RUSSELL RETURNS TO STEAM 2nd AUGUST 2014

Great news this will be running again and looking splendid with its new paint job.
Well done to all involved in helping its return.
I shall be driving across the Crimea Pass to come and see and ride.

 

latest picture

 

Would love to be there

 

Red is a notoriously unstable colour to UV damage.

The EWS class 66s today are a vivid example where they have turned from a rich crimson to purple over 15 years.

We were advised with JOAN that having a maroon livery we are taking on a commitment to repaint her every 4 to 5 years based on the life span of Midland Maroon paint on other locomotives.

I suspect it was not an accident that the two most popular locomotive liveries adopted in the pre-grouping period were Green and Black, as they also happen to be the most stable pigment.

Gareth

 

Even with modern paint technology as applied to motor vehicles, bright red has a tendency to age to lipstick pink in rather a short time!

Sorry to be an old f**t but the shade of red applied to Russell seems to be a bit on the pink side to start with
and it does not IMHO suit the locomotive. Gareth mentions Midland maroon which, I believe, was used as a default colour by Hunslets and may have been the shade in which the machine was first painted.

(Cue for another intense, dare I say boring, NP discussion on colours)!

Paul H.

 

At the risk of being accused of pedantry it is incorrect to describe Midland 'red' as "maroon". I believe the correct term was Crimson Lake. Ray.

 

The same problem of accurately portraying this colour came up on RMweb recently, it does seem to be too pink but in reality it's not the same.

 

If the colour starts as crimson lake and gradually turns pink, then provided you start from somewhere within that range it is correct!

 

But surely if the colour is likely to turn more pink in time, you should start off with the deepest midland maroon/crimson lake, ie something as far away from pink as possible?

 

Other Crimson Lake locos do not seem to be affected by this problem - 6201, 46203, 6233 etc. Maybe the quality of paint used plays a larger part than has been assumed?


Keith

 

That's probably a good point, as 6201 for instance just gradually became more dull over time (as you'd expect) but never turned pink. The same as Russell did after its first restoration. I also agree with Paul H that a pink Russell doesn't really work, but we'll know for sure in a few days.

 

This hasn't gone pink.

 

Indeed, and last time I saw them neither has Merddin Emrys or Taliesin etc...

 

https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/55958391@N07/14756777341/

Sorry for the mobile web address but am working on my phone...

 

Thanks, that piccy shows it is a trick of the light and the white walls at Keefe's that makes it look 'pink'

 

I found the best way to judge it is to compare it with the red on the front end plates and with that it does look dark pink, IMHO, colour blindness taken into account.

 

Looking superb. Well done to all involved.

 

The brass tickets in the flesh. Order yours now!!!

 

Sorry the pervious attempt did not seem to upload properly.

 

Hi Ray, You are correct.

Crimson Lake contained Carmine dye (crushed Cochineal Beetles) in the mix, we used a modern humane substitute so strictly speaking I don't think we can call it Crimson.

A comptempory synthetic red dye was Alizarin derived from the roots of madder plants that has been used for 1000s of years - it is the main ingredient of what we know as North Staffordshire 'Madder Lake' which I would describe as a dark red with some orange. SLR85 carried NSR Madder Lake for a while in the 1990s (Leek & Manifold inspired), looking at old photographs it regularly changed from a bright "Chicken Tikka" colour in direct sunlight to a dark red on an overcast day.

G.