QR BB18¼ No. 1089
A Queensland-built Pacific near the end of an era.
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.
Preserved BB18¼ No. 1089 in green with red lining, a black smokebox and white wheel tyres in 2017. Read each caption before using it as a colour or configuration reference.
Preserved BB18¼ No. 1089 in green with red lining, a black smokebox and white wheel tyres in 2017. Preserved original locomotive; its museum presentation includes later restoration and may differ from its working appearance.
Bearq07 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source photograph. Resized and converted to WebP.
No. 1089 hauling SX carriages on a 2014 tour, viewed from the train. The locomotive is distant so this is an operating-context photograph. Source identifies No. 1089. The locomotive is distant and does not provide a useful close-up finish reference.
Wyndt · CC BY 4.0 · Source photograph. Resized and converted to WebP.
Class comparison: BB18¼ No. 1079 at Enoggera, showing green paint, red lining and white wheel tyres. This is not No. 1089. BB18¼ sister locomotive No. 1079. Class comparison only, not the featured No. 1089.
TripleThree · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source photograph. Resized and converted to WebP.
Class comparison: BB18¼ No. 1079 approaches Roma Street with the 2015 Anzac troop train. The backlit view shows its front silhouette. BB18¼ sister locomotive No. 1079. Class comparison only, not the featured No. 1089.
John Robert McPherson · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source photograph. Resized and converted to WebP.
Class comparison: BB18¼ No. 1079 at Roma Street with the 2015 Anzac troop train, showing its green boiler and black smokebox in low light. BB18¼ sister locomotive No. 1079. Class comparison only, not the featured No. 1089.
John Robert McPherson · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 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 green and restrained red. 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.
Ipswich Libraries: railway workshops; Queensland locomotive recordsDid you know?
No. 1089 entered service on 13 March 1958. It is recognised as the last mainline steam locomotive built in Australia.
Make the details count.
Keep the three driving wheels separate with pale rod highlights.
Use softer greens in the scenery than on the engine.