In general, what colors were the tops of real box cars painted? Exact same color as the sides?

Based on what I read, most RRs in the steam up through transition into early diesel era say about 1960 give or take anyway, painted the roofs the same as the ends and sides.  

However, there were significant exceptions.    I'm not sure of time frames and whether all cars were affected on these roads, but at least some classes were.    I have seen photos of NKP, C&O, and Virginian steam era boxcars with black ends and roofs and "boxcar red" sides.   There are probably others that I have not seen, and other eras.     More modern era stuff may had roofs done differently.  

So  your best bet is to find some photos of cars with the lettering for RRs that the models represent.    There are many prototype historical sites that have photos and the more modern more easy to find.   NOrth East Rails is one big site.

it was much more common on Reefers to find the roof and ends painted differently than the sides.

By the way, one way to make things look more realsiting is to overspray the whole car with a dull coat or flat finish.    Freight cars and all equipment lost their glossy coats quickly out in the weather and became much flatter finishes even when clean.

As a kid in the 1950's living near a local short line (the F.J.&G.) i often climbed on the freight cars parked on sidings at their destinations. Reefers at a local beer and produce distributor mostly had aluminum (silver) painted roofs. Boxcars were more a mix of the same as the sides and ends (some version of "boxcar" red), or had roofs which appeared black but turned out to be a sticky tar like substance (which meant "just out" didn't cut it as an excuse with my parents anymore).

It really depends on the railroad and sometimes the individual car shop.  I think black on a box car red boxcar was an asphalt coating.

Some overhead pictures of freight yards  C&NW  NYC?

Rusty

It depends on what era you are talking about.  Early roofs were painted just like the car.  Some paint schemes had a roof color, some just used the car body color. If roof leaks were a problem, the roof could get painted with car cement, which is black. This was a tar, asbestos, and gasoline mixture. The railroads went to steel roof sheets,  mostly made by Stanray, starting maybe as early as the mid 1930s. These were stamped galvinazed steel sheets with standing seams and seam caps.  The fasteners went through the seam caps and were usually attached with rivets or two piece rivets. These galvanized roofs were not painted, as the paint will not stick to the zinc. If the sides were spray painted, the roof was not taped off and the overspray went a ways onto the roof. More modern boxcars have the roofs welded on, just like the sides. These roofs cannot be galvanized, as thei is incompatible with welding. The welded roofs are painted just like the sides. Research shows that color makes a big difference on absorbing heat from the sun, so insulated cars and refers now commonly have white roofs to reflect this heat.

If you are modeling pre-1966, you could vary the color of the roof walk.  John

@Rusty Traque posted:

It really depends on the railroad and sometimes the individual car shop.  I think black on a box car red boxcar was an asphalt coating.

Some overhead pictures of freight yards  C&NW  NYC?

Rusty

Rusty,

Your NYC? pic was the PRR's Sunnyside Yard in Queens.  The Queensboro Bridge and the smokestacks of Con Edison's power plant near Astoria Park are in the background.

Mark