An obscure point in N&W history. I do recall seeing where N&W Mechanical tried to save $ by using cheap paint, resulting in the white lettering running down the sides. I also recall N&W experimenting with “self-sealing” steel that didn’t need painting. When they put the white N&W on the cars and the steel started “sealing”, the rust ran down over the lettering. Didn’t last. That was the N&W that I was not impressed with, after Pevler. Locos also wore cheap paint and looked like H— after a few years.
That explains the streaking in the photo of the hopper I was trying to recreate! The N&W wasn’t the only one to play around with the unpainted cars–the L&N also had some 80T PS hoppers built from “Cor-Ten” steel. They ended up painting/sealing the area under the lettering to help keep the rust from obscuring it, but like the N&W cars, their population remained pretty small.
An obscure point in N&W history. I do recall seeing where N&W Mechanical tried to save $ by using cheap paint, resulting in the white lettering running down the sides. I also recall N&W experimenting with “self-sealing” steel that didn’t need painting. When they put the white N&W on the cars and the steel started “sealing”, the rust ran down over the lettering. Didn’t last. That was the N&W that I was not impressed with, after Pevler. Locos also wore cheap paint and looked like H— after a few years.
That explains the streaking in the photo of the hopper I was trying to recreate! The N&W wasn’t the only one to play around with the unpainted cars–the L&N also had some 80T PS hoppers built from “Cor-Ten” steel. They ended up painting/sealing the area under the lettering to help keep the rust from obscuring it, but like the N&W cars, their population remained pretty small.