I found this picture on RailPictures.net. I found this picture of a F59PHI in California. I’ve never seen this color of an engine before. What is this for? Also if you look, you’ll see a tumbleweed in the front of the engine under the coupler.
Here’s the picture http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=258116&nseq=23
The locomotive has been “wrapped” with an Operation LIfesaver campaign message. It is used in the Amtrak California Pacific Surfliner service, between San Diego and San Luis Obispo. The campaign is aimed at surfers and other beach goers because the tracks run between the highway and the beach for long stretches.
Thats an interesting scheme, I didn’t realize that they could make them specifically to local areas that a train would run through. Neat.
Didn’t one of the commuter lines do something similar for a truck manufacturer?
This isn’t really any different than the wraps you commonly see on municipal buses these days, for car dealers and what-have-you.
Wraping is a common advertising practice. Urban busses are frequently wraped for advertising campaigns…when the campaign ends, the wrap comes off and the original paint scheme remains and if desired the vehicle can be wraped again for another campaign.
I believe Amtrak, or one of the Commuter Rail authorities wraped a complete engine and train for a Toyota campaign (I could be wrong on both who and what campaign - but I did see a picture of it several years ago.)
Ditto to above; and no BaltACD you are not mistaken about those “Wraps”)
IINM about a year ago one of the Acela trainsets was wrapped to advertise one of the History Channel’s programs.
It just occurred to me that red is a good locomotive color to enhance grade crossing safety. Warm colors advance visually, and cool colors recede. One of the problems with grade crossings is that trains always appear to be moving slower than they actually are. So a red or other warm color making a locomotive seem closer than it is will help with motorist judgement,
It’s also a size perception problem. Even though I climb up and down from our locomotives all the time, I’m still occasionally surprised when I see one out of context - they’re bigger than I expect in that circumstance.
The size thing figures in hugely to the misperception of speed.
I had the opportunity once to see that huge Russian transport airplane (the Antonov, I think) on final approach, from a distance of several miles. It looked like it was just hanging in the air, even though I’m sure it was travelling well over 100 mph.
I personally find that I can’t tell a thing about a locomotive if I’m looking at it head-on, with all the lights on.
IIRC Amtrak painted some Toyota Tundra ads on the side of the Locomotive…
I know what you mean. When I saw a train street running in Lafyette, In, years ago, I was suprised that the engineer could easily see into the second floor windows!
I thought that engine looked familiar:
http://www.fuzzyworld3.com/pictures3/railroad/rr02/amtk455a.html
I’d love to see it again with the wrap on it! Not goin’ to California to see it, though. [sigh]
Since I was a child, I’ve been told that day-glow orange is the most visible color. It may no longer have top honors, but certainly it is up there among the biggies.
Strikes me that BNSF’s new color scheme is not too far off from day-glow orange.
I’m also partial to red cab fronts with white chevrons (CN). I don’t know if research has been conducted on the visibilit of chevrons, but in an intuitive sense it says to me that their busyness would be noticed.
Or red and gray like WSOR!