Repainting anachronistic V&T Silverado set.

[on30gn15]

Hey Y'all;

Last year with some settlement money I purchased Bachmann's Virginia & Truckee passenger set named "Silverado".
Locomotive is painted in fancy lined out 1870 style with coach and combine in yellow with green trim.
Nice looking train.
A huge anachronism.

Mallory Hope Ferrell's Book Virginia & Truckee the Bonanza Road has a chronology of passenger car hues on page 70 put together from newspaper articles of the time.

1870 - maroon coaches
1874 - fawn yellow
1874 - green
1874 - light green
1877 - dark cherry red with yellow trucks
1878 - dark crimson or claret
1880 - wine
1885 - "glaring yellow stripped with maroon (a sort of old orange the writer added)" My assumption is "old orange" referred to the yellow as it is difficult to see how orange would look like red-brown maroon.
1890-1910 - "turn of the century" is used instead of dates. yellow with brown trim and trucks
1920 - yellow with green letter boards and trim.

There's a half-century difference between color schemes of loco and cars. That has been bugging me more and more over the last year.

Set comes with combine and observation. Also now have baggage kit and second-hand coach (ex-observation)
thanks to generosity of a couple guys.

Was going to paint baggage kit yellow and green to match rest of cars. Had it primed with letterboard and underframe sprayed green then decided to repaint all the cars.

Okay, what color to use   Thought about it  couple months.
Alright, one of the red hues.
Now, what spray paint is there?
Settled on Krylon 53503 Satin Burgundy

Have baggage kit sprayed now.
Primer is going to be a necessity as Burgundy seems to be a touch translucent.

[Doneldon]

on30-

Primer is always a good idea, especially if you're starting with cars which are different colors.  I like to see what I can find at an auto parts store if I'm not using an actual railroad color and I don't like the generic selections at a hardware or home store.  I've very pleased with the results (many do need a dull overcoat) and the colors stand up well outside.

          --D

[on30gn15]

Yellow no more. Forever altered.

[Doneldon]

on30gn15 -

Looks great.  Now, however, you have to go back and fill in some detail due to years of repainting, have some chips revealing underneath colors, and give the whole thing some alligator texture so the multiple layers of paint are hinted at.  Then you'll be prototypical!
                                                                -- D

[on30gn15]

Then you'll be prototypical!

Actually, no, I won't be.
Here's this quote from http://www.virginiaandtruckee.com/

"Joseph Castle, the V&T Master painter wrote a letter to "Railway Master Mechanic" in 1903 and noted: We shop are cars every six months for cleaning and varnishing. They get a through scrubbing with soft soap and pumice, then a light sandpapering with number 00 paper, then one coat of finishing varnish. Our cars are painted yellow, with brown letter boards and corner posts. The company had two sets of passenger cars that were switched off twice a year, while one set was on the road the other set was in the shops, undergoing repairs and painting. The cars were not repainted each time they were in the shop, but would usually receive a coat of varnish. Painting would be every other year or so. If the paint buildup was too much, it would be burned off and the cycle would start over. "