What color is a MP smoke box and fire box

[John Hardcastle]

I am looking for some help with the color of the two. Back when I painted the real Frisco 1522 during it’s restoration both boxes were brushed on graphite and oil. The color is somewhat brownish to silver. So I am at the mixing machine looking at color chips choosing boiler and smoke colors for the MoPac Berkshire. I am somewhat stumped on the smoke and fire box color. The color that I am leaning on is not really a bright or even an aluminum color like most models I have seen, but a more oil with very fine metallic in it.
I am looking for all your opinions please. I know that I want to go with this color but even in the museums they get painted incorrectly for me to go look at. Unlike the working Frisco 1522s smoke box. It is correct.

Mike Swederska

[peggyrothschild]

Mike
I agree that models tend to come with a color that’s too bright and your mix of a darker brown metallic color is closer to reality. Here’s a color shot of a MP 1400 that the weathered graphite almost appears to be the same color as the rest of the locomotive.

[attachment=0:39c7sv62]801AA095-1A7F-47DE-8985-697D5AB14407.jpeg[/attachment:39c7sv62]

[Bud Moss]

Mike, I agree with Charlie on this. All color photos I’ve seen of MP steam locomotives show a darker color than say an SP locomotive that had bright silver/aluminum color. My favorite for painting MP steam has always been Floquil Graphite with a bit or Roof Brown for a fresh-from-the-shops locomotive, and then adding a bit of Reefer White or SP Lettering Gray to let down the color for weathered locomotives. But, all color shades are subjective, especially when exposed the the elements for a long time.

As an aside, and to complicate the issue, it has always seemed to me that locomotive side rods were never a bright color. Some color movies, I believe that Joe Collias had, showed a definite cast to them, perhaps from the lubricating oil/grease and dirt they’d pick up. Of course this too would depend on how long the locomotive had been in service since its last shopping or washing.

Jerry Michels

[Bud Moss]

Charlie,

That photo of the 1414 is incredible! Wouldn’t a 16×20 print be a show-stopper.

Jerry

[peggyrothschild]

Jerry
You’re right. It’s an image off the web; wish I had the original print. Strange not all that many color shots of MP steam which to me is odd since color was available to the public by the late 1930’s. Perhaps due to costs the railfans were using color to capture the new diesels.

[madonnasuffolk30]

That photo is of Bernard Albert Musselwhite standing by MP 1414 in Wichita. His son, Bernard Musselwhite has the original slide. Bernard asks to have his father’s photos credited – which I know no one probably knows since the photos can be found on the internet usually stripped of information. Attached is a photo Bernard Albert Musselwhite’ took in circa 1950 at McPherson, Ks showing 129 on the turntable. Plus a larger file of MP1414.

Nate

[peggyrothschild]

Nate
Thanks for posting the proper credit. Cool shot of the Spot engine. You have any more we can enjoy?

[madonnasuffolk30]

Charlie,

A few additional photos that he had scanned at the time I talked to Bernard. These are not steam, but are interesting shots from the 1960s. Seeing his dad’s photos, I sent him an email asking if he had a chance to scan anymore. Last I talked with him was 2015. His dad worked for the Mopac and he is a railfan.

Nate

[peggyrothschild]

Nate
Thanks I worked at Geneseo several times in the 1970’s.

[Bud Moss]

Nate, Thanks so much for sharing these. If Bernard is willing, it would be great to do a portfolio article of his dad’s photos. These are absolutely wonderful, and so amazing helpful for we steam fanatics! As Charlie mentioned, MoPac steam in color is pretty rare. Other than Emory Gulash, the sources are pretty limited.

Jerry Michels

[madonnasuffolk30]

Bernard said he would post more photos when he gets time. He is currently remodeling his basement. He’s on Facebook also – which I forgot. His dad worked the Geneseo to Kanopolis switch engine and he has memories of riding the train with him. I’ve asked him if he could talk more about it.

Nate

[bargetanika]

I know this model isn’t prototypical but it’s good enough for me. But I think the color, of the smokebox which fairly well represents an average graphic job, is pretty close to what appears in b/w photo gradations.

[gutirrez_buffy]

Coal burners are a bad engine to use for original colors in most photos. Only when they came out of the paint shop were the real colors obvious. Coal soot gets all over everything, changes colors or covers them completely. So, if you paint you can vary the smokebox and firebox colors and no one can call you wrong. I mixed Scalecoat grafite with varying amounts of #10 black and some loco black colors. Even mixed some silver with #10 black.

Rods: some roads such as T&P tried to keep them clean but most did not. I am remembering many photos of H K Vollrath in Shreveport as examples and Roger Plummer also showing clean rods. But, there are some pictures of some not so clean rods too. And, some roads such as the DM&IR and the Santa Fe painted their rods white. While the DM&IR kept them fairly presentable the Santa Fe did not.

[peggyrothschild]

Pat
Here’s a color shot of Mop 1414. Obviously as Tom stated the coal dust changed the silvery graphite pretty quickly. [attachment=0:36j2ww56]FB083D2F-951F-4CC9-8556-4AEEE6F4BFFA.jpeg[/attachment:36j2ww56]

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