I need some help from SP fans. I know SP used the “daylight” scheme on engines as well as the “golden state” red and silver. Did they use the “bloody nose” or “black widow” schemes also? I need to do some F units to pull some through sleepers out of my station.
Bob
Bob–
SP’s F units–freight and passenger-- were all delivered in the Black Widow scheme. During and after 1958 most were repainted into the “bloody nose” scheme. The Golden State scheme was applied only to a few E7s, and those were repainted into Daylight colors by 1950. Daylight colors were not applied to any of the SP F units, although the Cotton Belt variation of the Daylight colors did get applied to that road’s FP7(one unit).
–John
One E8/9 unit was painted in Black Widow (#6050)
The E’s and the PA’s were painted bloody nose in latter years.
There were some rare expermintal schemes too. for instance a PA in bloody nose with the gray replaced by black and the scarlet replaced by orange.
The locos on the passenger train in the movie Bad Day at Black Rock are all Black Widow.
Switchers were at one time black with solid orange ends.
I worked on SP in Oakland, CA in the late '50s. The Alco PABA sets and the EMD E’s were all Daylight red and orange. Sometime in the '60s the Alco’s were repainted in grey with scarlet (bloody?)noses. All the E’s were used in Southern CA to Chicago and I didn’t follow their color history. The F’s and GP’s were all black widow until the grey/scarlet scheme caught on. The Fairbanks-Morse Trainmasters were hauling commuters to and from San Francisco for many years and they retained the black widow scheme. Hope this helps, John Colley, Port Townsend, WA
Lest we forget, SP also painted some locomotives in the Lark scheme for night trips between Los Angeles and San Fracncisco.
-Daniel
Lark paint scheme on diesels??
After posting that a PA was painted in a black and orange version of the bloody nose, I started having second thoughts. I think now that it was a simplified scheme without the wings, but I’m still sure it existed.
Southern Pacific Review 1981 by Joseph A Strapas has a color photo on the back cover of a F at the head of a freight train in black/orange bloody nose. There is also an F in front of a turntable in a simlified black/orange scheme similar to what I remember on the PA. The PA look very ugly painted that way.