Bridge Colors

[willy6]

What determines the color of a RR bridge? I have seen Truss bridges flat black, silver, and rust colored. Most plate girder bridges i've seen were flat black or silver. I'm getting to paint mine and would like some opinions. Thank you.

[7j43k]

Some steels don't have to be painted.  I think.  I'm thinking Corten, here.  So they're just rust colored.

Most railroad bridges aren't that way.  So they've gotta be painted.  I do wonder if there are any painted other than the "official" colors:  aluminum or black.

But you're probably not interested in painting yours a fetching mauve just because FEC did it once way down over there.  No.  More to the west.

So, you're left with aluminum.  Black.  And weathered versions of same.  My opinion, since you ask, is to pick what suits you.

Now, if you're trying to be more prototype specific, you need to do some lookin' up and research and all.  For example, the approximately 5 truss bridges on the old SP&S line from Vancouver up to Wishram were all painted aluminum.  Back in the day.  Now they're more rust colored.  So, if you're modeling the north bank of the Columbia River between, say, 1960 and now, your choice is made.

That leaves the one question I don't have the answer to:  How does a railroad decide between aluminum and black?

THAT is a neat question.

 

Ed

[mobilman44]

Hi,

It may depend on the era and what paint the RR had on hand.  That said, I do know that some RRs had definite guidelines about paint colors.  Major lines had/have some very specific directives for pretty much everything related to track and structures, so if you are modeling a specific line, I would research them.

If you are not modeling anything specific, than black or silver will work just fine. 

[jrbernier]

  IIRC, any of the Mississippi River swing bridges had aluminum paint for the moveable span.....

Jim

[cowman]

As well as those mentioned I have seen bridges in a flat, medium green.  Also, when bridges are being repainted, I have seen them in primer red.  I have often thought of doing one partially primed and the rest being the new color. 

Have fun,

Richard

[ACY Tom]

Different railroads; different system standards. PRR usually painted steel bridges black. Sometimes the railroad name was applied in white if that was deemed appropriate for the location. B&O also used black, except where the bridge crossed over a highway. In those cases, a medium gray was used, with the railroad logo in black. Before WWII, aluminum paints became practical, and a lot of roads adopted those paints for steel bridges.

If you are freelancing, you can adopt whatever standard makes sense to you. Uniformity in such matters tends to make the railroad look like a more unified entity. If you are following a particular prototype, that road's standards ought to be your guide. 

Tom

[rrebell]

Depending on your scill level, black will hide a lot of mistakes while the silver will point them out. I like to use black and then rust them.

[steemtrayn]

Here's a blue one:

https://www.bing.com/mapspreview?osid=1887e249-e9b1-4195-acdb-73f4ba9bf324&cp=qswpj28ts805&lvl=19&dir=180&style=b&v=2&sV=2&form=S00027

And another (darker):

https://www.bing.com/mapspreview?osid=d4f46e5f-3814-42cc-897c-d9152203fb84&cp=qs5ms38th9t8&lvl=18&dir=180&style=b&v=2&sV=2&form=S00027

[dehusman]

willy6

What determines the color of a RR bridge?

The standards of the railroad.

Probably the most common 4 options are black, aluminum, green and unpainted.

For older bridges black was the most common.  When better color paints became available the choices increased, particularly aluminum after WW2.  People call the color "silver" but its actually aluminum paint.  The Mopac standard was two coats of Rust-o-leum Aluminum Paint, the first coat has 1 quart dark blue mixed with 5 gals of aluminum paint, the second coat straight aluminum.  The UP and a couple other roads painted bridges in an industrial light green color.  Its not uncommon to have bridges in several different colors since they aren't painted very often.  A bridge painted in 1935 might be black and one right next to it painted in 1955 might be aluminum.  Then in the 1960's and 1970's when Cor-ten steel became common the bridges might not be painted, the steel just weathers to a dark rust color.

[SouthPenn]

You might also consider where the bridge is at on your layout. The silver color might stick out like a sore thumb in sme locations. 

[MisterBeasley]

I chose to have some fun with this question.

This Atlas Chord Bridge got a base coat of olive green with one section masked off and later done in fresh silver.  In the meantime, the bridge was heavily treated with Instant Rust so that it really needed that paint job.