I'm working on a family research project with the goal of recreating the CNJ's Easton, PA passenger station in N scale. We are well on our way, using photographs from books, local photographers, newspapers, etc. I need help with the original colors of the building. The tower roof is a shade of green, and possibly the section immediately below is a similar shade or a gray, which I have seen on other CNJ buildings. Does anyone have recollection or access to a description of what the CNJ used? Since it was built in 1898 and burned down in 1975, their are only a few faded color photos. Any help or guidance is appreciated!
Having grown up in Easton I remember when it burned down, but I really don't remember what color it was. I'd suspect similar to other CNJ stations. How accurate more modern color photos would be I don't know - when people repaint things that are no longer railroad property they might not always use original colors.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Dave
Just be glad you don't have to press "2" for English.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQ_ALEdDUB8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hqFS1GZL4s
http://s73.photobucket.com/user/steemtrayn/media/MovingcoalontheDCM.mp4.html?sort=3&o=27
Then this guy isn't all that out there - and in finding this it makes me want to get a copy of Trainz.
Hi Randy,
I thought that would be the case also, that I could find what I needed by looking at other CNJ depots. After looking through every old photograph of CNJ property, I found only three with the distinct tower feature; Scranton, Jim Thorpe and Easton, but Easton the only one not a natural brick or slate-like color. Many of the CNJ depots had green trim, but I'm not sure if that's copper trim that has oxidized. The red brick is easy, but I need to decide on the upper tower, the purple-like stripe and the roof colr shades. Thanks for responding.
Wayne
Hi Steemtrayn,
I am familiar with this photo, it is one of only three color photographs I am aware of. There is also a color postcard from the early 1900's, that gives some clues that might have been actual, such as a reddish stripe at the base of the tower roof and matching reddish pyramid at the very peak of the tower roof. Thanks for your response.
Hey Randy,
That's terrific! Where did you find this? Is that a painting, or a real layout with a backdrop? Obviously this artist felt the upper tower and roof were the same color. This is the first reproduction of that building that I have come across. Thank you very much. Any more information you can find in your great resources is much appreciated.
Unfortunately, I can't help you with the colors. I was attending Lafayette College (also in Easton, for those who don't know) from 1971 - 1975 and so I saw it from a distance fairly often, but never photographed it or took particular note of that detail.
What was unique about that station - which you probably already know, but others may not, at least not from these photos - is that the eastern end (near end in the photo above) hung out over the city street below a pretty fair distance, and so was also supported by some of the massive girders that made up the bridge leading up to it.
That isn't clear from the Trainz image, and the proportions of the site and buildings as depicted there are considerably off - among other details. It is a very cramped and shallow site from the tracks to the city street in the background that runs up the steep hill - not much over 100 feet*, if that. I drive up and down that street about once a month, and usually glance over at the site to see what's new.
I presume you've looked at or 'checked out' all the books, magazines, and other publications on the CNJ, the Anthracite Railroads Historical Society, the CNJ's historical society, the Northampton County Historical Society, the various other forums on-line for the 'Fallen Flags' such as the CNJ, and the recent collections of color photographs of railroads in the Lehigh Valley, such as Alcos to Allentown ? Even though that one was mainly about the Lehigh Valley RR, as you know the LV's Easton Station was very close - just across the Lehigh River and about 1 block further east - so I'm thinking that the CNJ station might have nevertheless appeared in the background of some of the color photos of that station. Just a far-fetched long-shot, that's all . . .
Good luck with this.
- Paul North.
*EDIT: OK, so it's about 250 ft. from the tracks back to Washington St. - the one that runs up the hill in the background - and about 210 ft. in frontage along that same street, as scaled from the Northampton County Tax Assessment Map. It's Parcel L9SE2D, Block 25, Lot 1, total area of 4.54 acres because it also includes a good stretch of the trackbed to the west, with an address of just ''Lehigh Dr'', owned by Pennsylvania Lines LLC of Roanoke, Virgina. But the overall proportions in that Trainz depiction - especially of the freight house in the right background, and its location on the site - are still just not right. - PDN.
''Holy . . . railroad structure paint scheme, Batman !'' - as Robin the Boy Wonder would have said.
So I'm here in the office over lunchtime and pick-up my copy of the aforesaid Alco's to Allentown and start flipping through it to see if we can get lucky on this - and there on the bottom of page 17 is a half-page supposedly Kodachrome color photo of the station taken in the ''late Summer 1966'' from the western side - the building itself fills about 1/4 of the image space. The tower and shingled portion below it are a light brown or tan, maybe with some gray tones - definitely not green. If I knew more than the 7 basic colors that guys usually use, I'd do better than that - maybe if I can find a Pantone chart or something I can get a closer description or match for you.
Better yet, run - don't walk - and get access to a copy of the book. It shows the details of the unusual oval window frame on that side as well - and I'd say the band at the bottom of the tower is brown. Here's the info:
ALCO's To Allentown, Thomas A. Biery, The Railroad Press, Hanover, PA, Copyright 1998, ISBN 0-9657709-1-5, $29.95 on the back cover.
