Prussian blue

[Cumnock Flyer]

Can someone please help me. I have purchased some prussian blue paint which is very, very dark. All the pictures I have seen of the S&DJR are quite alot lighter. I'm at present building a Fowler 2P, so if anyone could possibly lead me to the correct colour i would be most grateful as i have searched for many hours on the internet. On reading about a renovation on the S&D trust website they  painted the loco with 3 coats of prussian blue followed by 2 coats of aquamarine with added white, if i read the article correct. So, in the past when S&DJR were trading did they paint their locos prussian blue, aquamarine or did they just nip down to Woolworths and just pull any old blue tin off the shelf?

Many thanks

Peter

[queensquare]

Prussian blue was very dark. Ahron's described it as like Indian ink which is almost blue black. The problem with getting an accurate match is that on the one hand blue is very unstable and went pale in sunlight - remember those blue diesels in the 70s and 80s. On the other hand, it reacted with sulphur and went almost black. I suspect the colour of S&D locos in blue would have varied widely dependent on how long since their last repaint, where they worked etc. For example, I suspect those that regularly went through the smoke laden atmosphere of the tunnels south of Bath would have been darker than those that spent their lives on the branch.

 

Jerry

[Dazzler Fan]

Granted this is not a good way of showing colour swatches:-

 

[Cumnock Flyer]

Thanks very much Jerry, you made it very clear. Much appriciated for your time.

Peter

[NHY 581]

Hi Peter,

 

Corroborating Jerry's post above, if you refer to Russ Garners locomotive and rolling stock register ( ISBN 0 9514489 7 8 ) he states;

 

By 1890 three coats of of lead colour, one of dark blue ( Prussian blue with a little white lead mixed in ) two coats of Ultramarine blue and four coats of body varnish.

 

He continues;

Visually the livery has been likened to blue black ink as used in fountain pens......

 

However, if you are modelling the last three 2P, would Derby have used a different shade....?

 

Personally, I wouldn't worry too much.

 

Rob

[jack768]

The British Railways Totem Hat Badges worn by drivers/Firemen west of Evercreech were also in Prussian Blue  #003153, with a small (Southern Region) in the bottom segment.

 

I had one in the 50s but was lost long ago, there were not a lot of these badges and I have been unable to find any.

My Father was Shed Master at Highbridge under BR (Southern Region) 1951 > till close.

Edited March 1, 2017 by jack768