Cab Interiors

[STAFFORDA4]

Is it safe to say that all cab interior rooves would have been painted Cream in both LNER and BR days please?
And how far down the cab-side interiors might that colour go?

It's something I know we can see on preserved locos but one thing you'd ignore "back in the day"
Thanks. Eric

[manna]

G'Day Gents

Not something I've heard of, except for some of the Ex GER loco's. So I will look forward to the replies.

manna

[jwealleans]

My recollection of Flying Scotsman in the 1970s (preserved, I know, but when there were still people alive who remembered how they did things before the war) is that the cab was all green, including the roof. I stand to be corrected, but I spent a few lunchtimes eating my sandwiches in the cab while helping with 4498 at Steamtown.

I've read in at least one of the livery books that black locomotives had the cab painted buffer beam red, but I can't recall which book that was OTTOMH. Cream cabs were a shed indulgence as far as I understand it, for shed 'pets' and favoured/committed crews.

[john coffin]

Certainly Malcolm Crawley, was sure, and all the evidence I have seen of Doncaster/GNR locos is that the cab interior
is green, and indeed as within No 1 lined out as panels. Not sure about the firebox surround though.

I never did see 1247 as originally preserved, but as a Black loco, it had a black cab interior when I photographed it
at Doncaster 2003.

Paul

[61962]

When I painted 4498 at Philadelphia in 1975, I did some research to check if the Crewe applied scheme where the cab interior was painted garter blue was correct. Indications were that LNER cab interiors were always the same as the loco exterior, so green for green engines, blue for blue and black for black, and that included the roof. Whilst Crewe had stripped 4498 and it's cab interiot back to bare metal, the tender front had just been overpainted, following what had gone before. We went through a lot of paint layers to get to the metal and we identified BR green of at least two shades, BR blue, garter blue, black, and garter blue and LNER green. It was at least 1/4 inch thick. We also thought there was BR purple, although history doesn't record 4498 ever being that colour.

GNR locos also had the cab interiors painted green, but it was not the light green of the exterior, but the brunswick green seen on the areas outside the lining on the tender sides.

Eddie

[STAFFORDA4]

Thank you all so far for those most interesting reponses. Eric

[Woodcock29]

Agreed

[greenglade]

during my research on 4472, the cab interior was found to be GNR dark green, the tender front coal wall being the same colour too. Certainly the livery as supplied by Phoenix paints states this and considering this was first drawn up by the creator of Phoenix Paints, Bob Shepperd, I have no reason to question this. Not sure where I found the info that stated the tender front coal wall was the same to match the cab, if I find it again I'll pass it on.
What this implies to other green loco's I'm afraid I have no idea, green for sure, which green I don't know.

Pete

[ROY@34F]

As I remember in my day (1957 to 1963) as cleaner / fireman at Grantham , BR green engines were also green inside the cabs and the tender fronts . As for the inside of roofs , to be honest I'm not sure whether it was green or black , but I'm sure it wasn't cream as someone wandered . The "front" as it was known as ,( the back end of the firebox / boiler) was definitely black and the fire hole door was just the colour of burnt metal . It's quite obvious that paint would not last five minutes on it !
Black engines were , well , just black in the cabs and tender fronts .

Regards ,Roy .

[NZRedBaron]

We also thought there was BR purple, although history doesn't record 4498 ever being that colour.
Eddie

I know that tenders tended to get swapped around semi-often; maybe "Sir Nige" had a tender that had come off an engine that had been painted "BR Experimental Purple" at some point?

[JASd17]

According to Yeadon 4498, 7, 60007 had the same tender from August 1943 to withdrawal.

John

[rockinjohn]

Hi all can remember looking in the cab of a B12 @the "street &seeing a cream roof & copper&brass pipes scoured, think they used brick dust on them, was a bit of a tradition by some "30A" & "32A" possibly"32B"? dedicated manned locos that included B17&Brits also, not saying there were many but a few.

[offtherails]

Trains Illustrated August 1959,memories of G.E.1500 class by BALMORE.
During a talk with one of the shed foremen at Ipswich,he mentioned that years ago, Geo Pinkney had the cab of his 1500painted
cream.Nothing like that would ever be considered now adays;but I thought otherwise.A little while later on driver Calver s imacculate 61535,I asked if would like his cab done out cream.Delighted he said and engine stopped NEXT day for painting.Other drivers asked for same and were granted in respect of their pride and keeness on and for the job.Balmore at this time was shed manager or above at Ipswich at the time[8 x B12sheddedthere]
before moving to Woodford Halse.

[Darryl Tooley]

'Balmore' was the pseudonym of the late Richard Hardy, who was in charge of Ipswich shed 1950-52. Woodford Halse had been his previous posting; he left Ipswich for Stewart's Lane on the Southern Region.

D

[offtherails]

Thanks Darryl,last bit was from a dodgy memory,knew his history couldn t remember sequence.Ron