I can't tell by looking at photos if water tanks were usually painted or not. Black-and-white photos don't give it away, and color shots may represent old structures that were once painted but now worn. How common was it to paint the tank? I assume the frost box was painted to match and that the legs were left alone, but is that right? Were there standard colors--I see a lot of dull yellow, it seems--or did railroads use the house color that appeared on other structures? I'm modeling a small stretch of Canadian Pacific track in the 20s, if that makes any difference. Thanks for any help you can offer.
Rather than speculating, I'm gonna recommend joining one of the CP Yahoo groups. I'm in a whole bunch of other railroad groups, and there's some pretty knowledgeable and/or helpful people there. I'd put that question to them.
Ed
My guess would be that they were not painted. The wood staves in the tank are meant to absorb water and swell to seal the joints. I didn't look closely, but the few remaining water tanks in Colorado that I've visited didn't look like they had ever been painted.
Ray
From the photos I've seen, the CNR painted their water tanks (boxcar red - they probably had some on-hand) and the CPR painted their enclosed water tanks, so I'd guess that the CPR followed similar practices for the non-enclosed ones. As suggested, though, it may be a good idea to join one of the CPR sigs, as they'll likely also have answers to a lot of the other questions which will pop up as you proceed.
Wayne
The Reading Railroad painted their wooden water tanks.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
Generally, railroads painted anything made of wood. Paint isn't just for decoration, it also helps prevent the wood from rotting. i believe CP generally painted wood structures (stations, outhouses, water tanks) the same tuscan red they used on boxcars.
http://www.kanamodel.com/Premium%20Kits.htm#CANADIAN PACIFIC 20,GALLON
I have many videos of the Cumbres & Toltec and Durango & Silverton narrow guage tourist lines in Colorado and New Mexico, formerly Denver & Rio Grande lines. All of their wooden water tanks are painted yellow, and were probably painted that color in D&RG days, too.