I know the R-1s were gray (or silver or light blue) above the running board, and I know better than to ask for color photos. But my question is, did any other ACL steam have the same color scheme?
I know that the R-1's were delivered in special color scheme (from what I can find out, it was grey), but the few that I saw (late 40's, possibly early 50's) were all steam engine black, tho' the few I saw in passenger service seem to be cleaner than those in freight. I'm not aware of any other ACL steamers being other than black, and (except for passenger service) dirtier than their SAL or SOU counterparts.
Triplex, As delivered, the boiler lagging on the ACL R-1 (aka "1800s") was originally unpainted "pickled" steel. The cab sides and the portions of the tenders above the horizontal aluminum stripe and circular medallion were painted a metallic gray (aluminum flecks) in an attempt to match the finish of the unpainted boiler. The remaining portions below the running board/horizontal stripe were painted black. As Mr. Jones noted, the locomotives were painted black in the late 40s/early 50s toward the end of their careers. In regard to your question about other ACL locomotives being painted the same/similar scheme at the same time the 1800s were operating - based on photographic evidence- no. With that said, there are a few black and white photos from the late 20s/early 30s that show freshly shopped locomotives with what appears to be a gray boiler - the piping, domes, and cab appear to be black. The best example I can think of is an ACL K-5 or K-6 4-6-0 that can be found in William Griffins ACL book. Somewhere I have a small photo showing an C&WC 2-8-2 in the same scheme. Unfortunately ACL locomotive painting and lettering diagrams from the period provide no details on this paint scheme. Buddy Hill
Triplex - I don't believe that I saw the R-1's more than two or three times, and - from the best of my remembrance that was on two passenger and one freight train. The most memorable, was as I related in the post concerning the ACL/SAL in Charleston, from the viaduct on Hwy. 61 pulling a south-bound passenger train. Of course, being directly over the train, I was most impressed by the volume of smoke. A secondary memory is how shiny the boiler jacket was. This was followed by ''a lot'' of stainless steel cars. I would guess that this was about 1948 - 49. The second passenger, was again on a south-bound train when old two-lane Hw. 17 crossed the double-track ACL main at grade. By the time my dad started our regular Sunday p.m. car trips, almost every ACL passenger train was diesel powered, these are two exceptions that stick in my mind. Freights were still likely to have steam, if I had to guess, I'd estimate 20-25 percent. The one steam freight that I remember was on a solid string of reefers, to the best of my memory - all FGEX. The R-1 was, and this I remember well, was, in a word ''dirty.'' From my best memory this was the summer of 1950. This train was north bound.
Hold on... you saw the R-1s on passenger postwar? The impression I got reading about them was that they went to freight service very quickly.
Triplex - Yep, to the best of my recollections from 60 years ago, I only saw the R-1's on those three occasions, and two were on passenger trains. There is no way a 6 - 8 year old boy can stand over an accelerating steam engine and not remember it. Perhaps someone with knowledge or access to TT's can tell us which ACL passenger trains were scheduled through Johns Island southbound right at 2:30 - 3:30 p.m in the years 1948 to possibly as late as 1950. As I mentioned earlier, this drive was a Sunday afternoon ritual for my family. Not only that, but I'm one of the few people to see an SAL Q-3 on a passenger train, of course it was pulling the northbound "Boll Weevil" with a disabled motor car.
