Trailer Train yellow question

[bman]

Got a question on colors for 'TT' and TTX trailer train yellow. Got some undec 89' flats to paint and decal.  I've been on the web and at the tracks and the things are usually so dirty it's a little hard to tell.  I've picked up Floquil RR colors #F110310 TTX yellow that I have read can be used for the TTX style paint.  I also have picked up some Badger Model Flex #16-168 Trailer Train yellow, which has more of an orange tint to it that I am thinking can be used for the "TT" style paint before the TTX came out.  I know that when I finally get around to weathering things, it would be hard to tell, but I am not quite ready to weather the fleet just yet.  Thanks for the help.   Brian

[up1950s]

From what I've seen on the web it looks like the color varies , and just as varied as UP yellow . All colors look cool as long as it's in the family . You are probably better off doing some with each color .

[Robbman]

IRC, TT changed to the birghter yellow before the change to TTX... I want to say early 80s.

[Walkercolt]

My impression is the TT's were "brighter" orange-yellow than the later TTX cars, which now looks close to Catapiller equiptment yellow(comparing a piece of Cat equipt. sitting on a fairly new and clean TTX flat).

[ljudice]

That's my impression too...  When the TTX (white in black box) came into use, the paint changed to a mustardish Cat-like yellow.

Most TTX stuff I see is so dirty you wouldn't even know it's yellow, though.

[bman]

thanks all.  I thought it was pretty much that way, but I have read several articles and had seen some photo's of flats in a couple of modeling articles that say the same, but from the photos of the models it looked like the yellows were reversed.  Could have been lighting, etc, but just got me thinking about double checking.   I even played around with the idea of doing a couple of the ones that have been just painted out for one reason or another and have nice new clean yellow rectangles along a nice dirty car.  That's on the to do list, and its not getting any shorter... 

[Walkercolt]

Lou hit the nail on the head. Most TTX well and spine cars are grey-brown with some yellow streaks. The 89' flats are grey-brown with a shade of yellow added. The single auto racks are dirty yellow with places that are less dirty on them(people have rubbed the sides of the cars).  The Articulated auto-racks still look pretty good, although I've seen newer TTX cars with unpainted panels, ala UP(cheaper than painting them?). If the yard TV camera can read the car number and the operator can guess the reporting mark, nothing will get cleaned. If the cars are totally grimed-up, the most junior guy in the yard takes a "car-wash" broom and bucket of soap to the worst cars and swipes at them.

[Robbman]

If the yard TV camera can read the car number and the operator can guess the reporting mark, nothing will get cleaned.

AEI tags... read up on them.

[SirTainly]

I was up in a yard tower the other month, I doubt I could even have seen the numbers on the cars from the operators position - whole system was computerised. It was very cool though seeing a hump yard work though, with the computer consoles, it looked rather like using JMRI at 1:1 scale.