LNER J72 Liveries

[Suffolk Dave]

I am working on an old 1990's Bachmann J72, having given it a new High Level Kits chassis. Some detailing of the body is currently work in progress. 

Ultimately, the loco will be in a mid 1930s unlined black with the full LNER lettering but I am curious about the colour of the coupling rods. Obviously old monochrome photos don't help but I've seen examples of models with the rods painted red. I know we should avoid modelling from a model but I can't find any references on-line to the actual colour - if they were ever painted at all - of the coupling rods. 

If anyone on the forum could shed some light on the treatment of J72 coupling rods I'd be very grateful. 

[Paul Cram]

Photos in LNER Locomotives in colour suggests that most of the NE area locos still had their rods painted red.

[Daddyman]

Not quite most - there are only 3: B15, A7 and J27. I was always told no ex-NER loco had red rods in LNER days, and I'd put the seeming redness of the rods in these three pictures down to surface rust, which can be seen in some of the ex-works photos in the same book (where rods are definitely not red). However, I'm not sure that locos in service would have retained surface rust, and the colour of the rods in the photos mentioned seems to match the bufferbeams of the locos, arguing for some locos with red rods. I suppose one could work out shopping dates and places of the three locos in question, and see if they came from the same works at the same time; if not, they may have been local depot embellishments - I seem to remember the B15 and J27 are York but can't remember where the A7 is.

[Paul Cram]

The two D49s appear to have red painted rods although one is more obvious then the other. The rods are quite dirty in some photos.

[Daddyman]

The photo of 235, the redder of the two, has good colour density on the red lining and yet the rods don't look like the colour has any density in it, so is more likely to be surface rust.

[Paul Cram]

I don't buy the surface rust as the parts either side aren't rusty.

[Hardwicke]

Rods are generally bare oily metal on most locos. Small locos like J72's didn't get much special treatment (except the Newcastle and York station pilots).

[Suffolk Dave]

Uum, not a clear cut situation here. I checked the RCTS pdfs of the LNER locomotives series, and under J72 liveries there was no mention coupling rods, painted or otherwise. Not even for those fully lined station pilots.

I'd certainly like to see these contemporaneous photos as they'd be helpful for my approach to weathering as much as anything.

Now, I'm leaning more towards leaving the coupling roads as bare steal and weathering with oily deposits and frame dirt.

Thanks guys for your thoughts and observation on this.

[Paul Cram]

In Hoole's Locomotives of the NER on page 209 he states that on the 4th May 1910 the works were instructed to leave the rods bright on outside cyclinder locomotives and painted vermillion on inside cylinder locomotives. I suspect that Darlington continued the practice as they seem to have done on other aspects into LNER days.

[grovenor-2685]

Hm, did that include coupling rods or just the connecting rods and valve gear, ie the parts between the frames?

[Daddyman]

Now, I'm leaning more towards leaving the coupling roads as bare steal and weathering with oily deposits and frame dirt.

That would certainly be the safest approach.

[Paul Cram]

Hm, did that include coupling rods or just the connecting rods and valve gear, ie the parts between the frames?

It does say connecting and coupling rods.