Painted steam cab windows

Go right ahead! It’s your railroad 

Many RRs did that.  All of my SP steam gets insignia red cab window mullions, lifting injectors, check valves, and valve handles.

My Premier PS3 AC6 Cab Forward has red window trim. I assume it's prototypical. 

Lou1985 posted:

My Premier PS3 AC6 Cab Forward has red window trim. I assume it's prototypical. 

 

 

It looks really nice!  I have the original ps1 version and there is no red window trim.  I also really like there is no white along the running boards like mine.

It is.  It was up to the shop supervisor, of course, and we have few color photos.  You can see white tires on road engines in old photos, and pretty sure we can find some with white running board edges, although I have not paid much attention to that.  I did see a Mogul with orange lettering like the early Diesels, and some of us believe the oil tender that went up the mountain behind #60000 had gold lettering to match.

Hump Yard Mike posted:

Lou1985 posted:

My Premier PS3 AC6 Cab Forward has red window trim. I assume it's prototypical. 

 

 

It looks really nice!  I have the original ps1 version and there is no red window trim.  I also really like there is no white along the running boards like mine.

You can always paint yours. The PS3 version I have is a post 1948 version with the sheet metal pilot, silver "safety front", and large "Southern Pacific" on the tender. Here's a better picture. 

Cab Windows on N&W locomotives were painted.

I give contrast color to some windows and board sides, sure. I like whitewalls too, you can't always have nickel inserts   It was prototypical on "something""somewhere" .

"Kustom is Kool"; so why should automotive hot rod modelers have all the styling fun? 😎 

"...wonder if it is even prototypical or just eye candy for 3 railers."

No, it is not "eye candy" for us poor, uninformed 3-railers. Most of our high-end stuff is excruciatingly accurate* - far too good for many of the people who buy it. The internet is full of real steam photos, and books for sale containing these photos. Take a look, sometime - I don't know how one can resist doing so, anyway.

Some roads did it, some did not. The NYC and GM&O did not.

(*but it seems that if a steamer is lettered for the Southern - especially the green passenger livery - the model outfit insists on painting the cab roof and tender deck red. So far as I know the SOU did not do this as policy. These areas should be black. All that green with red just makes it look inappropriately like Xmas.) 

PRR painting documents said they painted their red.

Isn't that PS-4 in the Smithsonian painted oxide red on top?

Pretty sure that restored Mike has oxide - 4501?

It makes for a nice splash of color on a steam engine and nice detail.

Hump Yard Mike posted:

I really like painted steam cab windows as opposed to leaving them black.  Is this important to anyone else?  I wonder if it is even prototypical or just eye candy for 3 railers. For example:

Newer mth cab forwards with deep red windows

Newer mth greenbriers with yellow windows 

Lionel jlc alleghaney with yellow windows

lionel s3 261red windows

lionel class a 1218 with orange windows

mth 611

I have a lot of older ps1 steam that I am tempted to paint the windows to match the newer released models.

If you have a Reading T1, note that the window frames were varnished wood.  A light shade, like white oak.

Lou N

Some "fancy" paint is appropriate. I found a picture of SP 4460 from 1949 (smack in the middle the time period I model) with white running board trim, silver "Southern Pacific" on the tender, and the stainless steel trim on the pilot intact. So when I did up my MTH Premier project I copied the photo.