Hi everyone,
I just wondering anyone would know if any of the Milwaukee Road F3As, F3-Bs and RS3s ever painted in the armor yellow scheme? Also, apprecaited if there is any photo.
Thanks
mrj
In short, no.
The engines that got the UP scheme (but different) were E7s, E9s, FP7s, passenger equipped F7Bs, 3 passenger GP9s, FP45s, some F9s after rebuilding for commuter service, FM Erie-Builts, and a pair of FM switchers, for switching at the Milwaukee depot.
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/modelListRR.aspx?id=MILW This gives a place to start looking for photos.
Just some “back story”…in 1955 the Union Pacific switched it’s passenger trains from using C&NW tracks to reach Chicago, to using the Milwaukee Road’s line from Omaha to Chicago. As part of the deal, the Milwaukee had to provide a certain amount of equipment (cars and engines) and the equipment had to be repainted to match the UP’s yellow and gray paint scheme. I think at some point, the Milwaukee decided to just repaint all it’s passenger equipment in the yellow scheme, so in the sixties you could see trains on non-UP lines (like the Hiawatha to the Twin Cities) in all-yellow. But (with a very few exceptions) only passenger equipment got the UP scheme.
I think the clincher was that the yellow and gray didn’t look as bad when dirty compared to the orange and maroon…
The paint schemes were similar, but not quite the same, so us modelers couldn’t just buy UP equipment and re-letter it MILW.
The Milwaukee also had FM ‘Erie Built’ passenger engines in the UP paint scheme. A lot of the FP7’s wound up in freight service before being scrapped. I remember watching a ‘River Local’ making a set out in Hastings, MN. I had a pair of well worn ex-passenger FP7’s for power.
Jim