Information about paint schemes for
Southern Railway Steam LocomotivesAll the following information has been transcribed from information furnished to me by Richard Blackmore. Most was posted and discussed on the SMRF talk-list. I transcribed the memos and articles in their entirety except for the photos and diagrams. The copies sent me were in black and white so the photo is of no use. Mr Blackmore got these from the SRR in response to a letter from him to the SRR sometime in the 80's. There were also one pic and two diagrams which I cannot reproduce here.
Following is a typed copy of a paint spec but has no date or author.
Paint Identification and Ordering References Southern Railway Steam Locomotives Body Color-DuPont Dark Sylvan Green, Code 88-5303 or 93-5800. Lettering-DuPont Imitation Gold, Code 83-35623. Top of tender-DuPont Red Enamel, code 93-9677H. Trucks-DuPont Chassis Black No. 2, Code VB-40. All of the above may be obtained from: E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Company, Inc. 619 Peachtree Street, N.E. Atlanta, Georgia Wheel Trim-Aluminum Paint No. 42, Chrome Finish, supplied by: Illinois Bronze Powder Company Chicago, IllinoisFollowing is a typed copy of a paint spec dated 1946 from the Southern Railway System to Model Railroader magazine
SOUTHERN RAILWAY COLOR CHART Steam Locomotives Freight and switcher locomotives and tenders: Exterior of complete locomotive and tender, painted black. Lettering and figures, gold. Interior of cab, green. Passenger locomotives and tenders: The parts painted green include the cab up to the roof gutters; Sand box and dome casings; turret casing and low-water alarm; boiler jacket above running boards; bell frame and headlight case; hand rails and piping above running boards; cylinder jacket, and tender tank above floor. The parts painted white: Running board edges and driving wheel tires. Remaining parts are painted black. All lettering, numbers and the striping are imitation gold. Cab interior, green. Passenger Equipment Underframe, black. Air brakes and pipes, black. Platforms, boxes and projections below outside sheathing and trucks, green. Sides and roof, Pullman green. Lettering, gold. Streamlined Equipment Underframe, trucks equipment, etc., aluminum. Body, stainless steel, not painted. Lettering, black. Handholds, chrome-plated. Ends, aluminum. Freight Equipment Body and roof, freight car brown. Trucks and underframe, black. Lettering, white. Work Equipment Body, aluminum. Handholds, steps, underframe and trucks, black. lettering, black. Caboose Body, red. Underframe, black. Handholds, yellow. Lettering, yellow. Office of Assistant to the President, Southern Railway System, Prepred for John Page, Associate Editor, The Model Railroader, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. By H. C. Yancey, March 8 1946.Railway Review dated nov 27, 1926
New Southern locomotives Wear Gay Colors. Attractively Decorated Pacific Type Engines for Through Passenger Service Have Many Other Interesting Features
In direct contrast with the familiar black and greasy locomotives ordinarily seen on railroads in this country, the Southern Railway has decided to make its passenger power attractive in appearance as well as useful. To this end twenty three new Pacific type engines built by the American Locomotive Co. and part of an order for 113 locomotives placed by the Southern in March of this year, are decorated in a brilliant color scheme in which Virginia Green and gold predominate.The tenders, cabs, smokestacks and other projections above the boiler as well as the wheels are painted Virginia Green. All of the lettering and striping is done in gold leaf. Other parts of the engine such as the jackets, brass appliances, and the driving rods are lightly polished, adding materially in the attractive appearance of the locomotives. In adopting this bright color scheme it may be said that the Southern has introduced an innovation in American Locomotives decorating or rather has reverted to a practice followed in the early days of railroading, when all locomotives were elaborately if not profusely decorated.
Some roads have for years followed the practice of using gold striping in combination with polished jackets, brass parts and driving rods. Others have also painted driving wheel tires and the rims of engine truck wheels either white or light gray. Some of the electric locomotives of the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton R.R. are also brightly painted, but it is believed that the Southern is the only road in recent years to have adopted the practice of painting its engines in anything other than black. It has for some time past, however, permitted engine crews to decorate engines in almost any manner they wanted. This is due to the fact that many of the engines are regularly assigned. For this reason the enginemen seem to take personal pride in having the cleanest and most attractive locomotives in their respective divisions. Some of the locomotives, even in freight service, are immaculately clean. Many are decorated with innumerable brass and copper ornaments, all of which are kept highly polished, and in many other cases the name of the engineers in gold letters.
