A look at Locomotive color schemes of the Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Railroad.

Originally I had this information at the bottom of page 4, but it was a bit lost at the bottom of all that text..so I thought each railroad deserves its own specific color page. So far, there is only this SR&RL page, I will add more pages if/when enough color information comes to light to make a new page possible.

So far, we know of two specific "eras" of Locomotive color schemes on the SR&RL.

The "Green & Aluminum" era - 18?? to 1909
The "Black & Gold" era       -    1912 to the end.

Those terms, "Green & Aluminum era" and "Black & Gold era" are made up by me.. I have never heard color schemes described in terms of "eras" anywhere before, but I believe its helpful in understanding what was going on.

The earliest known loco so far with Green and Aluminum is KCRR #2, built by Baldwin in 1890. 

Color schemes before 1890 are not yet known..they might have also been green, (which is likely) or they might have been something else entirely. I would love to find out the color schemes for the original B&B "Ariel" and "Puck"! The earliest "Maine 2-footers", built by Hinkley in 1877.

Also as-yet unknown is if other locomotive manufacturers used different colors. What color were the Hinkleys, Portlands, Vulcans and Porters? So far we only have color information for one non-Baldwin, "Green Cab and Tank" for KCRR #1, a Portland Forney.
 

Representing the "Green and Aluminum" era is SR&RL No. 9. built by Baldwin in 1909:
 
 

Here are all the SR&RL (and predecessor) "as built" color schemes, known so far.
10 out of 20 locomotives.
 
 

F&M 2
"Black and Gold, style 146." source: Baldwin, via Jim Wilke.
Baldwin 1886
 

SRRR 2
"Engine style is 216 green and gold, finish is 106. Cab 12, cylinder 12, sand box 31, driver 36, 
tender tank 35. "  source: Baldwin, via Kathryn at the California State Railroad Museum. 
Baldwin 1890 
Became SR&RL 18. 
 

P&R 3
"Olive green with aluminum leaf lettering."  source: Baldwin, via Gary Kohler. 
Baldwin 1891 
Became SR&RL 15. 
 

SRRR 3:2
"Engine style is 216 olive green, finish is 106, Cab 12, cylinder 12, sand box 31, driver 36,
tender tank 35. "   source: Baldwin, via Kathryn at the California State Railroad Museum. 
Baldwin 1904. 
Built as Laurel River & Hot Springs "James Wyman", then SRRR "Old Star" ,
ending her career as SR&RL 16.
 

P&R 2:2
"Olive green and gold (trim) with lettering and numbers in silver."  source: Baldwin, via Steve King. 
Baldwin 1893 
Became SR&RL 17. 
 

SRRR 8
"Engine style is 284 black and gold, 3 coats varnish, finish is 158, 
except rods. Cab 51, cylinder 36, sand box 41, driver 63,  tender tank 66." 
source: Baldwin, via Kathryn S. at the California State Railroad Museum. 
Baldwin 1904 
Became SR&RL 19.
 

SR&RL 9
"Engine style is 215 Olive Green and Aluminum." 
source: Baldwin, via Kathryn at the California State Railroad Museum. 
Baldwin 1909. 
 

SR&RL 23
"Engine style black, no striping, lettering gold leaf, Roman numerals." 
source: Baldwin, via Kathryn at the California State Railroad Museum. 
Baldwin 1913. 

SR&RL 10 
"Engine style black, no striping, lettering gold leaf." 
source: Baldwin, via Kathryn at the California State Railroad Museum. 
Baldwin 1916. 
 

SR&RL 24
"Engine style black, no striping, lettering gold." 
source: Baldwin, via Kathryn at the California State Railroad Museum. 
Baldwin 1919. 
 

Every locomotive before 1909 is Green except for two.
F&M 2 of 1886,
and SRRR 8 of 1904, both of which are Black & Gold.

It is believed that F&M 2 of 1886 was a special request, a "custom order"..as the standard Baldwin scheme of the era would have been Olive Green.

SRRR 8 of 1904 is either also a special request, or it represents the earliest known
(so far) locomotive of the later "Black & Gold era".

Right now I am considering SR&RL 9 of 1909 to be the last "Green & Aluminum",
and SR&RL 23 of 1913 to represent the first "Black & Gold" ..which became standard
after the Maine Central takeover of 1912. But the dates for these "eras" are fluid,
and nothing is carved in stone yet.
 

Speaking of Black & Gold, that brings me to the second major and distinct color era for the SR&RL, the "Black & Gold" era, which began in 1913 with SR&RL 23. All future locomotives after this date arrived in this scheme, and it is believed that all SR&RL repaints after this date were done in Black & Gold.
 
