I just saw the first photos of Amtrak “Genesis” unit number 145 and I understand Amtrak plans on applying each of their earlier paint schemes to one of current fleet of units for a total of 5 (???). So far I must say I like the scheme applied to number 145 MUCH BETTER than the “current” scheme applied new to the units from the GE factory. Can’t wait to see what the 'bloody nose" Phase I scheme that was applied to the SDP40F units looks like on a Genesis unit. Any other comments?
Yup. Agree. Really want to see the “bloody nose/pointless arrow” scheme on one. Also agree that the “Shamu” scheme is really pretty lousy - it fights the styling contours of the carbody instead of accenting them, much like the Acela-blob passenger car scheme. Passenger trains have long straight lines and the paint scheme should accentuate them (IMHO).
I too cannot wait to see all of the past paint scheems… I especially cant wait to see the Phase Three scheem. I think that scheem looked great on the P40`s.
Regurgitating past paint schemes is wasteful but appropriate for Amtrak, an organization more dedicated to preserving trips down memory lane than being a popular, modern, efficient service.
I suppose it was inevitable that another Amtrak thread would eventually derail into a politically infused hate-fest.
On the economic plus side, model railroaders will have more P40 paint schemes to add to their collections. [:)]
If Amtrak had to paint some of their units anyway, what harm is done by using one or more of the older “heritage” schemes…paint is paint from a cost standpoint and if it garners the carrier more positive attention then so much the better.
I support a modern passenger rail network. What is political about my comment?
They’re using these engines for an anniversary special. They were in the shops already, and probably needed painted, so they put a different scheme on it. I don’t get what your outrage is about it, Schlimm.
zug: No outrage. I guess I wasn’t clear. It isn’t really the waste I object to so much as the “living in the past” aspect of a retro paint scheme. Amtrak should be doing all it can do to present an image of looking to the future. But continuing to have half its operations be nostalgia-oriented long distance trains makes that difficult.
I see no real difference in what Amtrak is going and what U.P. did not so long ago…not exactly the same but not all that different either.
UP also had legal considerations related to protecting trademarks and copyrights that were among the factors in setting up the Heritage Fleet.
So you object to long distance trains. Are the people using them soley for nostalgic reasons, though?
I don’t consider these paint jobs as purely nostalgic. It is just paint/graphics. Amtrak isn’t the first company to revisit previous paint schemes/logos/colors at some point.
And if nothing else, amtrak does have a lot of railfan support (with many railfans in their very ranks).
But zug, a tribute to the past history is by definition an appeal to nostalgia. And yes, the freight rails have done so as well. But unlike Amtrak, they aren’t huge money losers. And unlike Amtrak, they aren’t run for the benefit of railfans - some are pretty hostile. I consider myself a railfan. But if the average taxpayer thought that Amtrak was making decisions for the benefit of the minuscule number of railfans in this country, perhaps that knowledge would lead to the needed reforms.
Yeah, Amtrak is run for the benefit of railfans 
In a similar vein…the ‘Throwback’ uniforms that each of the NFL teams wear from time to time, have most of the maggot population gagging!
I never said it was run for the benefit of the railfans. I said it has railfan support. Two separate things entirely. I just don’t understand why a company should completely ignore its past - even if looking back at the past is a tiny little thing like painting an engine that needs painted in a different livery…
I dunno. It sure looks like a marketing promotion to me. If it brings more awareness to what Amtrak is and what is does, is that bad? I guess they could have done what PC was doing- paint things black, in hopes that they could keep below the radar, but what good would that do?
Just before I saw the pictures of No. 145, I had been scanning in pictures that I had taken of Amtrak in the late 80s-early 90s. I realized how much I prefer that “retro” paint scheme instead of the current scheme. Simple, yet classy.
Companies need to look toward the future, but they also need to remember their past - “where they came from.”
Even Pepsico is getting in on the heritage angle. They are printing cans by the cases in old Pepsi, Mountain Dew, and Dr. Pepper graphics and even going so far as sweetening with cane sugar. This is at least the third year that Pepsi has been available in the Throwback campaign.
I have some of the heritage 'Tonka toys which were sold 10 or so years ago. Matchbox has new models based on old models from the late '60s/'70s.
Railroads are not the only corporations proud of their history. Just don’t know how measurable the rr heritage marketing efforts will be on the bottom line profits, the other examples above are/were easier to monitor in terms of profit/loss.
Jay