PRR Steam Loco Lettering Color

Without more research, my buddy and I are thinking it was in the 40s.    He thinks around the begining of WWII    

Try asking on the PRRT&HS site if they have a forum.   I will ask my sources.

For passenger power the  PRR standard for lettering and stripes changed from gold to buff (dulux) during 1952.  A similar change for passenger cars was made in the same time frame.   The standard for freight  power lettering had been buff for at least as far back as the Oct 1929 per PRRT&HS pub 1.  

Ed,

Thanks for the response.  I had no idea Pennsy used different colored font on passenger and freight power.  Sounds like buff is the best color for an L-1 project.

Scott - even the trim color on the keystone number plates was different between freight and passenger power prior to 1952 - like the lettering on the tender and numbers on the cab- gold on passenger, buff on freight.

I thought the freight logo was a circle and the passenger locos got the keystone?

Until the late 1920's all PRR locomotives carried round number plates.  With the exception of the S1, all Pennsy freight and passenger steam locomotives built after 1927 (late production K4s's, K5, M1a,  J1. Q1, Q2, T1, S2) were delivered with keystone number plates.  Starting around 1928 keystone number plates were retrofitted to passenger power (E5s, E6s, G5, K4s, as well as all 201 M1's.  Until 1952 keystone number plates on passenger locomotives had a toluidine red background with gold trim.  Freight locomotives (like the J1) equipped with keystone number plates had red keystones with buff trim. With a revised painting and lettering instruction issued  in 1952,  gold lettering and trim began to be replaced with lower cost buff paint (sometimes called dulux) as the engines and passenger cars were shopped.  Throughout the years the standard for older classes of PRR freight and yard service steam locomotives (L1, I1, B6, etc) was black background round number plates lettered/edged with  buff paint. 

You may have noticed that several O gauge PRR freight and switcher steam locomotives were imported with red background round number plates - incorrect but a relatively easy fix.

Ed

Thanks again for the great info.  I also have a prewar M1a.  The lettering is gold leaf, but from your description it should be buff?  Or did the Pennsy use gold leaf on M1a's since they were dual service engines?  

Only 10 of the 100 prewar M1a's were assigned to passenger service, and those were delivered with full tender striping.  By the mid 1930's the PRR dropped tender stripes as an economy move. I don't know what color of lettering the PRR used on the 90 M1a's assigned prewar freight service.  

For those who are not familiar with buff, I found this online which supposedly/originally came from the PRRT&HS:

BUFF LETTERING COLOR

Was a very light yellow. It was a mixture of Chrome Yellow, White, and a small amount of Venetian Red.

Tom