Bachmann Engine Crew 1960`s/1970`s

[BristolBill]

I recently purchased a pack of the above for my layout which is set up around that era, but on second thoughts I could not remember crews wearing overalls of this colour at that time. From memory I seem to recall that they wore black trousers, jackets and caps, or is this just another amnesia lapse like the size that Wagon Wheels and Mars bars used to be?

[The Stationmaster]

If it is the 36-047 set they are perfectly ok for steam enginemen, albeit with faded jean jackets and trousers as well as the dark pea jackets.  The jean trousers and jackets faded very quickly if regularly given a high temperature wash but not really to that shade of blue.  But they are not the 'new' pattern uniforms which came in c.1967/68 and were issued to diesel and electric crews.

[BristolBill]

It`s 36-407 that I`ve got,  perhaps I`m thinking back to the `50`s/60`s but I can`t remember ever seeing bright blue overalls worn by steam crew which is what I am more interested in . Are there any other crew sets which are more suitable ?

 

Thanks for your reply anyway,   Mike , The Stationmaster

[DCB]

They look too light for new uniforms,    From photos of the 1950s era crews seemed to wear either one piece boiler suits or trousers and jackets normally with a white shirt and tie, sometimes with a cardigan sometimes a waistcoat.  in earlier days a shapeless slop jacket and trousers with collarless shirt seemed to be the norm. I think BR rail blue (Railmatch) is a pretty good match for new uniforms they got lighter through being boiled but more a faded BR blue (Railmatch) rather than the fairly bright Bachmann blue.  The Fireman particularly would get dirty.  The jackets seem much darker than the trousers and the tops of the hats seem to be black. 

I would suggest getting a decent pose is more important than colour, firemen standing on one leg a la Triang is a bit pointless when the engine is on shed but standing looking out or fiddling with something on the boiler backplate can be good for main line and on shed alike.

I use butchered Dapol trackside figures and it looks totally wrong to me to have a loco running with no crew.  Empty coaches are fine, quite prototypical in fact! but run a way engines were rare.

[The Stationmaster]

It`s 36-407 that I`ve got,  perhaps I`m thinking back to the `50`s/60`s but I can`t remember ever seeing bright blue overalls worn by steam crew which is what I am more interested in . Are there any other crew sets which are more suitable ?

 

Thanks for your reply anyway,   Mike , The Stationmaster

The 'as issued' colour of the jean jacket, overalls, and bib & brace trousers was a very dark blue, far darker than BR Rail Blue in any of various hues.  However in order to get rid of oil and greases it was usual I understand for them to be washed in a very hot water with a soak in washing soda.  Iin fact on the Western at some sheds (?many) a common practice was to wash them in a bucket on the footplate using hot water straight out of the boiler from the pep pipe, in washing soda, and then hang  them up to dry in the cab.

 

This rapidly washed out a lot of the die resulting in garments which were very pale, and quite a way from blue, in colour.  The pale bright blue on these figures is not at all right for either the jean jackets and trousers (I'm not really sure why that term was used as the material was different from jeans - perhaps because of the colour which when new was very similar to a new pair of dark dyed jeans?).  The pea jackets were black as were standard footplate uniform trousers - over which the jean trousers or bib & brace overalls were worn.  As far as I know boiler suits were not issued to footplate men in BR days - they definitely were not on the old uniform cards when the change was made to new style uniforms c.1966/7