Southern Pacific Depot Colors

From: Hsweetser@aol.com

The following is a compilation of newspaper reports from 1883 to 1916 I have found that refer to paint colors on SP depots and other buildings, along with additional observations on this subject.

GRAY DEPOTS
Newspaper articles suggest that gray (sometimes called "slate") was a widely-used standard color for SP depots before the adoption of Colonial Yellow.

Three reports below raise the possibility the gray color was adopted in 1883-1884:

September 25, 1883 The Silver State (Winnemucca, Nevada) - new colors of water tank more pleasing than the somber brown previously used on railroad buildings. [SP water tanks were commonly surrounded by square-sided housings at that time]

August 30, 1884 Kern County Californian (Bakersfield) - "The railroad has adopted a different and nondescript color for their depots and other buildings along the line ... The sides, up to a certain distance from the ground, have been sanded. The cars are, we learn, to be given the same color."

November 18, 1884 Los Angeles Times, dispatch from Ontario dated Nov. 13 - "The new freight shed has just been painted and is a wonderful improvement on the average S.P.R.R. houses. The orthodox dingy red of railroad fame has given place in this instance to an elegant stone color handsomely trimmed and sanded."

The following citation indicates the SP painted depots and other right of way buildings in California gray up to 1905:

July 27, 1905 Inyo Register (Bishop) (3:3) - "The Southern Pacific depot at Laws, together with the agent’s house and all the warehouses, have been repainted. The outside is a slate color and the roofs are red. The change greatly improves the looks of the buildings, and it is reported that all of the company buildings on the line will be painted a uniform color."

Some articles from 1906 to 1909 that reported SP depots were being painted in a new yellow scheme also mentioned the previous gray color:

February 23, 1906 Solano County Republican (Suisun) (p.3), originally from the Benecia Herald – "The Southern Pacific Railroad Company is giving its buildings all along the line a new coat of paint. The color resembles the poppy, California’s state flower, and the result is surely a contrast for the better with the former dull lead color. The ferry slip and depot present a cheerful appearance."

September 27, 1907 The Gridley Herald – "The Southern Pacific painting gang under the direction of Foreman Jenks, is giving the depot of that company in this place a coat of color. The color scheme is radically different from that heretofore pursued by the railroad company in decorating and preserving their buildings. In the past the property of the company had been painted a dingy shade of slate or brown, but this time the tint is of a yellow shade and much lighter than formerly."

January 30, 1909 The Livermore Herald (2:1) – "The Southern Pacific painting crew has been at work this week repainting the depot. The color has been changed from gray to yellow."

December 17, 1909 The Folsom Telegraph (1:4) – "The Southern Pacific Company has a crew of painters here painting the depot building. The color has been changed from the familiar slate to a bright yellow."

First-hand inspections I’ve made of the following depots revealed that the first layer of paint on the walls was gray (depot built dates in parenthesis):

Bena (1891)
Fillmore (1887)
Santa Paula (1887)
Montalvo (1887)
San Luis Obispo freight house (1894)

Montalvo is interesting in that the sand-coated band on the walls was painted a noticeably darker gray than the walls above the band. For Fillmore, I could not see any difference between the gray of the sand-coated band and the walls above.

SP tool houses preserved by the South Coast Historical Railroad Society Museum in Santa Clara, California and the Southern Oregon Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society in Medford, Oregon also apparently had gray paint for the first layer on their walls.

GREEN DEPOTS
July 21, 1906 Meced Express – "The Espee had developed a yellow streak, or rather the local depot of that corporation had donned a coat of bright yellow, and no longer will the old familiar green, which has been the distinguishing feature of all Southern Pacific buildings, meet the eye." [the Merced depot had been built in 1900]

YELLOW DEPOTS
News articles indicate the Southern Pacific began painting depots Colonial Yellow with brown trim in 1903 in Nevada and in 1906 in California. I have never found a description of an SP depot painted yellow prior to these years. It appears that the SP made a major effort in 1906-1907 to repaint depots in California in the new scheme.

1903-1904 Nevada newspapers references:

June 5, 1903 Nevada State Herald (Wells) – "The railroad painters have finished painting the S.P. depot here. The new color, a light yellow, with black and brown trimmings, greatly improves the appearance of the property."

October 8, 1903 Central Nevadan (Battle Mountain) – "The S.P. painters and carpenters are in town. The painters have painted the depot yellow."

October 22, 1903 Central Nevadan – "The S.P. painters have painted the depot, section house and other company buildings yellow which gives them quite an attractive appearance."

May 20, 1904 Weekly Independent (Elko) (3:3) – "Work on the depot building and grounds took a lively spurt this morning. A crew of painters arrived and soon had the roof painted red and then went to work on the outside and inside. ... The carpenters are nearly through with their part of the work and it will not be many days before Elko will have one of the best depot buildings in the State. It will be painted two shades of yellow which will give it a handsome appearence and make it ornamental as well as useful."

The Nevada depot paintings in 1903-1904 by the Southern Pacific preceeded the adoption in late 1904 of the first joint SP-UP common standards. What influence UP practice had on the SP in regards to paint colors for buildings prior to the joint standards, I don’t know.

