I am having a problem trying to get images of actual railroad Sante Fe ABA units so I can determine whether the diaphragms are gray or black. I see photos of the the stainless steel cars and their diaphragms seem to be gray, but I can't determine what color of diaphragm is used one the ABA units. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Thanks, Jim
I think they start out as black canvas/rubber but over time from sitting in the sun they turn various shades of grey. All the ones in the museums I have visited have been a faded grey/black color.
Confirming What Massey indicated. The Santa Fe ABBA or LABC units. The diaphragms coloring started out with a particular color and faded over time. The freight units diaphragms start off as black and eventually faded to the gray color. On the passenger red and silver war bonnets, the diaphragms were aluminum in color with the face being black. They too faded to a gray color. The Stream Line passenger cars (today, what some call light weights, harrumph) were aluminum in color with the face being black.
