Yesterday’s model of the week blog post on SDJR Jinty Tank number 23, looked at a locomotive that had changed identities to wear a livery it never did in service.  It started me thinking about the Locoyard model collection and that a good number of them have “inauthentic” liveries.  In most cases they are models of prototype’s that have worn a livery in preservation that is not strictly speaking accurate.  For instance, BR Standard class 4MT 75069 (above) was only ever painted lined black in service – lined green was worn by western region examples.S&DJR 7F 88 (above) is painted in Prussian blue colours – in reality, this locomotive was only ever painted black in service.

LMS Crimson 6100 Royal Scot (above) is a class is a classic example!  In it’s rebuilt form (that is very different to it’s original appearance), Royal Scot was never painted in these colours and wore BR Brunswick green.

55 Stepney is an A1X Terrier – in service it only wore these colours when she was a class A1.  Stepney would have had a smaller boiler, condensing pipes and sandboxes on the splasher when it was a class A1, so these pre-grouping colours are technically inaccurate.

The final example is LSWR T9 class 120 – the class were modified later in life, so it wearing LSWR colours is not accurate.

Discussing steam locomotive liveries in the UK can spark lengthy debate among enthusiasts and modellers.  Indeed, to some people, having any of the above models in their collection would be be almost sacrilegious!  I can understand the desire to recreate the past as accurately as possible and have a lot of respect for those who research their subjects so thoroughly.  It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to get it right.  But my experiences of steam traction are purely whilst in preservation, the “inaccurate” liveries are all part of the preservation scene and to be honest, I like a lot of them!

Interestingly, fellow modelers (Model Railroaders) in the USA often create their own model railroad from their imagination.  American ready to run model locomotives are often finished without transfers so that a specific or individual locomotive can be created.  Freelancing is popular and I can certainly see the appeal, having created locoyard’s special Christmas locomotive (above!)  There is an element of “playing god” – you create a scene with the resources, space, skills and finance at your disposal using your imagination.  It’s a very different approach to creating a historically accurate scene but no less a valid reason to enjoy this hobby.

For those of you out there who are thinking of starting or returning to the hobby, my message to you is to do what you want – as long as it makes you happy!  Whether it’s a specific well-researched scene from the 1930’s or a fictional Thomas the Tank engine layout it doesn’t matter.  This is a fun, diverse hobby, so just go for it and enjoy it!  Thanks for reading folks! 🙂