What year did the DRGW start using the single stripe scheme on the F units.
Thanks
1961, according to this thread: http://www.trains.com/TRC/CS/forums/1173286/ShowPost.aspx
On the F3’s (probably the first single striped F units) single stripe paint arrived around April 1961. However, there was a program to increase the railroads image through painting box cars and cabooses. On page 68 of Rio Grande Trackside with Jim Ozment, there is an advertisement from 1956 with the bold caption: “the Grande GOLD look!” and it shows a 40’ box car painted in grande gold with a single stripe and silver below the stripe. A bearded doll figure is standing in the scene with hand drawn paint cans and as step ladder. The print is too small for me to read without a magnifier. A caboose with 4-stripes is also shown but single stripe cabooses may have been painted prior to 1961. The Kauss Maffai diesel hydraulics were factory painted in single stripe paint and may be the first diesels bought new from the factory with this paint scheme. They were shipped in Oct 1961.
So the passenger F units (F3’s) got single stripe first of the F unit fleet. Between 1961 and 1964, the majority of the rest of the F7’s and F9’s were repainted in single stripe. A tiny fraction still had 4-stripe into 1965 and 66. I think one F unit, F7 #5571 (a wreck rebuild) was finally given single stripe paint in 1967. There is a photo of it leading the California Zephyr around 1966 or 67 before the repaint.
Anyone modeling the Rio Grande in 65-70 time frame needs mostly single stripe F units, and thats a difficult without painting yourself since no F7’s have been offered in plastic yet with single stripe paint. I’m hoping Genesis will finally step up to bat soon since they have offered F3’s and F9’s.