The LNER Encyclopedia

Hello, I have just stumbled across this website and think its wonderfull.

I think you could also well be the very people to help me solve a problem. I am currently building a 3 1/2 " gauge steam loco. Which I am intending to paint in LNER green. Up untill tonight I would have said Apple green.
To make this a bit clearer, I wish it to be the same color as 4472. Now I know she is a Doncaster loco. So I trotted off last week and bought some Doncaster green. But having just finnished spraying my wheels, I would swear they are quite a bit darker and possibly grass green (as I believe the alternative was know).

I have been to many a web site tonight looking for the answer, only to find one person compleatly disagreesing with the next.

So finaly the real question. Is 4472 apple green, and is that Doncaster or Darlington green?

Welcome to the forums!

"Doncaster Green" would be correct, and in theory was correct for all LNER locos in green LNER livery.
However, in the interests of consituent company harmony in the early years, LNER officials turned a blind eye to Darlington choosing a paler green that was closer to the NER livery. (history shows that the LNER handled these merger&acquisition problems well - unlike the LMS).
This is why there are usually two types of LNER green!

Yours is too dark? Maybe. I know that at least two committee members in the Gresley Society who have been working on the N2 reckon their tin of paint is correct and that the newly-painted LNER-liveried Green Arrow is too dark. Green Arrow is owned by the National Railway Museum...

The members describe 'Doncaster Green' as being "light, almost bright green".


Richard

Hi 2150cannon.

You may also find that the paint may darken after the loco has been steamed once or twice. I drive a 5" Duchess in BR green and a 7¼" Prairie. The prairie is new and we steamed it the first time with only part of the boiler lagging cover on. When the next piece was added the 2 pieces were slightly different colours - even though they were painted from the same tin of paint. A further steaming has brought the colours almost the same.

You may find similar effects with the Doncaster green.

Andy

Thankyou for your thoughts, they are most helpfull.

I really am not sure now. I would have sworn the colour was wrong. But perhaps I have just painted to small a surface for it to be clear.
It is our club meeting tonight and Im going to take them along for some more opinions. a couple of our members have LNER green engines. One in particular made by a good friend of mine, is an apsolute work of art. He has that enviable quality of bilding things perfectly. Even though last week he told me he bought his paint in halfords and is prity sure it was for a skoda.

Thanks again, hopfully the chassis will be going together soon now the summer is over and I have stopped playing with my other engine, an NER Netta. Which I repainted in LNER black last winter anfter many years of beeing kept in a shed in a car park.

Just for anyone who is interested, after a couple of days drying time the wheels look much more like the right colour. Was just panicing as It has taken me years to get to this point and hate setbacks.

That's good! and thanks for getting back with the info.

Colours seem to be one of those things that are difficult to get right. Colour photos are rare and the colours cannot always be trusted. Colour memory is also poor over the 50+ years that we're usually talking. Paint panels often exist for the manufacturers to use, but then we have to make sure we mix our paints correctly

Richard

The green always looks better after the loco is lined out, for some reason ,
probably optical illusion or something like that.

Badwolf is right. I am in the process of creating colour illustrations (hobby) of Pre-Group locomotives on my PC for use in my forthcoming web site. Even though I use a colorimeter to ensure that monitor and print produce the same colour I find that "green" is a bit of a pig. I have to use Carter and Haresnape as references and there is no doubt that the application of lining changes one's perception of the colour "green". Rather than LNER green I feel that we should refer to Doncaster (GNR) green, Darlington(NER) green or Gateshead(NER) green. Basically LNER locomotives were GNR green, but I saw several LNER locomotives newly painted at Doncaster and have no doubt that there were at least 3 different shades. However time of year, position of sun, etc, etc all have their part to play. Can of worms really.

Don Marshall
Cadiz
Spain