How to paint whitewalls on loco drivers?

I've been going to do a video on this for some time now. It's a quick and simple process especially if you have a roller/test stand. If you don't, you can just flip the engine upside down in a cradle.

Put a little power to the engine with some alligator clips to turn the wheels slowly, use a fine tip brush, dip in the paint color of your choice, and apply paint to tires as they rotate. It's very simple to do.

I normally paint my tires black, even to eliminate the shiny steel look they have out of the box.

 

Engine on roller stand... silver tires must go!

 

 

No more silver rings.... all black now

 

 

This 3rd Rail Engine came with white walls, but I wanted them blacked out.

 

 

So it was run on the roller stand and white walls became a thing of the past. It's now an in service look instead of "The Park/Excursion" look.

 

Whitewalls were not uncommon for "the pride of the fleet". It was the RR's way of showing that these engines were worth keeping clean. I especially love my postwar American Flyer engines because of this.

Joe,

I'm in complete agreement with you. And that means? The 4449 needs it's whitewalls . You Betcha! (LOL)

Not gonna happen

I hate white walls .I almost painted my gs2 wheels several times.

I blacked out my GS2 as well. Looks much better

Sorry, we don't think so, and since the all volunteer crew had to constantly keep repainting those darned white tires, we gave up. Besides, the SP din't have white tires in regular service anyway (the photos of various SP locomotives with white tires were either builder photos, or on an excursion of some sort).