Liverpool and Manchester Railway Planet
A more familiar shape begins to emerge.
Bring the engine
to life.
Start with the suggested palette or choose your own colours. Build gentle layers around the engine's distinctive shapes.
Suggested pencil shades and approximate screen swatches. These are not historical paint specifications.
Start lightly and build the darker surfaces gradually. Preserve the printed details.
Leave fine white highlights to separate the moving parts.
Keep the surroundings quieter than the locomotive. Retain light sky areas.
Look a little closer.
Later working Planet replica at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester. Read each caption before using it as a colour or configuration reference.
Later working Planet replica at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester. Later replica of Planet. The original 1830 locomotive does not survive.
David Frankal · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source photograph. Resized and converted to WebP.
The Planet replica hauling visitors in Manchester in September 2012. Later replica of Planet. The original 1830 locomotive does not survive.
Brian Adamson · CC BY 2.0 · Source photograph. Resized and converted to WebP.
Front three-quarter view of the Planet replica in September 2012. Later replica of Planet. The original 1830 locomotive does not survive.
Brian Adamson · CC BY 2.0 · Source photograph. Resized and converted to WebP.
View from the tender of the working Planet replica on the museum demonstration line in 2003. Later replica of Planet. The original 1830 locomotive does not survive.
Chris Allen · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Source photograph. Resized and converted to WebP.
Side view of the Planet replica and tender in Manchester in March 2012. Later working replica of Planet. The original 1830 locomotive does not survive.
Peter Broster · CC BY 2.0 · Source photograph. Resized and converted to WebP.
Know the version.
The source below supports the locomotive identity and history. The photographs record the finish visible when each image was taken. A preserved or replica finish does not establish the original paint specification. Exact original paint shades and all period marking details have not been established for this guide.
The pencil example uses warm green and ochre. Its palette is interpretive. The gallery records the particular appearances described in its captions; preserved engines, replicas and monochrome photographs cannot establish every original shade or marking.
Science Museum Group: Planet model and original design recordDid you know?
By February 1833, Planet was reported to have covered 41,000 miles and still to be in good condition, a substantial working record for an early locomotive.
Make the details count.
Separate the broad boiler from the darker smokebox.
Keep the large rear wheel spokes open and light.