Belpaire

Going though photos I took of the Geoghegan locomotive at Guinness, I noticed a couple of things. First, it seems no two of these locomotives are painted the same shade of green but the one at the brewery is a standout. It is quite a bit darker and has some brown in it. Looking inside the tool bunker, it appears at some point a coating was put on top of the green. Whether this coating was meant to change the colour or it shifted over time I don't know. The other thing is that there are several spots where light blue is coming through. It is over an off-white base coat but under the green. Could this have been a primer? A similar looking blue also appears in photos take of #23 at Amberly when it was undergoing restoration. Roger

Much appreciated if you can but need need to put yourself out. Irishswissernie, There is a photo of the same scene but a different angle in the Irish Narrow Gauge in Colour book. It identifies the chimney-less and coupling-less locomotive as #21. I'm guessing later in life they were simply painted black? Roger

Thank you again. Out of curiosity, do you recall where you heard they were originally dark olive green? Roger

jhb171achill, Thank you for the information. I've seen photos of the locomotives lined from new at the Spence factory. Perhaps the base colour was the olive green then. Roger

Hello, I have come across a few color photos of the narrow gauge railway at Guinness, a couple in the book “The Irish Narrow Gauge in Colour” and some more from Ernie’s Irish Railway Archive. I believe by the time these photos were taken the bogie flats were no longer around. Would anyone know what colour they were painted? From the B&W photos I’ve seen, they were a relatively light colour. Also, the Spence locomotives seem to be either the green/red of the preserved examples or a black/red. Where these really black or are they just a dirty green and the old photos make them appear black? Lastly, are there any other sources of colour photos from when steam was still working? I’ve contacted the Guinness archives and they do not have any. Thanks in advance. Regards, Roger