NH's EMD E&F Units - Black paint or grime ?

Hi ! Gonna paint up a model NH F-Unit and I think that black would look best. I remember black E's and F's on the NEC, but am wondering if they were painted that way, or if that really was another color scheme covered with grime. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

A few of the New Haven's FL9s were repainted in solid PC black after 1969, but most just ran in ratty, peeling NH paint with PC logos until they were either retired, sold to Amtrak, or painted in the blue and yellow Metropolitan Region/Metro North scheme.

The black E-units that you remember belonged to Penn Central. The NH never owned any E-units, however PC's ruled on the Shore Line between 1969 and the coming of the F40s.

No, these were definitely New Havens, but I now believe that I found a shot of what I was looking at for many years as a wee kiddo high above on my Tollgate Bridge vantage spot - I think that they were Alcos, not E's or F's, originally painted dark green or black that had so much grime on them that you couldn't see any markings. They were workhorses on the NEC. The bridge would be enveloped in a swirling cloud of smoke as the blowing fans would scare the heck out of anyone standing above. It was a great experience ! Thanks to both Carl Webers for the photo on NERAIL.

http://naphotos.nerail.org/showpic/?pho ... ew%20Haven

Since you didn't specify an era my first thought was PC, but yes, the NH had both Alco FAs and PAs that were painted a dark Hunter green with yellow trim. Many eventually wound up in variations of the McGinnis era red, black, and white.

First, the New Haven never, never, never, never had any EMD E-units. As for EMD F-units, it had FL-9s, which were about eight feet longer than normal EMD F-units, but were still about eight feet shorter than EMD E-units.

As for which black to use, go with gloss Engine Black. The original EMD/NH specs called for, I believe, seven different blacks, depending on where it was being applied, but for modeling purposes Engine Black will do, heavy on the weathering.

Paul:

Are you talking about the DL-109s which nobody else has mentioned? Those were used on many Shore Line trains.

Hi Gerry -
You know Gerry, it was so long ago, but I think that the DL-109's might have been before my time of comprehension (which we'll say was @ age 8 - some say I still haven't reached it !) around 1959. Their three-pannelled windshields made them handsome and unique units, and as you know, south of Forest Hills - those trains were a movin', so it's possible, but I think that the bulk of my memory consisted of New Haven RDC's and Alco-PA's and FA's. It was an interesting era around that time on the NEC with everything from the Dan'l Webster, John Quincy Adams, Roger Williams, Buddliners, Freight Units, Aero-Train, etc. I don't recall steam, and I only wish that it had been juiced back then, as I would have loved to see an EP-5, or in the Penn Central years, a GG-1 whizz by.
See ya next month !

Other than the FL-9, which is a bit of a stretch to be called an f unit. The NH had Alco FAs not F units. Some ended up in the McGuiness scheme and a simplified version later.

The simplified scheme doesn't look that hard to mask up and paint.

3rdrail wrote:Hi ! Gonna paint up a model NH F-Unit and I think that black would look best. I remember black E's and F's on the NEC, but am wondering if they were painted that way, or if that really was another color scheme covered with grime. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks. :-D

Nice shots ! I'm going with the McGinnis scheme (surprise !) which looks great pulling the "Halloween Heavyweights !" Thanks for the help !

http://naphotos.nerail.org/showpic/?200 ... n&BOOL=ANY