Some context for weathering of freight cars

 

Illinois Central R.R., freight cars at the South Water Street freight terminal, Chicago, Ill. The C & O and Nickel Plate Railroads lease part of this terminal from the I.C.R.R. April, 1943, Jack Delano, Call number LC-USW36-605, Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information, Library of Congress

The other day, I was looking for images that I had of Erie 1932 ARA-design box cars and this one came up as part of my search. I think most of us have seen this and many of the other incredible images like them. The Jack Delano color images from the World War II era effortlessly suck me into the nuances, textures, and details of the various parts of the photos. What I realized is that my weathering and finishing efforts, in spite of my attempts to diversify my techniques of late, are still not quite up to the look of the prototype. After looking at these photos, I conclude that I can do a better job of creating variances across the surfaces of my models, both in terms of color and texture. I will be working to expand my quiver of skills and will share some of my successes and failures here. 

[note that the cars displayed in this small montage are weathered quite a bit more heavily than you might see 5-10 years later, due to the continued shift from steam to diesel power and with that a decrease in the amount of dirty gunk belched from locomotives as well as more frequent maintenance and repainting of cars in the postwar era.]