1906-1907 California newspaper references:

March 24, 1906 The Dixon Tribune – "The depot premises have changed their appearance and are now looming up in the glory of a new covering of yellow and orange paint, a coloring that had been adopted throughout this division."

One wonders if the writer of the above citiation was misinterpreting the colors of a two-tone yellow scheme or if in fact orange was a color used on the Dixon depot. The reference in the Solano County Republican of Feb. 23, 1906 (previously referred to in the section about gray paint) stated that the new color of the Benecia depot "resembles the poppy," which brings to mind an orange color.

June 1, 1906 Solano County Republican (Suisun) – "The Southern Pacific Company is having many notable improvements about the local railway yards. All the buildings about the yards are being newly painted in a shade of yellow, the new color adopted by the company for all buildings along its lines, including depot buildings."

July 21, 1906 Meced Express – "The Espee had developed a yellow streak, or rather the local depot of that corporation had donned a coat of bright yellow..."

April 26, 1907 Lindsey Gazette (1:2) – "The S.P. Co. has a crew of painters at work on the depot at this place. A bright cream color is being applied to the outside and the inside of the building is also to be painted."

April 27, 1907 Galt Weekly Gazette (3:1) – "A gang of painters are embellishing the railway depot and other S.P. Company buildings at this point. Yellow will be the new color of the structures when the job is done."

July 18, 1907 Tulare County Times (Visalia) – "A painting crew is expected to arrive in Visalia shortly to begin the painting of the local S.P. depot. The new color will be buff with light brown trimmings. These are the new colors adopted by the railroad company and which most of the depots in the valley are being painted."

The July 17, 1907 Visalia Delta had a report similar to the above.

August 7, 1907 Truckee Semi-Weekly Republican – " ... the company has repainted all its buildings between Reno and Gold Run the standard colors of yellow and brown trimmings."

September 27, 1907 The Gridley Herald – "The Southern Pacific painting gang under the direction of Foreman Jenks, is giving the depot of that company in this place a coat of color. The color scheme is radically different from that heretofore pursued by the railroad company in decorating and preserving their buildings. In the past the property of the company has been painted a dingy shade of slate or brown, but this time the tint is a yellow shade and much lighter than formerly."

No news reports of depots being painted yellow could be found for 1908. The recession that began in 1907 may have temporarily halted the repainting program. News reports of depot repainting resumed in 1909:

January 30, 1909 The Livermore Herald (2:1) – "The Southern Pacific painting crew has been at work this week repainting the depot. The color has been changed from gray to yellow."

December 17, 1909 The Folsom Telegraph (1:4) – "The Southen Pacific Company has a crew of painters here painting the depot building. The color has been changed from the familiar slate to a bright yellow."

YELLOW PAINT IN OREGON
A review of 1906 and 1907 newspapers for a number of towns in Oregon with SP depots failed to find any mention of depots being repainted yellow, only a reference to this color for a new section camp at Reuben [name changed to Kohler in late 1907 or early 1908]:

July 20, 1906 The Glendale News (3:2) – "A great transformation has taken place at Rueben siding, where the S.P. has built a bunk house, tool shed, boarding house and section house for the convenience of the section men who will have their headquarters at that place instead at Tunnel 5. The buildings are all painted yellow and present a very inviting appearance."

It’s possible that the repainting of depots to yellow may have occured later in Oregon than in California.

RED ROOFS
Two newpaper accounts tell of gray depots having "red" roofs. The accounts suggest that red – or perhaps mineral red or boxcar red – was a standard roof color for gray depots:

April 5, 1894 Berkeley Herald – "The depot at Berkeley station opposite the Herald office received its regulation coat of red paint on the roof today."

The Berkeley Herald in the previous week (March 29) reported that painters have been painting all the depots along the line from Sixteenth Street to Berkeley.

July 27, 1905 Inyo Register (3:3) – "The Southern Pacific depot at Laws, together with the agent’s house and all the warehouses, have been repainted. The outside is a slate color and the roofs are red. The change greatly improves the looks of the buildings, and it is reported that all of the company buildings on the line will be painted a uniform color."

When the SP started introduced Colonial Yellow for the wall color, roofs apparently continued to be painted red:

May 20, 1904 Weekly Independent (Elko, Nevada) (3:3) – "Work on the depot building and grounds took a lively spurt this morning. A crew of painters arrived and soon had the roof painted red..." [see the section under 1903-1904 Nevada newspapers for remainder of wording]

August 8, 1907 Tulare County Times (Visalia) (p. 2) – red paint for roof of the Visalia SP depot.

July 12, 1912 The Morning Echo (Bakersfield) – "The Southern Pacific Company has built and is now completing a large comodious station at McFarland. ...The conventional red roof, colonial yellow body and light brown trimmings describe the outside painting; and a six-foot belt has been sanded around the base of the outside."

February 25, 1916 Mojave Press – "The Southern Pacific Depot and Harvey House is being painted in regulation SP buff and the roof will be red."

In addition, March 1910 SP drawings for a "Greek Cross"-style shelter shed call for the color "Metallic" for the roof. Bill Wullenjohn has concluded from the paint specification number in the drawings that Metallic was a boxcar red color.

I have no information about when Moss Green was adopted as the standard roof color on the SP.

—John Sweetser