I realize that there ARE Many Different colors used on cars, but.....it seems that the Brown/Red, Rusty/Brown color was used by many different railroads for many years.
How did that, kind of, become the default box car paint scheme.?
Thank You
Just guessing, but I suspect that the reason a lot of boxcars were painted red, or a variation thereof, was for the same reason barns were painted red.
Red paint was easy to make, relatively inexpensive, and durable.
I'd say it was for the same reason that I see all the dark red BNSF grain hoppers. The rust doesn't show.
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
Firelock76Red paint was easy to make, relatively inexpensive, and durable.
Curiously, one of the legends of why fire trucks are red involved the fact that it was expensive, and early fire companies who painted their rigs red were showing off.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
tree68 Firelock76 Red paint was easy to make, relatively inexpensive, and durable. Curiously, one of the legends of why fire trucks are red involved the fact that it was expensive, and early fire companies who painted their rigs red were showing off.
Firelock76 Red paint was easy to make, relatively inexpensive, and durable.
Big difference between box car red and fire engine red. On starts dull and stays that way with age - the other is kept polished so the firemen can see themselves in the paint.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Railroad cars were traditionally painted the color of the contamination that would get on them. Oil and coal cars were painted black, cement hoppers were painted gray, and boxcars were painted to match the rust that would develope with age.
http://www.pacificng.com/template.php?page=/ref/color/index.php
http://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4195
I tried to sell my two cents worth, but no one would give me a plug nickel for it.
I don't have a leg to stand on.
DSchmitt http://www.pacificng.com/template.php?page=/ref/color/index.php http://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4195
Red lead (not iron oxide), as well as white lead, pigment was widely used for years because it was a good preservative. It is a dull red. Look at barns and many railroad buildings besides boxcars and hoppers.
I'd add that before 1859, all paint was based on natural materials like plants, minerals, or animal products. This meant the price was determined by how common or rare the ingredients were. Blue and purple were expensive to make (using ink or something from a sea creature IIRC) so were "royal" colors, since only they would afford it.
Iron is pretty common, like in red clay, and could be used to make a cheap, strong brownish-red paint, so became common for any wooden outdoor structure - barns, boxcars etc. When artificial colors came in, people continued painting their barns red, but when they asked for 'red paint' at the hardware store, they were given red paint that was actually red, rather than brownish-red.
BTW in the 1870's -1880's there were a lot of freight and passenger cars painted straw yellow.
Everyone may find this interesting, it's an 1835 recipe for farm paint.
To Make Farm Paint
Skimmed milk, four pounds or one half-gallon
Lime, six ounces
Linseed oil or neatsfoot, four ounces
Color, one and a half pounds
And for outside painting, add two ounces of slacked lime, oil, and turpentine.
Red oxide was preferred for the color, red clay was also used.
Firelock76 Everyone may find this interesting, it's an 1835 recipe for farm paint. To Make Farm Paint Skimmed milk, four pounds or one half-gallon Lime, six ounces Linseed oil or neatsfoot, four ounces Color, one and a half pounds And for outside painting, add two ounces of slacked lime, oil, and turpentine. Red oxide was preferred for the color, red clay was also used.
samfp1943So Right ! That concoction home brewed to paint barns seemed to last longer than the actual structures....And then you get down to the itenerant sign painters. Those were the guys who traveled, mostly in the South, finding the exact structures that they could paint and provide signage for the makers of 'Mail Pouch Tobacco', and of course, [See] 'Rock City'!
Remember the silo-sized Schlitz beer cans?
_____________
"A stranger's just a friend you ain't met yet." --- Dave Gardner
Remains of a sign painted on the moutainside facing B&O's Harpers Ferry station pictured in 1937.
wjstix BTW in the 1870's -1880's there were a lot of freight and passenger cars painted straw yellow.
Murphy SidingHow could you tell? Every photo I've seen of those was black and white?
Well, there were colorized (tinted) photos...
It is a curious problem, though. We rarely think of how colorful things were "back in the day."
I've found evidence that my house was once painted peach, or something close, with brown trim. Actually sounds rather attractive.
samfp1943 Firelock76 Everyone may find this interesting, it's an 1835 recipe for farm paint. To Make Farm Paint Skimmed milk, four pounds or one half-gallon Lime, six ounces Linseed oil or neatsfoot, four ounces Color, one and a half pounds And for outside painting, add two ounces of slacked lime, oil, and turpentine. Red oxide was preferred for the color, red clay was also used. So Right ! That concoction home brewed to paint barns seemed to last longer than the actual structures....And then you get down to the itenerant sign painters. Those were the guys who traveled, mostly in the South, finding the exact structures that they could paint and provide signage for the makers of 'Mail Pouch Tobacco', and of course, [See] 'Rock City'! My guess is that the 'Burma Shave' signs were pained in a shop, and sent out with individuals who were paid to plant them alongside highways?
