Thread: 3801 Steam Locomotive

Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift

Good question JD,,,


well come on dobbo,,

we are now ASKING!!!

The server at work willnot let me upload the photo's
I've emailed them to Ron who was in the same boat. I've sent them home and will upload them in the morning.

Just one more sleep Pedro just one more sleep

There's images of another steamy as well I'll post them both for you

From what I have found out JD you are spot on originally it was supposed to be Green but due to war efforts was painted in grey for the first few years of service i.e War years, from what I can gather it's undercoat paint but I'm not 100% certain on that one. Whether it's to camoflage from plane, ships etc I doubt it it's a bit hard to hide a steam train on the move the steam and noise would be a very big giveaway of it's position. I'd say they were using all of the green paint for military purposes but that again is just a guess.

did they paint all the loco's grey?

no just 3801, Like I said I'll post the pohoto's when I get home unless Ron beats me too it

Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift

did they paint all the loco's grey?

I don't believe so, just new ones/ones due for repaint (and I think these were postponed anyway).
John

Originally Posted by JDNSW

I don't believe so, just new ones/ones due for repaint (and I think these were postponed anyway).
John

Oh I thought you meant this year not back then

Originally Posted by dobbo

From what I have found out JD you are spot on originally it was supposed to be Green but due to war efforts was painted in grey for the first few years of service i.e War years, from what I can gather it's undercoat paint but I'm not 100% certain on that one. Whether it's to camoflage from plane, ships etc I doubt it it's a bit hard to hide a steam train on the move the steam and noise would be a very big giveaway of it's position. I'd say they were using all of the green paint for military purposes but that again is just a guess.

You're probably right - green is a component of khaki, and the pigment may have been in demand, or maybe it was just an economy measure - no finish paint at all, just primer to stop it rusting. On the other hand, while it is hard to hide a steam train under way, it is a lot easier to hit it when it is stopped, which is when it would be worth being camouflaged. Another possibility is that since grey paint was being produced in large quantities to paint naval vessels and equipment, it may have simply been what was available - and did the railway workshops build naval equipment? I know, for example, that the Tasmanian railway workshops built aeroplane engines, and I'll bet the NSW workshops were building a lot of non-railway things. The heavy equipment they have would have been ideal for making a lot of heavy naval gear.
regards,
John

Originally Posted by JDNSW

You're probably right - green is a component of khaki, and the pigment may have been in demand, or maybe it was just an economy measure - no finish paint at all, just primer to stop it rusting. On the other hand, while it is hard to hide a steam train under way, it is a lot easier to hit it when it is stopped, which is when it would be worth being camouflaged. Another possibility is that since grey paint was being produced in large quantities to paint naval vessels and equipment, it may have simply been what was available - and did the railway workshops build naval equipment? I know, for example, that the Tasmanian railway workshops built aeroplane engines, and I'll bet the NSW workshops were building a lot of non-railway things. The heavy equipment they have would have been ideal for making a lot of heavy naval gear.
regards,
John

The places to find out more info I presume would be Thelmere, the powerhouse or the war time memorial at Central station