Check out the 1996 Southern Pacific Heritage Unit by Union Pacific
I gotta’ have one!!![:)]
So far this the best one, of the Heritage schemes.
How does Brian Marsh at Overland get to beat everyone else to a photo? Does he have something going with U.P.?
It looks alright… but I like the DRGW unit!!! [:)]
Here’s another one.
WOW that’s bright!! Pretty cool too, as is the Rio Grande unit. I suppose it’ll be a year or more before the Tower 55 models are out. Oh well… gives me time to save enough money to buy both of them. [:-,]
These should be a great hit for Tower 55 sales.
I like all of them.
The photos he takes are done when the units are fresh out of the paint shops at Horicon, Wisconsin, on the Wisconsin and Southern Railroad (who paints all of the UP’s specialty locomotives). The UP normally has a security gaurd around Horicon at all times making sure that no railfan can get a picture. Most of the time the unit never even makes it’s way out of the paint shop before being tarped. However, the UP must let Overland, with a signed contract I would assume, pull the locomotive out of the shops before it’s tarped and let them get a few photos quick. I know a few guys who used to work at the WSOR who have done that to previous UP specialty locomotives without signing a contract though. Afterall, the UP security gaurd doesn’t stick around 24/7, at least they didn’t back then…
Noah
Is that the last heritage unit?
I was planning to get a SD70 Ace unit. Now I guess I’ll wait for the SP Heritage one to come out.
It is the last scheduled unit that was announced for the previous fallen flag railroads, but since it has been so popular, maybe the Public Relations department might think up some other way of keeping this interest alive.
I WANT ONE!!! I was going to buy somthing else, but I am saving for this!!!
SP should buy themselfs out from UP, and switch to this scheme!! Now that would be classic… I live right near the former SP mainline on the penninsula… wish SP was still around. I was little when SP was still in business, but lived on the other side of the bay. Moved here, SP was long gone. …
WOW, I wonder if I like it !! [(-D] , Man I gotta have one of those.[:)]
It makes want to actually put a non-GE unit on my layout.
I like your thoughts about the SP, but remember, the old SP was actually purchased by the D&RGW in 1989 and the D&RGW owners used the SP name since it was well known. Had they used the D&RGW name, the SP Heritage unit would not exist.
The old SP and the newer SP are two different railroads, and the Union Pacific would not sell anything that is part of its railroad today.
Enjoy the Heritage unit. It should be running down your way soon.
I’m with drgwman on this one. I like the D&RGW one better.[:D]
dekruif
And going back further, the Santa Fe had already purchased the SP, but they were not allowed to merge. Everyone remembers the still born SPSF.
I always thought it was an interesting twist of fate that the D&RGW and WP didn’t end up being part of the BNSF rather than the UP. In several ways that would have made more sense especially since the UP abandon the MP mainline into Pueblo CO, and have only recently really started using the old KP main eastward from Denver.
As for the SP heritage unit, it looks umm interesting. Sort of a mixture of daylight and black widow. At least they didn’t use any bloody nose elements. I think it looks good, but I am going to hold my opinion until I see it through my eyes rather than a camera.