dknelson...Be aware that some steam locomotives got the white sidewall treatment just for their official beauty portraits and not in regular service.
That's certainly true, Dave, much like the grey wash many locos got for those official portraits. Some shops later added that touch to the locomotives which they serviced, especially passenger locos, while others didn't bother, so even on the same railroad, you could see otherwise similar locomotives with or without whitewalls.
Wayne
A few years ago when the Iowa Interstate was running its Chinese QJ 2-10-2s, they were touching up the white sidewalls on the drivers at nearly every stop. A guy with a paint brush and a can of paint. The closer you got to the drivers the less precise it looked partly because he could not touch up what the rods covered.
So, in actual service the white very quickly gets dirty.
I too would probably use my white paint stick were I to attempt it in HO.
Be aware that some steam locomotives got the white sidewall treatment just for their official beauty portraits and not in regular service.
Dave Nelson
Great ideas all guys!! I'm going to ty the paint marker first as it sounds like the easiest way to get an even volume of paint on the rim. Thanks for all the suggestions!
akriggm
I usually lay the locomotive's chassis on its side atop some folded paper towels, and hook wires from the workbench power pack directly to the motor. With the throttle set at a not-too-fast speed, it's easy to touch the brush to the face of the tires as the wheels turn. For lead and trailing truck wheels, along with those on tenders, the wheels are turned manually, with the model laying on its side so that it's easy to see what you're doing.
The locos of two of my three freelanced roads get whitewalls, while the prototype roads represented vary, depending on the particular prototype.
wjstix Easiest would probaby be to set it upside down in a foam cradle, connect power connection to the wheels, and set the drivers slowly turning. Then use a small (1/8" or so) flat brush. You just have to touch the drivers with the brush in the right place, and let the motor do the work.
Easiest would probaby be to set it upside down in a foam cradle, connect power connection to the wheels, and set the drivers slowly turning. Then use a small (1/8" or so) flat brush. You just have to touch the drivers with the brush in the right place, and let the motor do the work.
I am starting to refurb & repaint a couple of vintage brass locos and the prototypes had white "sidewalls" painted on the wheel tires. Does anyone have a good way to paint these stripes evenly? I'm not certain that I could paint them freehand to good effect, so any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks, akriggm