Four of the new Pacific type engines assigned to service between Atlanta and Washington have their tenders lettered "Crescent Limited" in gold leaf, with gold crescents on the sides of the cabs and cylinders and on the front number plates. These four engines are to be used in handling the "Crescent Limited" a fast through train from Boston, New York and Washington to New Orleans. Three additional engines assigned to the "Queen & Crescent Limited", a through train between Detroit, Cleveland, Cincinnati and New Orleans, bear the lettering "Queen & Crescent Limited" on their tenders.
Still another distinctive feature of these engines, and one becoming more generally recognized as essential to fast and efficient passenger train operation, is that the engines are equipped with tenders having capacities for 14,000 gallons of water and 16 tons of coal. These have proved their worth already in making it possible to eliminate several coal and water stops.
At present two of these engines are making the 637 mile run between Washington and Atlanta, the change of engines being made at Spencer, N.C., 331 miles south of Washington. On this run coal and water are taken on at Monroe, Va., 166 miles from Washington. After leaving Spencer the second engine runs to Greenville, SC.,for coal and water, 153 miles from Spencer, and from there to Atlanta without additional coal and water stops. In other words, in covering 637 miles with two engines, it may be said that only two stops are made for fuel and water, as former stops between Washington and Monroe, Monroe and Spencer, Spencer and Greenville and between Greenville and Atlanta have been eliminated.
Like other heavy Pacific type engines in service on the Southern the new engines have 73 inch driving wheels with cylinders of 27 inch diameter and 26 inch stroke. The maximum tractive force is 47,500 lbs. and the factor of adhesion is 3.83. Steam distribution is controlled by 11 inch piston valves operated by Baker valve gear. With a maximum travel of 7-1/2in., the valves have an outside lap of 1-1/4in., a lead in full gear of 1/4in. and an exhaust clearance of 3/16in. The total wheel base of the engine and tender is 79 ft. 1/2 in., which is so divided that both the rigid wheelbase and the driving wheelbase is 13 ft., while the total wheelbase of the engine alone is 36 ft. 1 in.
Weight is so distributed that the engine truck carries 61,000 lbs., the trailing truck 61,000 lbs., and the drivers 182,000 lbs., making the total weight of the engine alone 304,000 lbs. As the tenders weigh 261,700 lbs. loaded the combined weight if the engine and tender in operating condition is 565,700 lbs.
The boilers are the conical connected type with radial stayed fireboxes 84-1/4 in. wide by 120-1/2 in long. They are 76-3/8 in in diameter at the first ring and carry 200 lbs steam pressure. They are 216 2-1/4 in. tubes and 5-1/2 in. superheater flues in each boiler, 18 ft 6 in. long. The grate area of the firebox is 70.5 sq ft. Combustion chambers are also used 28in. in length.
Type A superheaters, brick arches, DuPont-Simplex stokers and Elesco type K-31 feedwater heaters are used on the engines. Other boiler equipment includes Coale safety valves, Franklin Butterfly pnuematic firedoors, Alco flexible bolts, Oakdee blow off cocks, Nathan injectors, Hancock boiler checks, Edna water gauges, Nathan water column, Ashcroft steam gauges and Nathan low water alarm.
The boiler have a total heating surface of 3,689 sqft, so proportional that the heating surfaces of the tubes is 2,340 sqft flues, 1,059 sqft firebox and combination chamber 262 sqft and arch tubes 28 sqft. With a superheating surface of 905 sqft the combined evaporating surface is 4,594 sqft.
Rolled steel engine truck and tender truck wheels are used, 33 in. in diameter, and the trailing truck, of the Hodges type is equipped with 43 in. cast steel wheels having steel tires. The engine truck is the Commonwealth type and the engines are fitted with Westinghouse schedule ET-6 automatic and straight air brakes with Vapor Car Heating Co. steam heating equipment. Other equipment includes Viloco sanders, Pyle-National headlights, U.S. piston and valve stem packing, Detroit and Nathan lubricators, Alco power reverse gear and Franklin radial buffers and unit safety drawbars.
The tenders are of the rectangular water bottom type with capacities for 14,400 gallons of water and 16 tons of coal, as was previously mentioned. They have steel underframes, six-wheel trucks, and are fitted with Commonwealth steel bolsters and Symington journal boxes.
More Southern Railway Painting Information © S.A. McCall