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Re: WP 1947 Paint Scheme

Garth Groff <sarahsan@...>
 

Pete,

Let me add that for most of their lives the single-sheathed boxcars PROBABLY had white lettering, not silver. Part of the confusion is that the WP specified "aluminum" pigment during the period, which most fans think means silvery lettering. The actual color of the paint was white. The color MAY have changed to a silver tone with the delivery of the Mt. Vernon-built 40' steel boxcars 20551-20800 in mid-1947. It is hard to tell from color photos, most of which were taken later when the paint was faded, and there is always the possibility of a silver-lettered repaint. Certainly the 1949 Greenville mill gondolas numbered 6300-6400 came from the builder with silver lettering (Lifelike model).

Older cars were rarely repainted on the WP, which flirted with bankruptcy for most of its history. It certainly did happen when really needed or when the cars were converted to some special use. I suspect that few of the 50' SS cars did get silver paint as they were being replaced by 50' PS-1s beginning in 1954. Those cars converted to wood-chip service were the major exceptions.

Yours Aye,


Garth Groff


On 3/24/17 4:00 PM, fred@... [STMFC] wrote:

 

Pete, TruColor TCP-204 Western Pacific freight car red is a near match for the factory Roundhouse car color which is indeed a neat rendition if you browse through the Jim Eager WP book and study the <1950 box cars. I've studied several paints and came to the conclusion that TCP-204 was the right one for me. I now use it on all my WP cars. You could mix it with some grey to archieve a more faded result for older cars. Or fade it afterwards with a light grey filter.
There was an article on modifying this Roundhouse car in the July 1995 Mainline Modeler.
In 1950 there were 3 types of outside braced 50' WP Pullman-built cars:
12001-12150 with 12' doors and lumber door
19201-19250 with 15' doors and lumber door (taken from batch above)
40001-40100 with 12' doors and steel doors at end
Microscale makes a decal set for this car. However, the shield is not very sharp. Try to score a Champ set, which has a very clear and sharp shield.
If you follow the link Eric and Garth already published here, you'll find a rebuild I did last year of a WP 15' door car.
cheers,
Fred Jansz
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