Passenger Train Color

[HHRR]

I was looking to buy the Roaring Ridge (D&RGW) passenger train with the bumble bee 2-6-0 loco and the yellow (?) cars.  Some advertisements say the color is  "Rio Grande Gold".  Can someone tell me if the color is really "gold" or just a "bright yellow", and does the lighting in the cars actually show through the walls especially when operating in the dark.
I was also looking at the C&S passenger train.

Thnaks, Joe

[jpipkin]

I can't comment on the color, but I have seen light shining through the walls of the yellow cars and this wasn't in the dark.  The cars were being run on DCC powered rails and receiving max voltage.

I run the green C&S cars with additional lights and reduced voltage.  No problems with light showing through the walls and the light is spread more proportionally throughout the car.

Jim

[Jim Banner]

A coat or two of black paint on the insides of the cars, followed by the colour of your choice, solves the light problem.

Jim

[railtwister]

The passenger cars in question are painted a rather bright yellow rather than gold, over a yellow or white plastic. Yellow is pretty transparent whether used as paint or molded plastic. Silver or aluminum paint painted on the inside walls will block the light from shining through the plastic, possibly even better than some types of black paint, especially if it can be sprayed. This is because of the small metallic particles in the paint, which will overlap & block the light. A prototypical interior color can then be easily applied over the silver, should you wish to further paint & detail the seat molding. Just painting the walls black will work, but will also absorb a lot of the light in the interior making any extra detailing harder to see. You could also wire a couple of diodes into the light circuit to drop the voltage getting to the bulbs, to make them less bright (and also less likely to burn out).

Regards,
Bill Nielsen
Oakland Park, FL USA
Florida On30 Renegades

[pjf]

I have a set and it is nice. Very yellow but it is pleasing. The cars are very light transparent and make it looks a bit cheap with the light coming through everywhere. I put black electrical tape inside, painting would be more professional but the tape do the job and now looks stunning in a dark room. I also put a DC sound module in the tender. I cant wait too see my granddaughters face next Christmas when the little yellow train will be going around the tree.
Another thing with the cars they move very smooth and freely and they tend to uncouple going over the magnet. I made a small drag clamp on the observation car's axle and it work perfectly. You will enjoy the set.

[the Bach-man]

Dear All,
"Grande Gold" was the AccuFlex color I used on the prototypes.
Have fun!
the Bach-man

[Woody Elmore]

Many years ago Lionel produced a Timkin Roller Bearing box car - it was yellow with a white stripe on the side. They had problems with doors molded in yellow - they were very translucent so Lionel started to paint the doors. One of the cars - not sure which, is highly sought after by Lionel collectors.

Yellow is a tough color for models. I've seen the Bachmann cars and they definitely look toylike. My suggestion is to pretend your trains run only in the daytime. Then you can remove the lighting altogether.

[Tomcat]

The correct colour name would have been "Aspen Gold" for the D&RGW, but as all our friends before mentioned - this is a very bright yellow which is nearly accurate for D&RGW

I would suggest you could add a black cardboard strip underneath the windows which may help, best get very thin cardboard which should fit. Another idea would be to follow Bill Nielsens idea to add diodes in the lightning circuit, which is easy accessible if you remove the roof. Should be a straightforward job. Best get in touch with a electronics expert in order to get the right diodes to dim the light a bit. In my eyes, its too bright anyway...

If you don´t like the colours of the Bachmann D&RGW passenger cars, go and repaint them with Floquil F414257 "D&RGW yellow", it´s easy and if you go ahead a bit careful, you can even keep the numbers on the car. Looks far better. If you can grab one of Broadway Limited´s C-16 in the 268´s Bumble Bee paint, there you go... Accurate!
(Actually, there are some arround on Ebay-they´re DCC+sound!!!)

Cheers, Tom