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Paint Matches

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Info on paint matches for Green Bay & Western and Ahnapee & Western equipment.

GB&W:  Red  Yellow  Blue
AHW:  Orange

Red Red first appeared on Green Bay Route locos in December 1947 and the color remained until the demise of the railroad in 1993. Locos were painted in a red and gray scheme until about 1970 after which the railroad switched to a simplified all-red scheme.
Yellow Starting in the late 1950's the Green Bay Route introduced yellow freight cars. Handrails were painted yellow on most locomotives through the late 1970s.
Blue

Fifty-foot boxcars 7550 to 7599 were painted blue with white lettering.
Orange

The Ahnapee & Western used orange on its locos and freight cars.
Green The Ahnapee & Western used green on its locos until the 1970s.

 

 
ColorEraBrandPaint Colors Notes / Source
Green 1950s-60s Floquil CNW Green #262 Andy Laurent - Andy is an A&W modeler.
Maroon 1950s-60s Floquil Wisconsin Central Maroon #282 Andy Laurent -
Orange 1970s+ Accuflex 4 part(s)
1 part(s)		SP-Scarlet Red #16-37
CNW Old Yellow #16-55 		Marv Preussler - Accuflex paint is out of production; Modelflex is a close match.
Orange 1970s+ Accu-Paint 12 part(s)
1 part(s)		CN Orange #17
Vermillion #8 		Bill Havrilla -
Orange 1970s+ Floquil 10 part(s)
1 part(s)		Reefer Orange #30
Caboose Red #20 		Bill Havrilla - Bill Havrilla developed paint matches for many railroads.
Blue 1980s Floquil Conrail Blue #58 Phil Buchwald - "Theses cars seem to have faded quite a bit as they aged, so possibly Floquil GN Big Sky Blue may be appropriate for a weathered model."
Gray Polly Scale Undercoat Light Gray #F414134 EngineHouse Services - Paul Pasowicz and Shawn Cleary of EngineHouse Services did some color matching and feel that Polly S caboose red and Poly S light undercoat gray are the two best colors that match up -- and the fact that there is no mixing required.
Red 1960s Floquil Soo Line Red #450 Deb Fiefield -
Red 1970s Floquil Signal Red #65 Jim Kube - "In a letter from GB&W president H. Weldon McGee to Jim Kube in 1972, the all-red loco color is referred to as 'bright signal red.' Based on that, Floquil Signal Red seems to be the best choice."
Red 1970s Floquil SP Scarlet #136 Jerry Pyfer - "In 'Painting Green Bay & Western's Famed Alcos,' Prototype Modeler magazine, May / June 1989."
Red 1980s Accuflex 3 part(s)
1 part(s)		Caboose Red
Milwaukee Road Maroon 		Andy Laurent - Accuflex paint is out of production; Modelflex is a close match.
Red 1980s Floquil Caboose Red #20 Norb Novak - "In 'Paint Shop: Red and Black Alco C420 on the Green Bay Route,' Model Railroader magazine, September 1991."
Red 1980s Modelflex Signal Red #7 Mike Wentzel -
Red Polly Scale Caboose Red #F414128 EngineHouse Services - Paul Pasowicz and Shawn Cleary of EngineHouse Services did some color matching and feel that Polly S caboose red and Poly S light undercoat gray are the two best colors that match up -- and the fact that there is no mixing required.
Yellow 1950s-60s Floquil 10 part(s)
1 part(s)		Reefer Yellow #31
Reefer Orange #30 		Andy Laurent -
Yellow 1960s+ Floquil Reefer Yellow #31 - Several painting articles in Model Railroader and Protype Modeler magazines used this yellow color.
Yellow 1960s+ Floquil 20 part(s)
1 part(s)
1 part(s)		Reefer Yellow #31
Reefer White #11
Reefer Gray #12 		Bill Havrilla - Bill Havrilla developed paint matches for many railroads.
Yellow 1960s+ Modelflex 7 part(s)
3 part(s)
trace part(s)		Reefer Yellow #10
Reefer White #2
BNSF Orange #152 		John DeBeck - John makes his paint in large batches (3.5 jars yellow + 1.5 jars white) and then adds the orange one eyedropper at a time and mixes after each drop to see how it approaches GB&W yellow, without getting it too "orangey."
Yellow 1960s+ Modelflex 7 part(s)
3 part(s)		Reefer Yellow #10
Reefer White #2 		Bob Rivard - "In 'GBW 686 40-foot Box Car from Intermountain's Kit,' Railmodel Journal, March 2002."
Yellow 1960s+ Pactra Racing Finish Daytona Yellow #57 Kevin Prohl - This flat paint is designed not to chip on flexible surfaces - ideal for handrails.
Yellow 1960s+ CSX Yellow Brian Hechel -

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Updated April 19, 2015