ATSF Boxcar 274525 Roof Repaint

Sometimes after I finish a freight car I obtain additional data regarding the prototype.  The new data may require a change to a freight car I built that I thought I had finished.  And, that was the case with ATSF 274525.  I was informed the roof of this car should be black.

Ed Hawkins, well known historian, author and Publisher/Managing Editor of the Railway Prototype Cyclopedia series, informed me that starting in 1931 it became Santa Fe standard practice thru the mid-1950s for new box cars with steel roofs to have black car cement applied to them. Several examples of paint spec documentation in ACF bills of materials (available for review at the Barriger National RR Library) confirm this to include Bx-13 in 1931, Bx-27 in 1937, Bx-59 in 1951, Bx-69 in 1955. 

John Hotvet, Santa Fe modeler, informed me the Santa Fe did start painting the roof red in the early 1950's.  But the straight line map says this car is still wearing its original paint so the roof would be black.  When it got repainted into the "Ship and Travel…" scheme then it would have received the red roof.

Santa Fe Historical And Modeling Society

ATSF 274525 had to go back to the paint shop to get the roof painted black to look as black car cement was applied.  First I had to remove the Pan Pastel weathering.  Since I do not apply a clear coat after weathering this was not a difficult task.

Roof weathering has to be removed for spray painting roof.
(Click or tap this or any image to enlarge)

I used makeup swabs dipped in tap water to remove the initial Pan Pastel weathering followed by makeup swabs dipped in  91% isopropyl alcohol to finish removal of any remaining weathering.

Makeup applicators used to remove weathering.
(Click or tap on this or any photo to enlarge)

With weathering removed I set the model in a painting jig I made.  I used Scotch blue  Painter’s Tape to tape off the roof area to get the roof ready to be sprayed black.  

Roof taped for spraying roof black.

I sprayed the roof with Vallejo Model Air Black Grey RLM66, 71.055.  Model Air is to be air brush ready out of the bottle; however, I have found after sitting in the paint drawer for a while the paint needs thinning.  I thinned the paint 50% paint  and 50% custom mixed thinner.  The custom thinner  mix is distilled water, Vallejo air brush thinner and Vallejo flow improver.

Roof sprayed with Vallejo Model Air Black Grey RLM66.

After tape was removed I touched up the weathering with the Artmatic brown eye shadow makeup I had used to initially weather the car when built.   

Artmatic eye shadow makeup used to touch up weathering.

Brown eye shadow makeup used to touch up weathering.
It matches the car body color well.

After roof  was painted black and weathering touched up
ATSF 274525 is ready to go back in service.

And, sometimes after I refinish a freight car I obtain even more data regarding the prototype.  The new data may require another change to a freight car I built that I thought I had finished.  And, that was the case with ATSF 274525.  I was informed the roof of this car should be black; however, the running board should be galvanized since my car was in original paint.

Steve Hile informed me that in Richard Hendrickson's Santa Fe painting and lettering book he states within the section on house cars between 1931 and 1951 that steel grid running boards were left unpainted since they were galvanized.

John Barry informed me if your car is in original paint, metal running boards should be galvanized. If they represent a repaint, the running board should match the roof, non-skid black prior to 1951 and mineral brown after that.

ATSF 274525 had to go back to the paint shop one more time to get galvanized running boards.  I again used Scotch blue  Painter’s Tape to cover only the black roof and hand painted the Morton running boards with Model Master Steel #1780 to give them a galvanized look.

Running board was painted to give it a galvanized look.

Now ATSF 274525 with it’s black cement looking roof  and galvanized running boards could now go back into service serving customers as IB Fine Woolen on the Minneapolis & Northland Railroad Company “Serving today, Shaping tomorrow.”

ATSF boxcar 274525 sitting at IB Fine Woolen.

Right side of ATSF boxcar 274525.

Left side of ATSF boxcar 274525.

I want to say, "Thank You" to Ed Hawkins and John Hotvet for providing information regarding roof being black due to black car cement being applied to Santa Fe boxcar 274525.  And, "Thank You" to Steve Hile and John Barry for providing information regarding  galvanized running board.

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Lester Breuer