I visited a railway museum near Vienna yesterday. They celebrated the 175th anniversary of the Austrian railways. Weather conditions had been cloudy and partly rainy, but it was a lot of fun to watch and hear all these locomotives passing by. I am constantly amazed by the power of the old steam engines. It`s always fascinating to see machines powered only by fire and water.
Great beautiful ferocious monsters. They always impress.
Does NO. 31023 really have eyes?
Dave,
Is that British Racing Green the same green that was used on Raleigh bicycles years ago? I once restored an old CCM 3 speed bike and painted it that colour. The first time I rode it a friend's grandfather offered me $25 for it. He road it for years.
Great set, I don't think I have ever seen that many steam locomotives fired up and ready to go all in one place. Must have been a good outing for you. I was wondering the same think as Mickey about the "eye". Any explanation on that?
Mickey
Re that green bike you mentioned. I guess you were an entrepreneur even back then eh.
Great set, I don't think I have ever seen that many steam locomotives fired up and ready to go all in one place. Must have been a good outing for you. I was wondering the same think as Mickey about the "eye". Any explanation on that?
Mickey
Re that green bike you mentioned. I guess you were an entrepreneur even back then eh.
Bob
Bob,
I fixed up the bike for myself but $25 dollars was a fortune then.
One reason I was happy as a title searcher was that I did not have to be an entrepreneur. I couldn't sell a fish to a starving seal. I still can't bargain when I go to a flea market. The price I am quoted is either right or I walk.
Sometimes it is just plain better to be lucky and who can say no to a small fortune. I can only imagine what $25 then would translate to in current dollars. I know what you mean about selling too. Growing up here with many other first generation Canadians you either had to learn how to bargain buying and selling or go home. I guess bargaining is a real art form which most people expect and if done well on both sides is an enjoyable social process for all involved if you don't over do it. As my Italian friend says "you don't ask, you don't get".
Bob
Last Edit: Apr 24, 2012 20:24:40 GMT -5 by nikonbob
Is that British Racing Green the same green that was used on Raleigh bicycles years ago?
That I don't know, Mickey. The only Raleigh bike I had was painted maroon. In the days back when, each country was assigned a colour for its racing cars. British cars were dark green. Presumably at some point Raleigh thought it was a good idea to paint their bikes green to indicate that they were fast too.
Before nationalisation of rail in Britain each rail company had its own colour. Great Western Railway (GWR) locos were green, London Midland and Scottish (LMS) were crimson and London and North-Eastern Railway (LNER) were blue, or were they green. I'm less sure what colour Southern Rail used. BR (British Rail) seemed to have more black locos though the express locos retained the old livery, as far as I am aware.
MIK, were your county's locos mainly black? I presume so from those shown.
By the way, Mickey, I'm the same as you on the price of things. I've always thought that something should be offered for sale at the right price. If I consider the item is worth the asking price then I buy it, if not I won't. Our motor insurance companies seem to invent a number for what they charge. If already a customer you are quoted a higher premium that a new customer can obtain. A friend questioned this over the phone and was told that they could match the cheapest price for his renewal. He asked them why didn't they offer him that in the first place and told them he was going elsewhere.
To follow up with my non entreprenurship. If I see an item on display either in a shop window or elsewhere and this applies particularly to Toronto's elegant shopping district at Bloor St. and Yonge St. and there is no price or if there is no price in a sales brochure such as comes from The Bay I assume it is too expensive for me. I leave it be. No qualms at all. The fellows in *****'s Cameras know me. They always quote me the best price. I frequently walk. They used to call me Mr. Beback. Then they learned I don't return.
I am not really as tight as it seems. I just know, unlike poor Greece, what my limits are.
All but the last one - straight out of the Henry Ford book of colour. The last engine is painted British Racing Green!
Steam is wonderful - so are the photos.
British Racing Green has always been one of my favorite colors. As a boy I had my bedroom painted in BRG. My parents told me I could have it painted any color I wanted, I knew that they would reject BRG so I told them I wanted it painted Black! Well when that was rejected I told them I wanted it British Racing Green and when they hesitated I told them, more like whined, that they had told me I could have it painted any color but every color I come up with you tell me no. So they agreed and off to the store we went, I had a bottle of Testors model paint and the man did and admirable job of matching it. That was the only time reverse psychology ever worked on my parents! Years latter when my parents repainted the room it took them 4 coats to cover the BRG, 2 of primer and 2 of the color coat.
These machines don’t have eyes. I forwarded this question to a friend of mine, who is an expert for old steam engines. He told me that this are traces of usage caused by the lock hooks which will keep the doors of the steam boiler closed. An interesting detail I`ve never paid attention before. But now I know something new.
Dave,
Most of the steam engines here are black, except a few with red chassis and wheels. Someone told me that the reason of the red painting was that the mechanics could recognize oil leaks. I think the green colour, called “ fir green” had been used by the Austrian Railways from the 1920`s to the late 1960`s, but I am not sure. Later the existing engines had been repainted in orange.
Here is a green steam engine from 1935:
Another BRG-Diesel-Racer from 1959:
And some electric locomotives from the late 1920`s:
Railcars for passenger transport had been white and blue: