questions
1) when did CG first paint their diesels in SR tuxedo but lettered
Central of Georgia?
>>
The Central of Georgia was taken over by the Southern on June 17, 1963. The
original blue/gray/black scheme was is use when the SD9s were delivered
(during 1955). The CofGa adopted a simplified Pullman green scheme in early
1959. CofGa SD9s 203, 205, and 207 are known to have received this Pullman
green scheme.
The "tuxedo" scheme did not appear on any CofGa diesels until after June 1963.
Allen Tuten
PULLMAN GREEN GP-7's & GP-18's
1. The color inside the yellow stripes was exactly the same color as outside
the stripes. All of the color photos that I have show this to be true.
2. The Central refered to the color as Pullman green. My impression from the
color photos that I have is that the color was not as "dark" as the passenger
car shade of pullman green. It seemed to have a bit more "olive" cast to it.
Models painted with straight Floquil/PollyS Pullman green seem to be too
"dark" to me. Remember, however, that the sun and elements in south and
central Georgia constantly worked to "lighten" the shade of any paint.
3. The article states that "all locomotives featured yellow grab irons." All
of my photos show the stepwells, the corner handrails, and the grab irons as
yellow. The handrails along the body as well as the stanchions match the body
color (green.) The photos of GP7 131 (on page 5) and GP18 175 show this. Of
course, various details may have changed on individual locomotives at various
times during the lifetime of that locomotive.
TWO BAY HOPPERS
The Central of Georgia paint scheme with the large green block style letters
did not appear on covered hoppers (or any other freight cars) until after
June 1963 takeover of the CofGa by the Southern. Obviously, all of the
CofGa's cars weren't repainted immediately, so the Bowser car with the green
lettering would be okay only for dates after June 1963.
While the Bowser car is a very nice kit, the road number applied is not
accurate for that particular style of car. The Bowser car represents an ACF
70 ton car and is numbered 1334. That car number, 1334, is part of a series
of 25 cars (1315-1339) built in 1941 by General American Transportation Corp.
The Central's 2 bay open side covered hoppers were in several different
groups:
1300-1314 (built by Pullman, 1940)
1315-1339 (built by General American Transportation Corp., 1941)
1340-1349 (built by ACF, 1944)
1350-1374 (built by ACF, 1952)
1375-1424 (built by Pullman, 1953)
1425-1474 (built by Pullman, 1953)
The 1340-1349 series best matches the Bowser car. They are aware of the road
number discrepancy and have stated that they plan to produce the car in the
as-delivered Central of Georgia paint scheme (grey car with black reporting
marks/data and rectangular CofGa monogram). "The Right Way" slogan began
appearing on cars after about 1953.
PASSENGER PAINT SCHEMES
In The American Railroad Passenger Car, there was a 1925 builder's photo of
a heavyweight coach. "Central Of Georgia" in an extended Roman, was centered
on the letter board, with the car number at each end, over the truck bolster
and below the belt rail.
In The Southern Railway In Color, there was a photo from the fall of 1950
showing the "new" blue and gray streamliner Nancy Hanks. The car was blue
with a gray window band.
© S.A. McCall