Painting guide for Great Western locomotives

  • This painting guide for Great Western locomotives has been sourced over the years from official records and specifications, together with further information and input from various professionals and organisations such as Alan Brackenborough and Tyseley locomotive works.
  • This guide will start with the basic painting details from the end of the First World War and then develop and expand to cover lining, lettering and variations that have occurred over the years. Any input or comments will be most welcome to help build up the definitive GWR loco livery guide.

  • Middle Chrome Green (Deep Bronze Green good available match) :
  • Boiler and firebox cleating plates (up to rear edge of smokebox).
  • Handrails and brackets. (Except on some locomotive vertical cab rails).
  • Whistle shield.
  • Fire-iron tunnel.
  • Top feed clack covers either side of brass safety valve cover and pipework.
  • Stand-alone clack-box covers.
  • Dome covers.
  • Safety valve casing (Except on engines having copper polished caps)
  • Reverser housing.
  • Cab sides, cab front, cab interior surfaces (including roof).
  • Lower part of Nameplates between brass beading and splasher top)
  • ATC box.
  • Splasher fronts.
  • Tender body  sides and rear above footplate level.
  • Tender and locomotive  toolboxes (outside).
  • Tank sides and fronts (Except Panniers with  tanks finishing at the FRONT of the smokebox in which case the fronts are painted black).
  • Tops of pannier and saddle tanks and fittings.

  • Black:
  • Smokebox, saddle and door.
  • Outside steam pipe casings
  • Ejector and pipe running down the right hand side of the boiler behind the handrail from firebox to smokebox.
  • Reversing rod.
  • Chimney, except for polished copper top.
  • Inside of Safety valve.
  • Cab roof (outside).
  • Cab floor (apart from wooden floorboard areas which were kept natural)
  • Shelf and front plate of bunker inside cab of tank engines.
  • Firebox face inside cab (backhead)
  • Splasher tops.
  • Lamp irons.
  • Insides of toolboxes.
  • Ground of name and number plates around letters and figures.
  • All horizontal footplate surfaces including narrow sections below cab.
  • Hanging bars (valances).
  • Drag boxes below cab and front of tender.
  • All areas below footplate level.
  • Cylinders and frames.
  • Tender footplate including the narrow strip all around the main tank.
  • Bead around top of tender sides and rear.
  • All areas below footplate level including brake, draincock and sanding gear.
  • Top surface and all inner areas of main tender tank (except toolboxes)
  • Tender and bunker coal space and fittings.
  • All areas of tender front.
  • Coupling hooks.
  • Buffer plungers.

  • Red:
  • (The 1947 spec reads: "Chinese red for buffer beams and buffer cases, Venetian red for all other areas listed below)
  • Front locomotive buffer beam including buffer bodies.
  • Rear tender buffer beam including buffer bodies.
  • Vacuum pipe stands (within the area of the buffer beam on the tender).
  • Inner faces of locomotive main frames, including stretchers, between firebox front and smokebox rear or rear face of inside cylinders.
  • Crank axle.
  • Eccentric straps and rods.
  • Regulator handle (except for the grip area).
  • Reverser screw handle (except for the grip areas).
  • Lamps – pre 1937. (White phased in between 1936-38)

  • Polished brass:
  • Safety valve cover (bonnet) on engines with polished copper-cap chimneys.
  • Cab side window frames.
  • Spectacle plate (cab front) window frames.
  • Brake valve, gauge glass frame, steam gauge bodies and blower valve.
  • ATC bell.
  • Whistles.
  • Beading running down front of cab sides.
  • Beading running down rear of cab sides.
  • Beading around splashers.
  • Oil boxes.
  • Cylinder pressure relief valves.
  • Draincocks.
  • Name and number plate letters, numbers and surrounding frame beading.

  • Polished copper:
  • Top cap area of chimney.
  • Pipe work inside cab on backhead except for large brake valve pipe (black) and steam heat control pipe (off white lagging).
  • Draincock pipes.
  • Oil feed pipes.

  • Bright Steel:
  • All motion parts, including slide bars, valve gear, coupling rods, connecting rods and inside motion.
  • Vertical rear Cab handrails.
  • Vertical front tender handrails.
  • Buffers and shanks on prestigious locomotives.
  • Grip areas of regulator and reversing handles in cab.
  • Smokebox door handles.
  • Centre quadrant slot area of reversing rod.