Union Pacific FEF-3 4-8-4 Northern type steam locomotive, by Smokebox

[mrennie]

And another showing a very silver smokebox.

http://farm8.static.flickr.com/7130/749 ... a29da5.jpg

I agree. I've experimented with several colours so far. The thing is, in just about every real life photo, it's a different colour, and often takes on a hue that depends on the colour of the sky, the sun, the time of day. I've even seen photos where it looks orange, like this one:

head844daveschaat.jpg

A lot of photos show it looking dark grey:

up-844-tucumcari_nm-[7-may-2006]-000-1000x1500.jpg

and many show it like this:

HPIM2964.JPG

I do like the fresh-out-of-the-shop silver. I'll add a variant with that colour.

[UP3985]

The Silver is not in any way prototypical. It was one of those things they put on in the 70s to try to make the loco more visible I guess? More "Pretty" Perhaps? (Honestly, I don't know, but IMO it doesn't look all that great in the silver.) The current gray looks good, but I think I'd lighten it up a wee bit.

I must also say that this is looking VERY good! The 844 has s much going on that if things are missing or aren't spot on as far as shadows and details go, it just doesn't look right. I've tried many times to draw her but have consistently failed because the slightest misplacement of a detail here orthere doesn't look right.

You are doing an excellent job!

[mrennie]

The Silver is not in any way prototypical. It was one of those things they put on in the 70s to try to make the loco more visible I guess? More "Pretty" Perhaps? (Honestly, I don't know, but IMO it doesn't look all that great in the silver.) The current gray looks good, but I think I'd lighten it up a wee bit.

I must also say that this is looking VERY good! The 844 has s much going on that if things are missing or aren't spot on as far as shadows and details go, it just doesn't look right. I've tried many times to draw her but have consistently failed because the slightest misplacement of a detail here orthere doesn't look right.

You are doing an excellent job!

Thanks for the valuable info! I think I'll make the smokebox lighter. I'll post a screenshot to show it looks. It's great to get these comments from everyone, because they help me to improve the model.

[Ericmopar]

Like I've said, I've actually seen that loco in person when the smokebox was very silver.

However...
After doing some intense photo searches for over an hour last night I finally figured it out.
It was very silver when she was 8444 and different shades of silvery grey, to charcoal grey in more recent times.
The confusion is stemming from U.P. applying different shades during different repaints after overhauls etc.

Hopefully we get one version still with the silver smokebox. UP used to paint the trucks and under gear bright silver on the diesels too back when. I'll bet that's where the silver paint was coming from years ago.

How can it be unprototypical... when it's own mother railroad painted it that color???

http://www.oerm.org/sites/default/files ... ,%20CA.JPG

http://www.gordon-elias.com/blog/wp-con ... acific.jpg

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/imag ... U8v2RFa6BO

[mrennie]

Like I've said, I've actually seen that loco in person when the smokebox was very silver.

However...
After doing some intense photo searches for over an hour last night I finally figured it out.
It was very silver when she was 8444 and different shades of silvery grey, to charcoal grey in more recent times.
The confusion is stemming from U.P. applying different shades during different repaints after overhauls etc.

Hopefully we get one version still with the silver smokebox. UP used to paint the trucks and under gear bright silver on the diesels too back when. I'll bet that's where the silver paint was coming from years ago.

How can it be unprototypical... when it's own mother railroad painted it that color???

Yep, I've got this photo of 8444 where, despite it being a black and white shot, you can see that it's painted silver:

3914416884_ac4d7730ba_o.jpg

I came to the conclusion that I could put almost any colour on it, from beige through grey to charcoal, and there would be at least two photos somewhere on the internet showing a match, because almost every photo I find has it in a different colour or shade. What I'll do is vary it with the different liveries. It would be helpful is to know whether the silver would be right on a particular variation, like, say, the 1944 appearance. Another possibility is to simply create variations of the colouring as if they were separate liveries, so that each person could choose to run the one they prefer. I'll be doing that anyway with the weathering.

[UP3985]

It's own mother railroad when they had renumbered it to make room on the roster for new diesels because they didn't think the steam gig would last, and when the budgeting was much tighter than today.

Someone had the bright idea to just put that color on who thought it looked good and didn't care about making the Locomotive historically accurate (Just like the current UP steam manager today. Just watch and you'll see. The 4014 will get the same treatment of silver tires and chromed out wash plugs with flags and heralds and probably more.)

Prototypical is how the loco looked in service, which was the grey/graphite color, not a flashy shiny silver. ( Not necessarily dirty) It's all good on the loco in game, but put that crap on the real thing (which commands more respect than what it has been dealt in the 70s and 80s and since the start of 2012) and it makes my blood boil. It was built in Black with no whitewalls or chrome, and that is the way it looks best. Classic, Powerful, Sleek, Swift.

The mother railroad really doesn't have much say in or really care what the locomotive looks like, they just want a steam engine to pull the train so it's up to the guy in charge in Cheyenne how it looks.

[Ericmopar]

The vintage UP locos were quite varied.

http://youtu.be/Pi7Jac3htts

[UP3985]

Well If you ever get a membership over at trainorders.com, search for info on the UP program and you'll find plenty of info on how much things have changed since the new manager has taken over in 2011.

[UP3985]

That is spot on! Very Nice!!!

[mrennie]

That is spot on! Very Nice!!!

Thanks

and I didn't change anything. All I did was put it in Alex's facility and the fluorescent tubes did the rest.

[buzz456]

[mrennie]

!*brav*!

[UP3985]

Oh, well that color is spot on! Maybe it was just the angle of lighting of the other shots. It looks great! (and now that I think of it, it was like that before the Gyralite, so yeah... Guess I forgot after a month of dormancy. )

[Ericmopar]

Very Nice.

[plicpriest1]

So call me greedy,
BUT I want it!!! I just went through and looked at all the pictures of it getting built up. Looks great! I just cant wait. Soon as it is out...

Keep up the great work
Brian