Trains – October 2019

them anyway. EMD was enthusiastic as well
when we told them what we proposed to do
and volunteered to paint their 10, which was
helpful, as they still had the original paint
information for units that they had delivered
to the predecessor companies in the past.
We painted the GE units in our shops,
which was also enthusiastically embraced by
our employees. When we rolled out the new
units, not only did they get a very positive
reaction from the railfan community but
also from our employees, which was very
gratifying.” — Trains staff

QWhere can I find information on rail-

roads in Africa? — Ed Snyder, Toledo, Ohio

AAfrica is larger than North America, so

any single resource is likely to be incom-
plete. The Railways Africa website appears
to be a periodical run by a South African
company for the rail industry. Also try
searching the African Union website. The
African Union is a non-governmental
agency, similar to the United Nations, and
has at least one web page that promotes
high speed rail. You may also get the infor-
mation you need from the U.K.’s Railway
Gazette. That media outlet regularly pub-
lishes international news that includes Af-
rican rail developments. — Trains staff

QWhy are the insides of the bells on

Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 No. 4014 and 4-8-4

No. 844 painted red? — Scott Zygutis,

Antioch, Calif.

AThe color red is the same red that is

used on valve handles and other important

items that are to be easily seen for visibility

purposes. The inside of the bell tarnishes

and generally was not polished so, as a

means of preventing it from tarnishing and

thereby looking unsightly when the bell

was in operation, railroad shop forces

painted them with a red epoxy called

Glyptal. Many of the internal components

such as the air brakes and roller-bearing

housings have the same heavy-duty indus-

trial epoxy applied to them as well. —

Ed Dickens, Senior Manager Heritage

Operations, Union Pacific

TrainsMag.com 57

It’s May 2, 2019, inside the UP steam shop at Cheyenne, Wyo., where workers are busy finish-

ing the sheet-metal jacketing on the boiler of Big Boy No. 4014. Note the interior of the top of

the smokebox-mounted bell, which is painted the same bright red as valve handles.

Consolidations, (^) do-it-all steam
power p. (^20)
fUoPrg’s
otten
Beaumont Hill p. 34
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