SBB A 3/5 No. 705
Swiss steam before electric traction changed the scene.
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.
No. 705 at Brugg in glossy black with brass-coloured number plates and lamp details. Read each caption before using it as a colour or configuration reference.
No. 705 at Brugg in glossy black with brass-coloured number plates and lamp details. Photograph of the named locomotive. Preserved appearance may differ from its original working condition.
JoachimKohler-HB · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source photograph. Resized and converted to WebP.
No. 705 hauling a preserved train, showing its predominantly black locomotive and tender. Photograph of the named locomotive. Preserved appearance may differ from its original working condition.
Kabelleger / David Gubler (http://www.bahnbilder.ch) · Public domain · Source photograph. Resized and converted to WebP.
No. 705 in black hauling a charter train across the Rümlingen Viaduct. This wide view places the engine in its landscape. Photograph of the named locomotive. Preserved appearance may differ from its original working condition.
Kabelleger / David Gubler · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source photograph. Resized and converted to WebP.
Close side view of No. 705’s large driving wheels and connecting rods, with dark bodywork above and another locomotive behind. Photograph of the named locomotive. Preserved appearance may differ from its original working condition.
Lord Koxinga · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source photograph. Resized and converted to WebP.
No. 705 head-on at Bellinzona, with a black smokebox, brass-coloured number and lamp details and decorative greenery. The platform crowd partly obscures the lower front. Photograph of the named locomotive. Preserved appearance may differ from its original working condition.
Lord Koxinga · CC BY-SA 3.0 · 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 dark green and black. 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.
SBB Historic archive and Dampfgruppe Zürich technical recordDid you know?
In 1963, No. 705 received the chassis of No. 778. Its familiar number was retained along with its four-axle tender.
Make the details count.
Keep the boiler bands restrained.
Use a pale distant landscape to emphasise the slim engine.