I am in the preparation stage of painting an N scale Kato Mikado detailed for Ms-4. I have enough B&W photos of CNO&TP mikados but not any in color. Other that the silvered smokebox was red used on the tender top and front doors of cab?

-- Turner McCarley (tmccarley@infoave.net), October 17, 2003

Answers

This question doesn't have a simple answer. It keeps coming up in various places, and the problem is that it all depends - usually on the whim of the painter or loco crew.

There's no definitive evidence that red was used in either place on any particular engine. There is some photo evidence that suggests that some passenger engines might have had red oxide decks and red doors to the cab. CNO&TP engines were noted for their fancy paint and trim so if it happened anywhere it probably happened here.

The bulkhead to the rear of the coal space was commonly painted red oxide - it would seem odd to paint the deck black if the bulkhead was red and red paint was favoured by a number of other roads

Aidrian

-- Aidrian Bridgeman-Sutton (smokeandsteam@aol.com), November 03, 2003.