 

I was working on that color photo of SR&RL #10,  using the photo of John Simon's Argyle live steamer, and I was looking for info on SR&RL lettering colors, I came across this interesting post on the On2 forum:

Re: [MaineOn2] SR&RL Lettering Colors/Colours 
Here is some third-hand information. A 2-foot modeling friend of mine had a
discussion with Bob Werner concerning the color of SR&RL locomotive lettering. 
Bob had an original Maine Central document for SR&RL locomotives with gold leaf
crossed out and chrome written in instead. Bob said this was also confirmed by
a Maine Central employee. In those days chrome would have been chromium yellow,
a very common pigment of the time. Check out this site 
http://webexhibits.org/pigments/indiv/history/cryellow.html If anyone has
information on Maine Central locomotive lettering it could well be the same
color. I think it is safe to say gold leaf up until the Maine Central takeover
and yellow after that. I don't think white was ever correct on the locomotives.
Ray

Original post, and further discussion is on the On2 forum, here.
Thanks Ray!

So thats some historic MEC paperwork indicating Chrome Yellow lettering (a yellow paint) was used on the SR&RL after the MEC takeover. (1912)

"I think it is safe to say gold leaf up until the Maine Central takeover and yellow after that."

That makes sense..
however SR&RL 10 and 23 were both built after that 1912 date, and both say "Gold Leaf" on their builders records..So its likely those were the only two SR&RL locomotives to actually have Gold Leaf lettering, because they arrived that way when new. Number 24 says "Gold" and not "Gold Leaf"..so its likely she had the chromium yellow paint.

I suspect that the loco that Ray and Bob are talking about in the quote above:
"Bob had an original Maine Central document for SR&RL locomotives with gold leaf
crossed out and chrome written in instead."
is probablty one of the MEC rebuilds. (15,16,17, or 18.)

If true, that would also confirm that nearly all locos except for 10 and 23 had chromium yellow lettering.

I will see if I can contact Bob Werner and see if his MEC document lists an actual locomotive number.

But was there other use of "Gold Leaf" by the SR&RL between 1908 and 1912? currently unknown..

And what about Black with White lettering? Was there actually white lettering on any SR&RL locomotives? as far as I know, there is no definitive proof of that. (which doesnt mean it didnt happen! ;)

Perhaps ongoing research will help clarify these questions..new data always comes to light around these kinds of questions!

Meanwhile, its safe to assume that any SR&RL locomotive painted after 1912 was Black with some kind of yellow lettering, most likely chromium yellow (yellow paint). and perhaps Gold Leaf in the case of 10 and 23.

Thats all I have on SR&RL colors so far..I will update as more information comes to light.
 
 

And thats the end of this webpage collection!
for now..
I will continue to update this page as new color information comes to light, any comments, corrections, thoughts, additions, anything at all! is always welcome.

email - sscotsman@yahoo.com

That Portland Locomotive Works color data is especially intriguing! apparently it exists..somewhere...If you have any leads on that, or anything else, please let me know and I will post it here for all to enjoy.

Thanks to everyone for all your help! 
as I said..I cant do this alone.
all the collaboration is much appreciated.

thanks,
Scot

Want to learn more about the Maine 2-footers? 
Here are a whole bunch of relevant links:
 

Internet discussion forums 

Maine On2 forum on yahoo..(also welcomes discussion of Maine 2-footer modeling in On30)

Maine 2-Foot Quarterly forum on yahoo.

Maine 2-footer forum on yahoo.

Bachmann forum

7/8n2 scale forum, The SE Lounge

WW&F railway forum
 
 

Magazines

Maine 2-foot Quarterly 

Light Iron Digest

Fine Scale Railroader

Narrow Gauge & Shortline Gazette

On30 Annual

Railroad Model Craftsman
 

(Only Maine 2-foot quarterly is "Maine 2-foot specific"..every issue deals with modeling the Maine 2-footers,
in all scales. the other magazines carry stories about  2-footer modeling on occasion, but not in every issue.)
 
 
 

Other modeling resources...(in addition to the magazines and discussion forums)

Sn2 Scale

On2 FAQ

On2-On3-On30 Modelers resource guide...(where to find stuff for modeling!)

Many people also model the 2-footers in HOn30 and On30 scales,
searching for those scales will bring up a lot of information.
 
 

Historic data resources..(All Baldwin so far.)

California State Railroad Museum...source for a large percentage of the color information so far.

DeGolyer Library ..also has Baldwin locomotive works information.

Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania ..Has many Baldwin builders photos.
 
 

The Real Thing!..(where to see real Maine 2-footer equipment!)

Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co. & Museum...Portland, Maine.

W W & F. Railway Museum...Alna, Maine.

SR&RL Railroad Museum...Phillips, Maine.

Boothbay Railway Villiage...Boothbay, Maine.

Edaville...South Carver, Mass.