Re: Red paint was dirt cheap - literally . . .

kcsivils Wrote:
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> . . . Why did box car red and all of its variations be-
> come the common color on wooden rolling stock?

Earl Wrote:
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> It was cheap . . .


It was dirt cheap – and durable (or at least non-fading) – 'cause it was made from dirt (actually from red clays of various hues that varied from brownish 'boxcar red' to reddish 'Tuscan red' depending on how much iron oxide and how much other stuff was in them).  The clay was ground very fine to make the pigment, and then was mixed with some kind of varnish-like material to hold it in place.  I'm sure Andrew & others can provide more specific information.  (Modern bright-red barns like the one in Rich Muth's photo below are an aberration made with chemical-based pigments – that's not what they looked like in the "Olden Days" when JBWX, Haich O'Mannder & I were kids . . .     )

- Roosso

p.s.  IIRC, the C&TS had some problems a few several years ago when they tried to replicate boxcar red with a modern chemical-pigment paint, and exposure to sunlight turned it a weird purple-ish hue.  SFAIK, the paint they're using these days is much more stable, though I'm not sure that it's a true clay-based paint.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/28/2017 11:36AM by Russo Loco.