I am adding a roof walk to a LGB Bobber caboose that is missing one. In pictures I have seen, the walkway is painted black, same color as the roof. When doing a search online, I have found pictures where the roof walk is painted the same color as the exterior of the caboose. Im thinking of matching the exterior color.
Thoughts?
Your RR, your rules. Paint whatever color scheme you think best! (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
FRA regulations state that wooden walkways atop cars shall be left unpainted as apparently the paint is slippery. But any color is acceptable on models.
I dunno regarding paint perhaps it was one kind because most walks match the car body. Maybe a stain was allowed.
Even this old beat up MOW car has fading color on it’s roof walk.
John
I painted the one on my wooden box car, then was told it shouldn’t be painted so sanded off. Personally I like it better raw wood. But that is personal preference of course. Do what you think looks right.
I agree with Eric above. Roof walks were left unpainted per FRA rules. Paint is slippery.
Joe Zullo said:
Your RR, your rules. Paint whatever color scheme you think best! (http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
yep
All of my builds have unpainted roof walks. But having said that, they are stained or inked to provide “weathering.”
Yea, I prefer unpainted too. It adds character.
I’ve seen photos (like the one above) which shows roofwalks painted, as well as photos showing them unpainted. I know locomotive running boards were sometimes painted with a paint that was mixed with sand or fine gravel for texture/traction (think modern safety tread tape). It could be that painted roofwalks received similar treatment.
Later,
K
these look naked;
Then again, perhaps at a later time color is back;
Most telling, tho’ B &W the wood is cracked and looks rough and stained;
While we’ve all heard that FRA order, what time frame?
John
Thanks for all the info and suggestions. I ended up staining the wood, first with a clear stain that didnt do much then with some darker stain. I let it sit for a few minutes and then wiped it off. I think it looks OK…but after looking at it for a bit, I think it needs to be darker. I may try and add more stain later this week and see what happens. Maybe after a little weathering, it might look better. This car was an ebay find that had been “weathered” naturally in the sun. I painted the roof flat black and added new cupola support?grab bars. The original were black but I thought the brass looked better to match the handrails on the body. Painting the roof walk is still an option but trying to match the paint might be a challenge.
Thoughts?
I can’t comment on “Thought’s” cause I prefer the no caboose look.
On my boxcars I did paint the roof walks with flat charcoal coloured paint. I figure that it looked close enough to a non skid paint to pass at a distance.
I don’t know anything about this business of rules against painting the walks, but the following picture showed up in the random photos section of the home page, and I think it shows that the walks were painted black because you can see the same level of wear on the roofs as on the walks. Me, I like leaving them weathered wood regardless of the color of the roof because I it looks better to me. I’ll take a picture of one of my cars if I get chance. I’ve also left entire roofs, walks and roof, unpainted and I like that look.
edit: of course, this is a modern picture and maybe the restoration people weren’t following the rules of the past; I don’t know.
or, maybe, the black of the walks is just soot from the chimney…
Love that engine, Sweetest little thing between the rails in all of steam land.
Just after the turn of the century (1900) all roof walks (wood or metal) had to be converted to 24" wide. Metal ones had to be of approved traction type, and the tops of wooden ones were NOT to be painted. In latter years, when wooden cars were gone, and brake wheels were moved to the ends and off the roofs, and only metal cars ran about (D&RGW NG or the likes being the only exceptions) cars often got “All Over Paint” Including those that still had roof walks. At some point, all roof walks were forced to be removed from cars, except for the likes of Covered hoppers where there was a need for access to the roof.
The sides and the bottoms of the roof walk boards, and the braces to hold the boards could be painted, Only the top had to be naked. Most all RRs took the cheep way out and didn’t paint anything that they didn’t half to.
Dave Taylor said:
The sides and the bottoms of the roof walk boards, and the braces to hold the boards could be painted, Only the top had to be naked. Most all RRs took the cheep way out and didn’t paint anything that they didn’t half to.
I must really be insightful. Mine are painted bottoms and sides with the tops raw. (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-tongue-out.gif)thats what happens when you paint them apply them and then sand the tops off.
After looking at the roof walk for a week…I decided I didnt like it unpainted. So I painted it flat back and them went over it with grimey black. Much happier now.
After looking at the unpainted roof walk for a week, I decided I didnt like it. I shot it with flat black and went over it with grimey black. Tried a bit of weathering on the trucks as well.
