I’d like to start a collection of USAT SP Daylight coaches. I wonder if there is any issue with inconsistency in the color between the various production runs. Has anyone mixed and matched these?
Also, are the colors consistent across manufacturers - e.g. Aristo or Accucraft engines with USAT cars? I am aware of the scale inconsistencies - my question is just about the colors.
Unless you are just a “Collector”, colours should not be too much of an issue.
In real life, colours varied from one batch of paint to another. Colours faded, from the day they were first applied. Red was one of the colours that faded most noticeably. Not all cars in a fleet were painted on the same day, week or year.
If you have cars, that you actually operate out in sunlight; consider “Fading” as a natural act of nature, and one of the types of “Weathering” greatly sought after by some modellers in this hobby. I have a bunch of Aristo heavyweight passenger cars, in CN black, green, and gold paint, that have faded (Weathered) nicely, and look very close to how the cars in service actually looked, after a few years. CPR, maroon cars weathered nicely too…
Fred Mills
What Fred said.
No two batches of paint were ever the same, and fading began the day they left the paint shop. I spoke to a guy that had worked in the paint shop at the Great Northern Railways Hillyard shops. He said that the paint they used was whatever they had in the shop, that day, and if they had to mix two batches together to get the job done, that’s what they did.
Fussing over matching paint is a losing battle.
if there is any issue with inconsistency in the color between the various production runs. Has anyone mixed and matched these?
To answer the ‘model’ side of your question, the colors are not consistent. I have a USAT streamliner consist and the latest baggage car isn’t quite the same roof shade. I had 6 Aristo heavyweights of various ages and they weren’t the identical roof or side color. Whether that’s an issue or not is up to you. If you want a matched set, buy them all at once from the same production run.
Also, are the colors consistent across manufacturers
As they can’t even keep them consistent between batches of the same manifacturer, I’d have to say not!
Just weather them and that should hide the problem …(http://largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)
The railroads did not buy a big batch of paint for all the units, instead they developed formulas and each shop followed as best they could with local sources.
Close enough is good enough.
There is a certain advantage to all stainless cars, color matching is pretty easy.
The only consistent formula was “PRR Brunswick Green” = 1 drop green in 1,000,000 gallons of black paint.
When I grow up, I’m going to buy the USA Trains Western Pacific Zephyr passenger cars for my WP F3-A/B. Like the Santa Fe cars, there’s no need for exterior color coordinating.
Eric, as an aside, the latest run of the USAT passenger cars have the preferred LED lights in them. If you pick up the older USAT cars, you have to take the cars apart to convert to LED’s. I hear it’s a b*tch to take the cars apart to change out the lights (and people).
I did not realize they had switched to LEDs. That alone makes it worth getting a new set, I think. I definitely want them to match interior color temperature. Of cours I will have to pull them apart to convert to battery power anyway.
Lou Luczu said:
The only consistent formula was “PRR Brunswick Green” = 1 drop green in 1,000,000 gallons of black paint.
LOL. Yea, that sounds about right.
Greg Elmassian said:
There is a certain advantage to all stainless cars, color matching is pretty easy.
I don’t know Greg, but the front 3 pieces look a lot shinier than the rest. (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
Holy balls are they 8’ diameter 4’ radii curves ?
I know it was popular back in the day but I personally was not really a fan of Mikhail Gorbachev patio stones either.
Eric Reuter said:
I’d like to start a collection of USAT SP Daylight coaches. I wonder if there is any issue with inconsistency in the color between the various production runs. Has anyone mixed and matched these?
Also, are the colors consistent across manufacturers - e.g. Aristo or Accucraft engines with USAT cars? I am aware of the scale inconsistencies - my question is just about the colors.
Eric,
I have an SP Daylight train that consists of 2 Aristo E9 locos and a mix of car types that include Aristo Heavyweight RPO & Baggage head-end cars along with USA Trains Streamliner fluted side cars (2 Coaches, 1 Diner) and Aristo Smoothsides (3 Coaches, 1 Observation).
The last cars I purchased were the USAT ones that had been out of production for some time.
So you can see how the SP Daylight colors compare:
The below video link (hosted for me by Greg E on his YouTube site) starts the video toward its end (otherwise whole video is about 17 minutes) so you can see for yourself how all locos and cars compare as they pass by.https://youtu.be/d2t8yJNdSLk?list=PL1BCB9F04CDF44704&t=887
-Ted
Ted, that is a good looking train. Fred Tennyson has painted 2 ICRR E-8’s in City of New Orleans color scheme and is currently painting 8 matching passenger cars. I look forward to seeing them so I can do a video like yours.
Thank you Ron,
I look forward to seeing your Illinois Central train (I think described as being in the chocolate & orange livery).
-Ted