So Right ! That concoction home brewed to paint barns seemed to last longer than the actual structures....And then you get down to the itenerant sign painters. Those were the guys who traveled, mostly in the South, finding the exact structures that they could paint and provide signage for the makers of 'Mail Pouch Tobacco', and of course, [See] 'Rock City'! My guess is that the 'Burma Shave' signs were pained in a shop, and sent out with individuals who were paid to plant them alongside highways?
Even though I visited Chattanooga many times when I was in college, I never went to Rock City--I was a poor student, and did not feel that I could afford the admission.
Johnny
If it didn't have a "See Rock City" ad, it definitely had this ad: "Chew Mail Pouch Tobacco, treat yourself to the best."
As an aside, I've seen birdhouses shaped like barns with a "See Rock City" ad on the roof. I think that you can find them at Cracker Barrel restaurants.
Per usual.....very interesting Info/Responses.
Didn't the red paint of old contain a lot of lead as a main ingredient to help prevent rust? When I was a kid (long ago and far away...) in the late 60's I lived in Alaska. In the fall, prison inmate work crews would go around and paint all the metal highway bridges. Everyone reffered to the paint used by them as red lead paint. It turned the bridges bright, dark red but they would fade to rusty brown by mid-summer.
David1005Railroad cars were traditionally painted the color of the contamination that would get on them. Oil and coal cars were painted black, cement hoppers were painted gray, and boxcars were painted to match the rust that would develope with age.
Interesting theory, except that railroads started painting boxcars reddish brown when they were made of wood and wood doesn't rust. Actually on the wooden cars the metal parts were painted black.
Really the iron oxides were really cheap pigments and since they were already oxidized they didn't change color. The popular early colors were oxide red, yellow/cream, white, black and green. Red/brown, yellow, white and black were natural colors. Cream was white and yellow, green was yellow and black.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
dehusman David1005 Railroad cars were traditionally painted the color of the contamination that would get on them. Oil and coal cars were painted black, cement hoppers were painted gray, and boxcars were painted to match the rust that would develope with age. Interesting theory, except that railroads started painting boxcars reddish brown when they were made of wood and wood doesn't rust. Actually on the wooden cars the metal parts were painted black. Really the iron oxides were really cheap pigments and since they were already oxidized they didn't change color. The popular early colors were oxide red, yellow/cream, white, black and green. Red/brown, yellow, white and black were natural colors. Cream was white and yellow, green was yellow and black.
David1005 Railroad cars were traditionally painted the color of the contamination that would get on them. Oil and coal cars were painted black, cement hoppers were painted gray, and boxcars were painted to match the rust that would develope with age.
For those who might be interested I got the "Recipe For Farm Paint" from a book called "Eric Sloane's America," and if you're interested in Americana (I suspect most of the folks on this Forum are) Eric Sloane is a man you should get to know, he's one of my favorite writers on the subject. If you see any of his books on the subject anywhere grab them, you won't be disappointed!
He was quite the artist as well, here's two sites about him...
www.ericsloane.com
www.ericsloane.org
Well worth looking into.
If you wish to learn how to make your own paint, here is a very informative video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZgl2BfCsBg
Uhhhh, I think I'll go to Ace Hardware instead.
There's a great story Groucho Marx told about W.C. Fields. Groucho was visiting Fields' house and W.C. said "Hey Grouch, I've got something I've gotta show ya!" They went down to Field's basement. W.C. pushed a button, and a wall panel opened revealing a HUGE secret room stocked with all kinds of liquor.
"What's all this for Bill?" Groucho asked.
"It's here because of Prohibition!" W.C. replied.
"Prohibition? Prohibition ended ten years ago!"
"Yeah, I know, but it might come back!"
On a slightly different subject, why are most railroad bridges in the west painted silver, while most railroad bridges in the east painted black?
A fair number are painted silver here - at least last time they were painted. Many are simply rust red...
Seems like I recall reading of a major bridge over the Ohio River that finally got painted silver...
We have both silver and black bridges (as well as the "undecorated", or "too-long-ago-decorated" type) here at the Crossroads. The newest big bridge involving railroads is blue. It stands out, for sure! We are due to get a couple of new bridges (expanded, really, but involving plenty of new steel) on our main line when they add a third track for the portions of the line that have only two. Or perhaps the new girders will be pre-stressed concrete. We should know in a year or so.
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
Jim611On a slightly different subject, why are most railroad bridges in the west painted silver, while most railroad bridges in the east painted black?
Same reason a lot of western roads painted their undercarraiges silver, while eastern roads used black?
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.
From what I know, silver paint is very dense and provides excellent rust protection, the drawback is it's more expensive than black paint.
So, it's basically end users choice, if you've got the money you go silver, if not, you go black.
Here in the Richmond area CSX and NS don't seem to do either, there's railroad bridges here that haven't been painted in decades.
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