I do not have original pictures of any of our engines Carl. As a parts picker for Jim Carter for a few years, I saw MANY of these engines all over Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri while in countless salvage yards. All the 216's and 235's were medium gray until 1955, then you would see blue, black, orange, sometimes medium gray but they were all over the place.
I know the VCCA fellow said Blue Gray but I would beg to differ. I chose the Bill Hirsch color because it was THE color I saw consistently in the salvage yards under all conditions. Cloudy, Sunny and all months of the year, the color was consistent with what we pulled out of original trucks. I am happy with my choice and apparently that's about as good as it gets!
