Original Colors * June 15 2011

When Sheffield Motor Car Company shipped its motor cars, they left the plant painted dark green. I am finding traces of that dark green paint as seen in the picture of the controls, A part number was revealed in the cleaning. Also the car's Virginian era color of orange is showing up on the car, both on wooden pieces and on the aluminum parts. The original VGN color of orange is verified by a former Virginian signalman who told me that the VGN used orange paint on the motor cars which was the same orange as was used on the stations. He added that this practice was followed until they were painted yellow, starting about 1958. Black was used on some metal parts, such as the guides for the lifting handles. June 15, 2011

A picture shows a sheet of paint that came off the front. The red is the red oxide primer used when the front and top were added in 1953. Notice how the orange brush stokes show up! The motor car was last painted by N&W in Roanoke in April 1964. That date is on the right side of the battery box.