| EAM/VAM/LAM
Colour Schemes
Here are what I believe to be the main colour
schemes applied to the EAM/VAM/LAM series of sleeping cars,
and the appropriate time periods they were
applied. Illustrations are of EAM, but the colour schemes were
common to all codes.
Purple Brown:-
From introduction till repainting
during the 1920s
Distinguishing features:- Gas
lighting, vestibule doors, decorative panels with curved lower edges between
windows.
Matchboard siding.
Pre-war Russet
and Tuscan Red:-
From repainting during
1920s till repainting post 1946.
Illustration above shows car with red
letterboard, illustration below shows russet letterboard.
There has been a divergence of opinion on
whether the pre-war Russet and Tuscan Red scheme for these cars had
the letterboard painted red or russet.
The written specifications suggest that the letterboard was russet, but
most
of the (b&w) photos I have seen seem to
indicate that the letterboard was red. My theory is that the
letterboards
were russet till 1938, when the lettering
style changed, and red from then on.
Distinguishing features:-
Progressively converted from gas to electric light. They had the
decorative panels
replaced with the smaller panels shown below
towards the end of the period.
Post 1946 Tuscan and Russet:-From
first repainting post 1946 till first repainting post 1954.
Distinguishing features:- I
am led to believe that the vestibule doors were removed sometime after
the war.
Decorative curved panels between windows altered.
Post 1954 Overall Red:-From
first repainting after 1954 till scrapping.
Distinguishing features:-
Most had the matchboarding replaced with plywood panels and some had the
crownlights covered up as well.
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