Nostalgia & History > Pullman green

I am planning on using this 'color' to help paint my garage soon.  I believe there may have been multiple shades of this color, but I was wondering if anyone can provide any assistance in providing paint codes or some suggestions on how to go to a paint store to request this color?   I would be interested in a darker shade.

Any suggestions are appreciated.  

P Wrote:
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> I am planning on using this 'color' to help paint
> my garage soon.  I believe there may have been
> multiple shades of this color, but I was wondering
> if anyone can provide any assistance in providing
> paint codes or some suggestions on how to go to a
> paint store to request this color?   I would be
> interested in a darker shade.
>
> Any suggestions are appreciated.

For what it's worth, when EMD cosmetically restored the original FT demonstrator for the 50th anniversary open douse event, research revealed that "Great Northern green" was the "Pullman Green of choice. EMD purchased at least one 55 gallon of Imron from from DuPont.  

Any chance of obtaining the Imron color number?

While doing reasearch for a period movie we determined there were at least 7 versions of "Pullman Green"

The one our art department selected was DuPont D4558.  This was a DuPont Duluxe color number. Duluxe was a lead based automotive paint and I don't believe it is readily available any more.

I don't have a conversion number for newer formulas.

I would check with the California State Railroad Museum.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/15 16:59 by px320.

Paint a piece of white cardboard or styrene with your favorite Pullman Green model paint (i.e. Floquil or Scalecoat) and take it down to Home Depot or Lowes.
Their paint color matching computers should be able to mix up a match in no time.

Yes, there were a few variations, a friend who researches railroad colors (and has a professional mix them for him) informs me that one shade of Pullman Green had a noticable brown in it. He has a very old paint book too, and though it isn't a RR book, he informs me that many of the colors were used by RRs.

I can put you in contact with him if you send me a private email. Terry is very serious about his research and the one thing that discourages him sometimes is when a railroad historical society or musem contacts him and then goes with a "good enough".

Victor A. Baird
http:/www.erstwhilepublications.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/31/15 17:48 by wabash2800.

PHall Wrote:
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> Paint a piece of white cardboard or styrene with your favorite Pullman Green model paint (i.e.
> Floquil or Scalecoat) and take it down to Home Depot or Lowes.
> Their paint color matching computers should be able to mix up a match in no time.

This is very good advice.  The Pullman Co. hasn't been around since 1969 and the last two paints they used for "Pullman Green" were:

PPG #66571
Minnesota Paints #7030-10

PPG is not in the industrial coatings business anymore AFAIK - architectural coatings only.
Minnesota Paints was purchased by Valspar in 1970.  They still make automotive paints, some of which can be used in railroad applications, but whether they can match a 46-year-old code is another question.

Another option, if you know of something painted in what you consider to be "Pullman Green", is to have one of the automotive paint supplier reps. come out with their Spectrophotometer and take a match off the object (they do this all the time for wreck repairs to match the fading of the original paint).  All the Axalta (former DuPont) reps. have them.

The Dulux number for the Pullman green used in the Boston and Calumet regions was 5502H (also used by the FWD Corp). I still have the Dupont mixing card, but I was never able to cross it to Centari (yellow can version) nor Imron formulations. PRR Tuscan red was 5505H, and it crosses (or did) to Imron because of that GG1 which was painted into the red scheme while Atk was still using it.

Any paint which used yellow chromate pigment has been off the market for about 20 years. It's an ingredient in 5502H.

As another suggested just paint a piece of styrene with the pullman green and take it to home depot, lowes etc.
Your painting your garage not a locomotive so you don't need an industrial coating.
Most places that mix any paint these days can scan just about anything for the sample to fet the color.
When I inquired about the Rock Island blue here on TOs our member Jimmies answered the call and mailed me some samples
I took them to sherwin williams, they scanned them and mixed the paint. Since the items to be painted would be setting outside I did use an industrial coating so they would last.
If its going to be an exterior paint on a garage that should be easy. Have them mix the smallest amount and retain the mix numbers. Go try it on a small area and if its looks okie dokie with you them your in business and you can have a bigger batch made.
Just a thought.

Posted from Android

wabash2800 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Yes, there were a few variations, a friend who
> researches railroad colors (and has a professional
> mix them for him) informs me that one shade of
> Pullman Green had a noticable brown in it. He has
> a very old paint book too, and though it isn't a
> RR book, he informs me that many of the colors
> were used by RRs.
>
> I can put you in contact with him if you send me a
> private email. Terry is very serious about his
> research and the one thing that discourages him
> sometimes is when a railroad historical society or
> musem contacts him and then goes with a "good
> enough".
>
> Victor A. Baird
> http:/www.erstwhilepublications.com

For a long time, Pullman "Green" was called "Pullman Brown". In 1916 United Parcel Service adopted it as the standard color for their delivery vehicles, which supposedly is identical to the trademarked color used on today's trucks. Later Pullman Green colors seem to have had relatively less brown tint. The exact shades of green presumably varied by manufacturer and paint chemical formula over the years. Kyle Wyatt at CSRM and Wendell Huffman at the Nevada State RR Museum both are sticklers about color accuracy - I would contact them about paint chip availability. I'm not sure how receptive UPS would be.

EO

 

The "Pullman Green" used on the Seaboard Air Line locomotives color
shifted to a brown shade.In some cases people actually called it brown.
It is kind of like the PRR Brunswick green,looks black.


Uncle Joe,Seffner,fl.

Wasn't the Conrail executive train in the Stanley Crane days done in Pullman Green / Brown?

Bob LaPrelle of the Museum of The American Railroad in Frisco, TX is an authority on Pullman green and its' many versions. Might drop him an email as I beliewve at least one paint company kept records of what railroad used which shade in that year, etc.