Looking for advise: Fade black letters to blue on CN Reefer

[freedj]

I picked up an older Atlas 50' reefer at a train show to swap out a too modern / too long reefer and also shrink my overall train length for my 10" curves. 

I've found a really close prototype photo and it looks like the black lettering has faded to a dark blue.  In fact i would have said that the car is silver and blue in the photo. It also looks like the car ends are the same color as the main body in this photo.

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https://www.railcarphotos.com/PhotoDetails.php?PhotoID=41966

The model is white and black.

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I am planning on painting the ends and giving it a white fade and seeing if the black tints towards blue or if it just goes straight grey and adjusting from there.  Do you think i could get away with a slight blue tint to the white fade or is that just asking for trouble?  I am thinking the silver look in the photo is really just a dirty white car.  The grease buildup on the door is impressive.

[jslean]

These cars were aluminium in colour with black lettering. The doors were blue.

[CBQ Fan]

I picked up an older Atlas 50' reefer at a train show to swap out a too modern / too long reefer and also shrink my overall train length for my 10" curves. 

I've found a really close prototype photo and it looks like the black lettering has faded to a dark blue.  In fact i would have said that the car is silver and blue in the photo. It also looks like the car ends are the same color as the main body in this photo.

(Attachment Link)
https://www.railcarphotos.com/PhotoDetails.php?PhotoID=41966

The model is white and black.

(Attachment Link)

I am planning on painting the ends and giving it a white fade and seeing if the black tints towards blue or if it just goes straight grey and adjusting from there.  Do you think i could get away with a slight blue tint to the white fade or is that just asking for trouble?  I am thinking the silver look in the photo is really just a dirty white car.  The grease buildup on the door is impressive.

I have the white Atlas car, but it is a misprint. One side has no lettering at all.

[cv_acr]

These cars were aluminium in colour with black lettering. The doors were blue.

That particular car does have silver doors matching the body. No contrasting colour there.

But the white colour of the model is definitely incorrect. It's definitely silver/aluminum.

The "blue" fade seems like it might be partly colour rendering of the slide as well? I'd think once the car gets some grime that will naturally lighten the black a bit.

[Sokramiketes]

That particular car does have silver doors matching the body. No contrasting colour there.

Are you sure?  The pattern says to me that the door was blue and has lost paint to show silver underneath, rather than starting out silver and weathering darker.  Look at the sharp demarcation between the bottom of the door and the car side.  If it was grime, it would be on the car side too?

[cv_acr]

Hmm, perhaps. But there's no demarcation at all on the upper door, and the silver colouring looks totally even with the rest of the car body. The colour of the rest just looks like grime, not blue.

Although other cars in the same series definitely had blue, but that one doesn't really look like it.

http://canadianfreightcargallery.ca/cgi-bin/image.pl?i=cn231120&o=cn

This one was renumbered from the same original group, and hard to tell on this one too... There could be some REALLY faded blue on the upper door, but the rest of the door is really grimy. And some definite different weathering patterns around the door opening:

http://canadianfreightcargallery.ca/cgi-bin/image.pl?i=cn233029&o=cn

This one again is pretty grimy, but definitely is a blue door this time:

http://canadianfreightcargallery.ca/cgi-bin/image.pl?i=cn233036&o=cn


So.... I guess I'm not sure. They definitely did have blue doors but some may have been repainted silver if the blue didn't totally wear off..

[wcfn100]

Jason

[nickelplate759]

I'll vote for a blue door on the original photo (car 231149)as well.  Note that all the door safety markings are in white, just like they are on car 231120.  It strikes me as unlikely that they would have been done in white against a silver door, when all the other lettering on the silver car sides is in black.

[wazzou]

I'll vote for a blue door on the original photo (car 231149)as well.  Note that all the door safety markings are in white, just like they are on car 231120.  It strikes me as unlikely that they would have been done in white against a silver door, when all the other lettering on the silver car sides is in black.

Ding, ding, ding.  We have a winner.  My thoughts exactly.

[tom mann]

The "blue" fade seems like it might be partly colour rendering of the slide as well? I'd think once the car gets some grime that will naturally lighten the black a bit.

I agree. I think the black lettering has faded and the color rendering of that slide is very cool-so just looks bluish.

[peteski]

I agree. I think the black lettering has faded and the color rendering of that slide is very cool-so just looks bluish.

Yeah, even other dark objects in that photo, like the wooden ties lying on the ground between the door and letter "C", have slight bluish tint.  Even the truck's color seems to be slightly tinted blue.