What the heck, the 'Foreword' by the author is datelined as Cumberland, Maryland - maybe you can buy a print of this shot and more directly from him - certainly worth a try.
Me - I'm going out for lunch now. After this piece of good fortune, maybe I'll buy a lottery ticket or go to the Sands Casino in Bethelehem tonight . . . .
Paul_D_North_Jr . . . if I can find a Pantone chart or something I can get a closer description or match for you. . . .
It's 'overall' generally close to PMS 726 and/ or PMS 727 on the left near the bottom - about 90 % of the way down - of the Pantone® Matching System Color Chart at this webpage - http://www.cal-print.com/InkColorChart.htm
Just remember Kodachrome can have some 'funky' color properties, especially OLD Kodachrome. A grey slate color might be accurate - in fact it may be a slate roof. The CNJ Scranton freight station turret and also the Westfield passenger station both have grey roofs, but the Jim Thorpe station was redone with a brick sort of color.
Here's a colorized postcard image of the Mauch Chunk (Jim Thorpe) station in the late 1800's, greyish-green roof.
By the 1970's it was more like the 'brick' color it was restored as:
Interesting that I can find no site that details the CNJ paint schemes, only one for the locos which is of all things in England and where I got the above pictures from.
Randy - OK, fair enough - that's exactly why I mentioned it - but I doubt that the band of shingles around the upper half of the tower/ turret would also be slate, and that is the just about the same general color in the subject photo. The other colors in the photo look about right, too - especially the gray ballast in the foreground - and those would also have color-shifted 'funky' if the shingles did so, right ?
On the other hand - considering all of the evidence that we now have for that station, during the entire period from 1966 until it burned down in 1975 -
- Were the shingles new in 1966, which is why they look tan in color ?
- Or, were they replaced sometime after 1966 and before the photo above in which they are green ?
- Given the CNJ's financial hardships during those dates - why would any money have been spent to reshingle an old passenger-only station that was seeing minimal use at best ?
- Did those tan shingles turn green during that time ? What material would do that, other than copper ? And we know the CNJ didn't use that during this time frame !
More questions, less answers - not being very helpful here, am I ? But take a look at the book - it'll be worth your while, I'm sure.
I agree, good book. I've read it, several times, but I don't own that one - I model the Reading, so I have the specific Reading books and ones that feature mostly the Reading. And the 'standard' colors for Reading structures are well-published on many different web sites, including which paints to se to duplicate them.
Actually, Steemtrayn's pictures is one that looks a bit 'funck' with respect to color reproduction. It just looks too red to me. If I had photoshop or something I'd take that and try dropping the red a bit to see what it looked like. Plus the sky is completeld whited out - the brightness is also probably too high. If the shingles were light grey it could appear bluish green with too much brightness. Out and out green doesn't seem correct for sure. The upper part of the turret COULD be slate shingles along with the roof, would be fairly unique compared to other CNJ stations but one never knows. Whatever it is, it's different than the shingles on the 'regular' part of the building.
ARHS is probably the best bet to get some sort of an answer to this.
Oh and this could go on for a while - Lehigh '88 here.
eastonfloyd Hey Randy, That's terrific! Where did you find this? Is that a painting, or a real layout with a backdrop? Obviously this artist felt the upper tower and roof were the same color. This is the first reproduction of that building that I have come across. Thank you very much. Any more information you can find in your great resources is much appreciated. Wayne
It's part of a route that person is creating for use with the Trainz railroad simulator. Supposedly has all the CNJ lines. I had one for Microsoft Train Simulator that had all of the Lehigh Valley lines in PA in it.
Paul & Randy,
I really appreciate your continued interest and help. The detail regarding the eaastern half of the depot actually being over Lehigh Drive has been noted in our project. The on-land portion of the depot starts just east of the door.
I just happened to be scanning the book Alcos to Allentown this past weekend at Trains and Lanes, where I was buying paint. I missed that photo! I will go back and buy the book this weekend. By the way, our next project will be the Easton LV station as it was until it was torn down in 1945. There is an excellent photo in The Lehigh Valley Railroad East of Mauch Chunk, but colors for that one will be a real challenge as it predates color photography (when it was operating in it's hay day until 1927).
I know there was at least one re-roofing project during the CNJ depot's history. I have an earlier black and white showing a slate roof on the depot, that was later replaced with shingles. I have read a description mentioning the tower was green, and they stated typical of CNJ structures. But as you have pointed out, green wasn't too typical, although the earlier Jim Thorpe photo presents interesting evidence to the contrary.
I would like to share a few of the photos I have for more perspective and your insightful comments. I am unfamiliar with this site and do not know how to paste or attach an image. Is ther a trick to it? I'm mixing very light green with light gray at this point, but will hold off in case there is a final opinion out there. I guess the good news is whatever I choose who can argue that it is not prototypical?
I have hired good engineers from both Lehigh and Lafeyette, so I know I am in good company (NJIT 1979).