White Walls on Steam Locomotives

I don't know all the answers, but I have seen white walls on old Texas & Pacific engines and cabooses in museums around here.

Railroads would whitewash the drivers and the sides of the walkways when they were shining up an engine for a big occasion. Some did it more than others. 

"Completion of Niagaras in 1946 and New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey speaks"

 

 

RickO,

Great photos. thank you.

Does it appear that the Engineer and Fireman are wearing Cowboy boots, instead of Engineer boots, or work boots?

Ralph

I assume its done for looks--here's Valley RR no. 40 with whitewalls and white edge to the running boards.

Here's a T&P caboose at Mineola, Texas.

Good evening

 

I was under the impression that the white trim was done at factory when new for the company photo and then only on one side when new. I could be wrong, if someone knows this statement to be wrong I sure would like to know the facts.

 

Clem 

A typical park/museum display. They would not have run that way in regular service, back in the day.

Well, you are correct to a point, but some railroads actually maintained white tires and white walkway edges, while in regular service. The C&O, for example, maintained white tires and walkway edges, virtually to the end of steam, even though they looked pretty dirty. The Rock Island also had their passenger locomotives spruced-up with white tires and whit walkway edges, up until after WWII.

 

Thus, white tires and white walkway edges, were pretty much up to each railroad, and many times individual RR shops.

Gilbert American Flyer did it for a more practical reason. The white walls were really insulators due to running on 2 rail track.

 

Steve

 

Originally Reading T-1's had black tires. But they were painted white for Iron Horse Rambles

 

No. 17, the YORK, looks good with white tires. Here is further info.

 

I painted pilot wheel tires white on the MTH Premier Ps-4 (20-3006-1) I purchased from a Forumite.

 

Jersey Central 0-6-0 No. 113 still has black tires.

 

Reading G-1sb (74" drivers instead of 80") No. 201 was painted a beautiful deep blue and called "The Bluebird." She seems to have white tires. The Jersey Central 4-6-2 seems to have black tires.

The fireman LOOKS like he might be....the engineer looks, to me, like he is wearing

string tied shoes/

Several models I have came with white-wall wheels and in all cases I found photos of them originally white the same - the Southern Crescent and the USRA Mallet (relabeled ATSF below) come to mind.  I was not surprised about the Southern Crescent but I was a bit surprised to find a picture of a Mallet with them, but I guess they, too, were occasionally dressed up.  I think it was a common dress up method for steam locos, and mostly static occasions because they could not have stayed white for too long in service.  I left the white walls on the loco below because they look really good on it, regardless of how realistic it is . . . 

coloradohighrailer,

Though the photo. is grainy, I can't make out any laces on the fronts of the Engineer's footwear and both the Engineer's and Fireman's footwear appear larger and higher, than the other four BIG Wig's footwear.

For the most part Engineer boots and work boots have a much rounder toe.

I could be wrong.

Ralph

The Canadian National and the Canadian Pacific maintained white tires until the last moments of steam operation in 1960. There are a fair number of photos of CNR/CPR roundhouse personnel with a can of paint and brush touching up tires. Suspect railroads were emulating the "whitewalls" that were popular on automobiles.......or was it the other way around?

Note that there is also a practical aspect. The white paint could make it easier to visual detect cracks in the tires.  The Chinese often painted the wheels and tires of their engines for the same reason.

Not quite. The "paint" would actually HIDE any cracks. The use of white wash was used to find cracks, back in the "old days", since any amount of oil within a crack, would quickly turn the white wash black.

I always have liked the look of white wall tires and walkways on steamers, as well as the silver smoke box.  It helps make details pop IMHO.

True, but that white on the wheel tires is a REAL pain in the *** to maintain, and keep looking nice on a real steam locomotive.

That I know, having had to do it myself.  At least with our O gauge trains they don't need to be cleaned as often to maintain that look.

I normally get rid of all the white wall tires, unless its an excursion only engine. Roller stand, black paint, and a fine tip paint brush and poof.... gone!

Well 765 has the white trim and tires, and in my opinion, looks SPECTACULAR that way.  I wouldn't EVER want to see it in all black.

Well yes but, for what it's worth, the NKP 765 is currently reflective of her "as delivered" paint scheme, i.e. all dressed up and no Mars Light.

 

Personally, I prefer her later "in service" appearance, i.e. WITH the Mars Light and pretty much black. Suggest you check out photos of her first outing on the TP&W RR, spring/summer 1980, in freight service.

Yeah, I've seen those and thousands of other pics of it, including a few hundred I've taken myself.  Personally, I think she is so beuatiful, I hate to even see her get DIRTY. I prefer the just off the erecting floor at Lima look.

 

 

The Lake Superior & Ishpeming RR, an iron mining railroad, had white wall tires on their steam locos and tenders.  They also painted the rod ends white, and parts of the valve gear.  Not only that, they had flowers planted around the roundhouse!

I don't care for the white rimmed driver look. I have a Bachmann On30 Ten wheeler which is painted with red cab doors and white-rimmed drivers and running boards. Repainting that engine is high on my to do list.

 

Jeff C

Generally I agree, but the Mallet I posted a picture of above, and one or two others, look gtood for some reason and I left it.  What I don't like, at all, is the white trim line above them (as in PDQMI's posted photo) I know many people do and that is fine, but I always remove that.

The 1223 is part of a static display in the City of Grand Haven, Michigan. It was moved from the scrap line at New Buffalo in 1960, repainted and moved to Detroit where it went on display at the Michigan State Fairgrounds to the delight of the thousands of visitors who came to admire the big machine. As every community who has received one knows, big steam locomotives look magnificent and draw crowds when they first arrive, but time, weather, and vandals create wear and tear. In 1980, State Fairground officials in Detroit decided they were tired of trying to maintain the 1223 and the engine was in the way of a grandstand expansion (of course the State Fair isn't even held at that location any longer) so it was announced they would give the locomotive to an organization that would provide a new home. Six bids were received and after much confusion and political maneuvering, the 1223 was awarded to the City of Grand Haven. The 1223 is listed in the National Historical Register.

 

A PM 2-8-4 was on display at Michigan State University back in the '70's. I spent a few weekends working on her.

 

Jeff C

That was (and is) 1225.  It's running now.

If the real one had white walls then I want them on there.  Otherwise, I paint the shiny plated sidewalls that are found on most O gauge models black.