I’m writing this to attempt to gain an understanding about why some railfans are always so bent out of shape about locomotives that don’t have a pretty paint job. I have to admit it is nice to have all the locomotives paint in a train match. But, it is also interesting to see an assortment of colors and types. To me a locomotive is something to be run and appreciated in a train, a massive presence that I can control for the purpose of moving goods (and for others passengers too). That ol’ roaring sound is fun too…
So why do a select group always seem to need to gripe about what color locomotives are or how clean they are??? To me, if it works including heat, A/C, wipers, seats and the moving parts (prime mover, MGen, TMs, etc) and the toilet has been serviced recently I’m good to go.
Oh, and one other thing. Lately, I have been hearing a lot of griping about lease paint and new reporting marks on old paint jobs. For example leasing company marks on former UP yellow units. What’s the deal with that???
I guess that the complainers don’t remember the Lehigh Valley paint schemes. 1 railroad, so many paint schemes. White & black, yellow & gray, red & black, red & yellow, tuscan & yellow . Heck the red itself could be & would be a different shade in the same paint scheme. If you like clean polished locomotives, sit outside the assembly plant as the roll out the door or visit a museum. A clean locomotive set in the same paint job is nice to see and photogragh. But I doubt the fellow putting the loco consist together is worried about how good they look.
Yeah I remember the Valley well. I’ve worked with a number of the old Valley guys and I grew up getting caboose rides on some of the coal trains and locals. Those snowbirds looked good but all the guys I’ve worked with said they were god awful riding lumbering things to run…
Grungy locomotives are hardly a new phenomenon. I think it was the CT Streamliner issue that has a picture of an LV(?) “streamlined” steamer that defined grungy. And if I read the caption right, it was only a year into its service.
Perhaps we long for the days when diesel consists were usually pristine, if not immaculate. I remember it being a big deal when I saw GM&O engines on the ICG. Precision was about the only leasing company, and you could always tell.
Today most motive power seems to follow the Railbox motto: “Next Load, Any Road”
Yeah I remember the Valley well. I’ve worked with a number of the old Valley guys and I grew up getting caboose rides on some of the coal trains and locals. Those snowbirds looked good but all the guys I’ve worked with said they were god awful riding lumbering things to run…
Gee I had forgotten that about how those Alcos rode. I got a ride about a half mile to a grass fire on the rear step of a caboose. My fire dept. got called to a grass fire along the LV tracks. near Rochester Jct. Just as we got there a westbound freight was approaching and slowed to a crawl as part of our crew walked along the tracks. Another guy and myself being the younger of the crew filled a couple of Indian tanks (back packs) with water and started toward the fire just as the caboose approached. The conductor motioned for us to jump on which we did. Our ride saved us a hike carrying 60 lbs. of water a half mile. As we rolled slowly by the rest of the fire crew and up to the fires location. We put out the fire before the rest of our dept. got there. Bill (the other guy) and I where just talking about that the other day. Telling some of the “New” Members about our Fire Train experenice some 30 years ago.
Hope they had a matching set.[}:)] Back to topic, living in UP territory, I welcome different colors whenever they come into town. The more different or unique the better. Little sports cars should be shiny, but big brutes like loco’s should have some dirt on them.
I can care less on what color any piece of rr equip is painted. As long as it is safe to use and runs okay, that’s good enough for me. Too much money is wasted on painting and color schemes are the most overated part of the rr scene
The biggest concern I would have is that the equipment has sufficient reflectiveness so you can tell there’s something going across a country crossing at 02:00. Other than that, snot green’s ok with me…
Let me respond to this as an artist, aesthetician, advertising man, and former locomotive engineer, and conductor. This is merely my take.
I’m not so sure it’s a gripe folks have, more than a yearning for a company’s identification, and a sense of orderliness.
As an engineman you don’t care what the lashup looks like, you just want to get over the road in some semblence of safety and comfort. But we’re talking about the people observing the railroad scene either from a knowledgable standpoint (railfans,) or just citizens who are not knowledgeable at all.
As railfans we tend to focus on a favorite carrier that we identify with. Perhaps their territory, perhaps the traffic they carry. In our minds, way back there somewhere the carrier’s treatment of motive power lashups are a reflection on our thinking. I used to feel this way about the IC. I was proud our family had an association with them,I was proud that their suburban trains served our community so well, and that the IC’s premier trains, The Panama, The City of New Orleans, and The City of Miami looked so smart and orderly in their stem to stern matched consists of engines and cars. One could admire them for realizing that their manner of dress was being observed by everyone. In the Green Diamond era of the IC, foreign road passenger cars in other than IC paint were not allowed on the premier trains. But evrey once and a while you could see them in other consists. I can recal the first run-through freights of the '60s. There was “NYQ.” A run thorugh from the Burlington to the New York Central. The 4-unit consist was NYC units at each end, with Burlington ones in the middle. It was interesting, and a way to identify that particular job. That was interesting, and we got a kick out of it, but wouldn’t want it as a norm.
The early Amtrak era was a riot. Everyone’s cars on everyone else’s trains. Who knew what that was, except for us?
I also feel that a part of the railroad delema as far as getting community
Interesting thread so far. Please allow me to make a few personal observations and points:
Have you ever noticed that cars that run great are usually also clean. People who don’t keep their cars clean usually (but not always) are the ones that let them go to pot mechanically. Same holds true for locomotives on railroads (i.e. SP had the dirtitest units and they tended to smoke the most as well due to poor maintenance).
Good point abaout UPS having the cleanest delivery trukcs in town and they are also likely the busiest.
It’s called CORPORATE PRIDE folks. I drive a company car and try and keep it spotless most of the time…I also dress in clean clothes and shine my shoes from time to time.
Clean locomotives “reflect” (pardon the pun) well on the railroad which owns them, thus attracting more investors.
Strictly from a railfans point of view, I personally don’t care if the three units on a train I see are exactly matched. As a matter of fact a little diversity is an interesting thing to see once in a while. All those trains on the BNSF line through my town of Aurora, IL with all matched Dash 9 units in H2 scheme gets a little boring after a time.
Well, I’ll climb down off of my soap box now.
Eolafan
At least two shortlines here in CO had their crews wiping down their horses at the end of the day with detergent & water in the summer, kerosene rags in the winter. It’s a pride thing in their community and it helps take care of the equipment. (Colorado & Wyoming has done this since they started using diesels, their equipment is no-frills, but they are reliable and deliver when called on)…I take issue with the attitude of some crews that cannot be bothered to have the common decency to pick up after themselves and then bellyache about a dirty cab, etc. ( There are other crews that have worked for me on work train service that have earned my respect and I would be happy to help them out in any way possible.)
(my employer’s company trucks are clean for similar reasons)
Function before form people. (Except the powerstroke, gotta keep that lookin good ) Well, the LV had the mentality on paint to use what ever was around. Including brown and yellow. (On a geep9 and RS3) ewww, but it worked.
) Well, the LV had the mentality on paint to use what ever was around. Including brown and yellow. (On a geep9 and RS3) ewww, but it worked.