Pete–It was 1956, and they ran those ATSF steamers into the ground. Most likely needed maintenance was not done. It was not because they weren’t good engines–they were an extraordinary design producing over 5000 actual drawbar horsepower in much of the 40 to 70 mph range (documented by actual Santa Fe dynamometer tests, by S. Kip Farrington, who was there when the tests were actually done, and published the test data and the horsepower curve in his book “The Santa Fe’s Big Three”.)
Also, during steam years locos typically received a major tear down and rebuild approximately every 4 years. This was usual and customary…just not so much after 1956. So yeah, they were returned as wornout engines at a time when the last of steam was being retired on ATSF.
The PRR did the same thing as the RDG T-1 4-8-4’s they leased. Ran them into the ground and returned them needing an overhaul, which the RDG didn’t do since they were retiring steam and the engines were surplus.
BTW re repainting, remember that the reporting marks - the 2 to 4 letters indicating ownership, and the numbers identifying the car - are all that are required to use a piece of equipment in interchange. So if BNSF bought some boxcars from UP, they would need to paint over “UP 123456” and replace it with say “BNSF 34000”. The rest - yellow paint, big UP shield, “UNION PACIFIC” spelled out, etc. - is just decoration.
Note that if two or more railroads merge, they wouldn’t need to do change the reporting marks (although they may choose to do so) since ownership of the old reporting marks would transfer to the new railroad. BNSF can still have cars in interchage service with reporting marks BN or ATSF (or GN or NP etc.) since BNSF owns all those prior reporting marks.
When Conrail was split, CSX used NYC reporting marks for some ex-CR equipment, and NS used PRR for some of their ex-CR stuff. Not sure if either one retained the CR reporting mark.
Actually the NP, GN and CBQ marks wouldn’t be in interchange as any of those cars are over 50 years old and would be banned due to age. Those marks might appear in company service however.
Fifty year old freight cars could conceivably still be in revenue service as long as they remain on home rails. UP is running a LOT of old SP cars, in their original SP paint and Hydra-Cushion for Fragile Freight markings that are getting real close to the big Five-Oh. BNSF could legitimately run some gently used cars from its “heritage” components on a system that stretches from the Pacific Northwest, to the Gulf of Mexico.
NS got the CR mark. That’s why the rolling stock that went to CSX got the NYC but the NS equipment didn’t get PRR on them. They only put the PRR on locomotives, although I was never clear on the why, because they didn’t do it with rolling stock. NS also owns the PC mark.