Model Railroading > Rio Grande Steam Loco Color?

I recall seeing pictures of D&RGW steamers with green boiler jackets. Any TOs know when the D&RGW started painting boiler jackets black? Thanks in advance!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/03/26 16:31 by RRBMail.

While I am far from and expert, one guess would be with WWII.  Paint was probably hard to get and settling on black was an easy option.  But don't quote me on that.  The battle alone on green boilers is still ongoing!

RR

My Dad Painted HO brass in the 70s-80s & in research on this it depended on where the Locomotive was shopped. He saw D&RGW steam with both.
I could have this backwards & don't have any documentation after a garage fire in 2000. He had all paint diagrams for D&RGW & UP.
Technically, black is the official color but if worked at a shop that had mostly D&SL workers it got green as a defiance so he painted both. 
This is something that only a picture to show it at a certain time because a locomotive could be both after shopping in Denver or Salt lake.

Tim Hanesworth
Santa Rosa, CA

The color has been argued about for several  years.  But some of the old fellas that wrote about  D&RGW were around when there were green boilered engines, expecially those like the M-75  4-8-2's that just arrived from the builder in dark green paint..     A writer referred to it as dark green in his publication.     You can  search written material, even here on Trainorders.  Be aware that even just painted engines with green boiler jackets in just a few weeks would be black from oil and coal soot on it.  In fact a k-36 on the C&TS had its boiler painted green and in a about 10 days it was black.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/05/26 19:20 by eastlandt.

I have a set of D&RGW Mechanical Standards book dated from 1937.  It states that boiler jackets, cylinder jackets and air pump jackets are to be painted with "green jacket enamel".