The four pages of the Zephyr supplement relating to loco lettering have been
copied to the Files section of the List under Loco lettering.
Page 1 (reproduced also below) is the brief history, page 2 shows the cab
lettering, page 3 shows the 1927 herald, tender herald locations, Keep Off and
Lignite signs, and page 4 shows the 1940 herald trade mark.
I've also taken the liberty of reproducing page 1 below as it provides a
concise history about the herald, and answers questions which have frequently
been asked about gold lettering.
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of you List members for sharing
your knowledge, good humour and friendship over this last year, the BRHS
(especially the envelope stuffers) for the Bulletins, Zephyrs, Calendars, etc.
which provide so much information about the Q, and the List Owner and Moderator
for providing this international linkage which eliminates the Pacific Ocean
factor for me. I am hoping to get to the Spring Meet in Oregon and look
forward to meeting you in person.
I hope that you have a restful Christmas and a prosperous New Year
Rupert
Auckland, New Zealand
Casper & Deadwood Railway
(A CB&Q franchise operation)
BURLINGTON ROUTE STEAM LOCOMOTIVE LETTERING
In 1925, the Burlington adopted its most widely remembered steam locomotive
lettering scheme, and one of the earliest drawings for this scheme, dated April
27, 1927, is reproduced here.
The design for the first time employed the Burlington Route herald, displayed
centered on the tender. This herald changed somewhat over the years, and the
version adopted in 1940 appears on the back page. It was at this time (1940)
that, on steam locomotive tenders and the cabs of black-painted diesels, a gold
border was added outside the red band.
Speaking of gold, the color was used for all locomotive lettering, as well as
for the lettering and striping on the Burlington Route herald. On passenger
locomotives, the color was a true gold color (though not real gold leaf),
applied as decals with a protective varnish coating. On freight and switching
locomotives, a yellow imitation gold paint, called Dulux Gold by Dupont Paints,
was employed, both for lettering and on the herald. In the final decade of
steam operations, and occasionally earlier, the distinction between the use of
gold and Dulux Gold blurred, and "real" gold lettering could be found on
freight power. Also, Scotchlite herald decals began to be used on
tenders-particularly for the very large heralds employed on class M-4, 0-5 and
S-4 locomotives. These Scotchlite heralds featured reflective white letters and
stripes.
The Fort Worth & Denver adopted this lettering style shortly after it was
introduced by the Q. But the Colorado & Southern experimented with several
designs of its own before finally adopting the Q version in 1928. Both roads -
and also C&S-FW&D subsidiary Wichita Valley - simply substituted their own
initials for those of the CB&Q on the cab sides.
One note about the 1927 drawing: It shows the word "LIGNITE," to be lettered at
the rear of the coal bunker coping on both sides of the tenders of
lignite-burning locomotives on Lines West. There is no evidence, however, to
indicate that this lettering was ever actually applied, an extensive search of
photos - particularly those views made by Otto Perry in the late Twenties in
the lignite-burning regions of Lines West - having turned up no examples.
Instead, a 1 foot square of Dulux Gold (yellow) was painted on the coal bunker
coping to identify lignite-burners.
Another note: When locomotives were shopped, the cab roofs were normally
painted mineral red, but this color was rapidly discolored by soot and smoke to
the point that it was often indistinguishable from the black paint around it.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Yahoo! Groups Links
To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CBQ/
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
CBQ-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
|