Alright...things seem to be a little slow on the boards recently (probably folks enjoying the great outdoors instead of staring at their computer screens), so lets see if this topic will arouse some passion:

Thanks to Steve, we've got some great photos of the WDW RR engines to look at. But something about them always seemed...well, just not quite "railroady" enough to me. For instance, I'm somewhat "troubled" (and I use that term very lightly ) by the Roy's red, green and pink(!) color scheme. The mixing of red and green on the Broggie also seems un-railroady (although quite appropriate at Christmas time, I suppose). And a fully red-painted engine seems in-authentic as well.

Now, don't get me wrong: Disneyland obviously has an all-red engine too (interestingly, this isn't an un-prototypical scheme; John White notes that the Forneys that operated on the New York City "El" in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were all red as well). But the Marsh's small size seems to carry the color better (to me).

Now, at Disneyland, four of the five engines sport boiler jackets that are meant to at least invoke various shades of Russia Iron. But none of the WDW engines do.

What I'm getting at is, I think that while the DL engines are "fancy," they feature just enough authenticity in their paint schemes to seem "more real." Whereas the WDW engines seem less "real" and more "fancy."

So, what's your take on repainting the engines? Certainly Disney has no trouble coming up with pleasing and realistic schemes. Would you mind seeing the Roy with a red cab and bluish boiler jacket (keeping the red wheels and pilot, of course)? How about the Broggie painted more like the E.P. Ripley--green cab, red trim, Russia Iron jacket? Maybe even swap the diamond stack for a cap stack?

There is precedent for this discussion: DL engines have had different paint schemes over the years. Some--like the Holliday's several schemes--have been rather substantial.

All right, let's hear your thoughts! Shall I fire up the paint gun?

Heresy!

Okay, just kidding. But actually, I never have been bothered by the color schemes. I guess I just accept things as they are.

Looking at your suggestions, you propose having the Lilly Belle with a red cab, and the Broggie with a green cab. Why not leave the cabs the colors that they are - green on the Lilly, red on the Broggie, but still change the boiler jacket colors? To me, it wouldn't even be that much of a change on the Broggie to go from the green boiler jacket to a Russia Iron color.

I would still keep the diamond stack, though. Cap stacks really don't do much for me.

One more thing - maybe I'm missing something, but where's the pink on the Lilly Belle?

The Roy does have sort of a salmon color. But as has been discussed here before, it really isn't exactly pink.

Whoops! Sorry, Steve. Meant the Roy.

I'm off to hit the "edit" button!

You may not like cap stacks, Steve, but at least they provide some variety! DL features 2 different cap stack designs, a balloon design and a diamond design.

WDW features 2 balloon designs and a diamond style.

And that's not variety?

DL has four styles, WDW only has three! I'm all about equality, Steve!

I used to think the red/green juxtaposition on the Rodger was a little garish, but now I don't mind it so much. In fact about the only thing I might try doing would be using a little more blue on the Roy to match the blue coaches. Perhaps a dark blue cab instead of the very dark green it has now. Just no cap stacks anywhere! They have their place, but given the Rodger's tapered boiler and overall proportions, IMHO a cap stack would look awful. One of the things I always liked about the WDW engines is the family resemblance between them. It comes at the cost of variety, but it is quite effective and is something not really matched by the motive power rosters at any other Disney park.

Well, cap stacks more often appeared on engines with extended smokeboxes, so maybe you have a point.

One of the DRR crew showed me a photo he took when both the Holliday and the Ripley were down. They got the forklift out, unbolted both engines' stacks, and place the cap stack on the Holliday! It didn't look half bad! (if you like cap stacks, that is).

My understanding is that the balloon stacks were used on wood burning Locomotives, so they could have a large spark screen and not set the world on fire. Straight stacks (Cap Stacks) were usually on coal burning locomotives since the coal was heavy and was less likely for burning embers to go up the stack. When blowers were added to Coal loco's they belched just as much burning debris. I suppose Diamonds were a comprimise between the two styles. Of course the only place I have heard that is out at the Gold Spike historical site and it may be Bovine Excriment.