Model Train Journal

Scott Mann is soliciting reservations for the Rio Grande l-105 challengers as built by Baldwin in 1937. I've always admired their looks: nos. 3700-3708 with flying pumps & Elesco feedwater tanks above & in front of the smokebox. But I am curious about the following:

Shortly after construction, the RR added front-end sandboxes on the pilot deck (not shown in Baldwin builder pix). Initially, these sandboxes carried warning stripes that resembled Japan's "rising sun" flag. The locos originally had dark-green boilers, and the tenders carried the full name of the RR on their sides, along with the herald (emblem/logo).

After Pearl Harbor & US entry into WW2, the "rising sun" sandbox stripes were changed to an inverted chevron pattern which lasted to the end of steam. I would like to know if that change was made while the boilers were still painted green? Impossible to determine from published B&W photos.

During the early war years, the locos were repainted black and received the "flying" Rio Grande lettering on their tender sides, remaining this way till the end of steam.

I like the green boiler paint scheme but think the inverted chevron striping on the front sandbox looks nicer than the "rising sun." Just my opinion, but I am curious if it would be prototypical for a short time period (late Dec 1941-early 1942) to have the inverted chevron stripes on the sandbox of a loco with a green boiler? Any O scalers from CO or UT happen to know?

Woody,

Pretty sure Key did one not that long ago.....maybe Dave DeVita could tell you, or steer you to someone who is knowledgeable.

Good Luck,
Rich

My friend Mike Flauding is very knowledgeable and has many volumes on the subject of Grande steam. His response to thsi was:

“From what I can find out the boiler was painted same time as stripes were added”

Which means you can do it the way you want and nobody can argue with you - at least not with any facts behind their opinions!

Thanx very much, Erik--

I was hoping you'd know someone in yr area who had info on this point. It seems logical to me that the inverted chevron stripes on the front sandbox would have been applied at time of scheduled shopping when boilers were repainted black after US entered WW2. No time for special (two-tone) paint jobs on most railroads during the war.

While I like green boilers, I'm thinking that during the war, only possibly the GN & Southern continued using green boilers during the conflict.

While it would be possible to put the chevrons on a green DRGW Challenger, such a paint combination would be correct only for a relatively short time from late December 1941 to some point in 1942, likely not over a year. If one is trying to model an era, that's cutting it pretty close in that any piece of rolling stock or scenery item on the layout that would have been built later in time would be an anomaly & spoil the effect.