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GW Unlined Wartime Black - Grange Class


M.I.B

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Before I go mad with the Halfords Matt black on my new Grange.....

 

How were the tenders lettered - Any lettering? "GW" "GWR" "GREAT WESTERN" Shirtbutton?

 

By what sort of date would this loco have been repainted into lined green?

 

Thanks

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All locos except Kings and Castles got unlined black after 1942. The two express types got unlined green. The monogram disappeared and more important express classes got a coat of arms with "G" and "W" on either side. Less important engines got "GWR". Your 'Grange' got the latter style of insignia.

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Before I go mad with the Halfords Matt black on my new Grange.....

 

How were the tenders lettered - Any lettering? "GW" "GWR" "GREAT WESTERN" Shirtbutton?

 

By what sort of date would this loco have been repainted into lined green?

 

Thanks

 

I think Fox transfers do the G W R initials suitable for black engines.

 

http://www.fox-transfers.co.uk/products.cgi

 

Code: FRH4107/2

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Guest dilbert

The HMRS publication 'The Great Western Way' also states that post WWII loco classes : Kings, Counties, Castles, Stars, Saints and Halls were lined - all the rest were turned out in unlined green - that is, those locos that received the 'works' treatment and there are a fair few that didn't... dilbert

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Green made a return in 1945. Although not applicable to a 'Grange', the first postwar 'County' 4-6-0 was lined out exactly as locos had been lined in prewar days, but a new lining specification was introduced thereafter that ommitted lining below footplate level. That is how the remainder of the Counties were lined out plus, Castles and Kings and any Saints and Stars that were fully repainted after the war. This style was the precursor of BR green livery although the latter displayed green where previously black had been specified (footplate angle and splasher tops). Some splasher tops might have been done black in BR days but it is a devil of a job to prove even on good colour photos because of shadows or lack of cleaning.

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Many thanks. Thanks too for the reference to the colouring of the "GWR".

 

Would it be too much to think that an unlined black Grange would still be rumbling around in 1947-ish?

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Before I go mad with the Halfords Matt black on my new Grange.....

 

How were the tenders lettered - Any lettering? "GW" "GWR" "GREAT WESTERN" Shirtbutton?

 

By what sort of date would this loco have been repainted into lined green?

 

Thanks

 

Hi MIB,

 

I saw your question earlier, and wanted to check a few things before answering. As already discussed, the requirement for the the un-lined black livery was in response to wartime shortages in paint - green being primarily diverted to the Army. There were also shortages of the imported cream pigments which affected carriage painting (temporarily all brown with black ends) and grey (priority going to the Navy) meant that wagons were painted a reddish brown, not dissimilar to the later BR bauxite.

 

In April 42, Hawksworth issued a directive "all engines and tenders, with the exception of 'Kings' and 'Castles' will be painted black when they require repainting after repairs or building. No engines will be lined after they have been painted" (GWR Circular No 6251: CME Department, Swindon. Painting of Locomotives 3 April 1942; Circular 6259 of 20 Apr 1942 applied to coaches).

 

Two points come from this:

 

1) The 'Kings' and 'Castles', being express passenger engines retained their pre-'42 livery (lined green) with the exception of the change from the shirt-button monogram emblem to the letters GWR. (I believe there was a government directive banning the manufacture of new express passenger engines; austerity measures limited the allocation of resources and materials to the manufacture of 'general purpose' or goods engines - so no '
new
' Kings and Castles )

 

2) All others locomotives were painted the unlined black
ONLY
"
when they require repainting after repairs or building
",
otherwise they would again have retained the existing (unlined green) livery
.
The shirt-button monogram was changed when convenient and supplies permitted.

 

The underlying premise of all this was that there were material shortages during the war, and maintenance was reduced to a bare minimum. Repainting, and livery changes, were not done to a rolling schedule but on an 'as & when necessary' basis; a loco would not have necessarily been repainted after a minor repair if some old paint stocks were available (pragmatic approach). It is quite plausible (though I don't have a photo to substantiate this - another wartime restriction) to have locos in unlined green with shirt-button ('34-'42), unlined green with GWR ('42 - Nationalisation), and unlined black with GWR ('42 - '45), alongside each other throughout early to the end of '42.

 

Didcot_3822_side_view.jpg

 

Would it bee too much to think that an unlined black Grange would still be rumbling around in 1947-ish?

 

The loco's started to return to green from '45 onwards; paint was initially still scarce and loco repaints were done as required/necessary, and the express passenger loco's would have taken priority. Without access to the official records (or a photo confirming one way or the other) I couldn't speculate on when the last Grange was repainted - in this case I'd use the 'it's my train set' rule to set your version of history...;)

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Thanks for the updates - I thought I had replied but who knows where the reply went!

 

GWRrob tells me that Caradoc Grange was still black in the early 50s, so that's good enough for me. It must have had an "update" in the paint shop because the tender shows "G (arms) W"

 

Yiewsley Grange was still around to the bitter end, but all I can find is "freshly out-shopped" photos in green, or line-side shots in green.

 

I don't have any other "what ifs", one offs or prototypes in the traction department, (apart from my two industrial shunters) so unlined black Yiewsely Grange shall be.

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Before I go mad with the Halfords Matt black on my new Grange.....

 

Personally I would not use Matt Black. As shown in the picture Steve posted above the black would have been a more stain finish. I use Halfords Satin Black on my models and brush paint the cab roof and smokebox only with matt black. I know its not a GWR loco but an example is shown below.

 

post-243-0-05266000-1298541288_thumb.jpg

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