Hey, all you Milw experts. You know how on a fairly modern diesel- like a GP38-2 the black roof upper part is not really black black, but more like brownish black.... Well, when did that start? The old steamers were black. And the electrics were black (I think) and the Hiawatha suff either had a grey roof or .... black (cigar band)? When did the brownish black start? With the orange & black scheme on diesels or maybe the late Hiawathas? Did any diesels have a truly black roof? Thanks for your participation and support. Ron
Ron, The roofs should be black. Never heard of orange and brownish black! Do you have a photo of what you're talking about?
Ron- It is black. Something in the photo you see is causing it to simply appear otherwise. I remember seeing the first GP38-2 units, new. It was definitely black.
OK. We must be talking about a weathering artifact. For example CSX early gray- looked gray. But by the time it faded badly it had almost a very light blue-ish gray to it. Another example is SCL black. Painted in the 70s, I remember some of those old U-boats on CSX in 1988 that looked black-- with an almost blue-ish hue to it. Thanks for the info guys!
I would have to agree that it would be weathering. The Milwaukee was never known for clean equipment. Growing up with them, the only real clean MIL equipment I ever saw was the Hiawathas.
Also, yes- The electrics were originally black. Except the roofs on some were re-painted an oxide red. As the black weathered, and with a coating of dust, many people have passionately sworn they were painted a dark green. They were indeed black. Time, lighting, film, etc, all combine to confuse us in some instances.
