Russian Iron and other Decorations

[mersenne6]

If you are interested in early locomotive colors perhaps the following may be of interest:

Primary reference - American Locomotives - An Engineering History 1830-1880 - John White

Russian Iron - a favorite because of its rich finish - no real indication of superior corrosion resistance- often a silver gray but was available in shades of green or brown. Depending on which water color/ color litho rendering of locomotives of the period you choose the silver gray goes all the way from dark silver gray to the bluish gray of the MTH - Precision engines. In his book White mentions the silver gray can be closely duplicated using Dulux Enamel Charcoal Metallic No. 4980-DX. He also notes the composition is known and Russian Iron could be made today. Replaced by ordinary sheet steel painted black around 1900.

Paint schemes - a direct quote from an observer of the day is probably the best summary - "The ornamental character of American engines is indeed remarkable. Besides the profusion of heavily moulded and highly polished brass in the cylinder and steam-chest covers, on the domes, the boiler-bands, whistle-stand, air-vessels, name and number plates, &c., all the unfinished work is painted in showy colours, and the most ambitious efforts of decorative arte are occasionally exhibited upon the panels along the sides of the tenders."

The period of maximum ornamentation with respect to paint and brass was 1850-1865. There were a few holdouts clear up until the 1880's but by the 1890's the bright colors and polished brass were things of the past.

Domes - polished brass fittings and tops, sculptured bases adapted from ancient Greek and Roman patterns, there were polished acorn shaped sandboxes and lots of cast scrollwork.

Cabs - Heavy moldings and dentil work - windows fitted with tracery. Their architectural embellishments employed Gothic, Tudor, and Egyptian designs - multiple types of polished wood, highlighted with gold leaf, and wood inlay.

Headlight brackets - fanciful cast scroll work.
Smokebox and smokebox fronts often had moldings and decorative contours not necessary for their function.

Tenders - elaborate striping and bright colors. Lettering bold, shaded, outlined in fine stripes - panels were illustrated with vignettes of factories, eagles, landscapes, pastoral scenes and portraits.

Some engine color combinations:

Kittatinny - DL&W

Wheels and Cowcatcher - dark brown with vermilion stripes
Frames, belly band, braces, wheel covers and reversing shaft - Green with black stripes
Pumps - vermilion with black stripes
Suction pipe - Green
Smoke-box front Dark brown with scrolls
Smoke-box door - green with vermilion stripes around it

Thomas Rogers

Driving wheel, truck wheel centers,cowcatcher - white with red striping
Driving wheel counterweights - robin's-egg blue
Boiler smokebox and smoke stack- dark gray Russian Iron
Boiler bands, brass
Domes - brass highlights - Russian Iron wrapping Greek style bases - white with gold highlights on cast molding.
Headlight - white with a graphic on the side
Cab - white with gilt highlights
Outside frame - white

Tiger

Tender - pink with green and black striping. Multicolored panels - wheel centers red with white striping truck frames painted gold and green

Cab - natural wood finish - windows frames gilt - painted panel of a tiger on the prowl below the cab windows.
Boiler - silver blue Russian Iron brass boiler bands
Domes brass tops green Russian Iron wrapping bases painted vermilion.
Square sandbox -green with red trim
Driver and truck centers - vermilion
Outside frame - white
Cowcatcher red with black striping
Brass cylinder wrappings
Headlight multicolored with paintings on the side
Boiler front and Stack - gray black

In short - the trains were very colorful

[Anonymous]

Absolutely fascinating, mersenne6. Lot of it I don't understand, like the origin of the names of the color schemes. I have already developed that Russia Iron was very expensive. I jumped to the conclusion that use of an expensive product must have had some utilitarian purpose, but White puts that to rest. I suppose "pretty" is a purpose, we have just gotten away from it as we have gotten more acquisative.

I don't know that I agree with White that Russia Iron could be made today. In its hey day, it could only be made in Russia because of the superiority of the raw materials available there. We have a similar situation down here in Florida with the bridge abutements that Henry Flagler used on his railway bridges to Key West. The concrete is still good, and engineers say that we can't duplicate it. An enigma to me; concrete is concrete, right?

[Anonymous]

We of course reviewed White's books for our designs. Appendix E contains a physical description of the General as quoted from a 1906 booklet. Other than mentioning that the boiler was covered with Russia Iron, there was little other decoration info. Our information on decoration was obtained primarily from sources to which we were referred to by the Kennesaw museum and the staff of the RR Museum of PA.

The RR Museum of PA has a large builder's model made with real Russia Iron and this may be the best-preserved sample in the world. Our color is based more upon that model than White's recommendation. I've seen the Smithsonian models built by White using the Russia Iron color he recommends and I tend to think it is too dark, practically gun-metal blue, especially on his model of Mason's "Phantom", when compared to old lithographs, paintings and the sample in PA. White's models are currently displayed at the B&O museum in Baltimore.

However, regardless of source, all agree it was some sort of metal treatment rather than paint and varied in shade. So nearly any mixture of glossy metallic blue/gray would likely fit the requirement. To date I have not seen any samples which live up to White's description of being green or brown.

[underworld]

mersenne6 A fascinating lot of information! Thanks! [:)]

underworld

[:D][:D][:D][:D][:D]

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: So nearly any mixture of glossy metallic blue/gray would likely fit the requirement. To date I have not seen any samples which live up to White's description of being green or brown.

Don't go testy on me, Dave, I'm about to joke. You are not telling me that any self respecting Rebel would use Blue when Grey was readily available? No wonder the d--yankees tried to steal it, it was already in their colors.

Some of the research I did had articles from 1888 and before presented by Wyatt of the Nevada Train Museum. They not only said that green or brown were found, but also red. It apparently depends on what region in Russia manufactured the Russia Iron. I found it particularly intriguing that there was a post office in New York in 1823 or so named Russia Iron. I ran across a first day cover from there while researching. Must have been pretty common stuff to get a town named after it.

You guys are doing a good thing by preserving this aspect of our history. I read on the ICRR discussion group the other day that out of over thirteen hundred IC steam locomotives, only four are known to still exist. I don't know if that is true, but it is scary. My youth is disappearing right before my eyes. Around 1950, we were digging a foundation for a new cotton warehouse alongside Jone's Bayou on the Steele's Bayou approach to Vicksburg. The workers found a Navy Colt at half-**** (used for reloading), and as the kid on the construction site, they gave it to me. Colt later revived that line, but when they did, they used bluing instead of the "browning" technique in use during the War Between the States. A small point, but one I am sure to mention when I show the old one and the new one together. I guess i am a closet rivet counter[:D]

[Anonymous]

Say Doug, where are those IC steamers? John[8D][:o)]

[Anonymous]

I don't even remember who said it, and I don't vouch for it. As I recall, he didn't say where they were, just that there were only four left.