According to the Newswire, UP SD70ACe’s #1986, 1995 and 1996 will be released in June and July of this year.
The first will be UP 1986, in D&RGW paint, Followed by UP 1995 in C&NW paint in July, then shortly after, UP #1996 for the SP.
The D&RGW unit will be sent to Denver for unveiling for Employees and family, the other two will enter service presumably right after painting.
As I said in this other thread
http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=62848
D&RGW in Denver, mid June
C&NW in Chicago, mid July
SP at Roseville, mid August
This raises some questions.
The Wheeling & Lake Erie has an SD 45 which is still painted in the Denver & Rio Grande color scheme, black with Orange speed lettering. Will the Wheeling & Lake Erie be forced to repaint or reletter their Denver & Rio Grande locomotive so as not to conflict with the fact that one of Union Pacific’s heritage locomotives is lettered in the same way as the Wheeling & Lake Erie’s locomotive?
Then the other question is why do they need to repaint one of their new locomotives into the C&NW heritage color scheme considering that the C&NW received many new locomotives shortly before it was merged into the Union Pacific? That is, the Union Pacific already hs several C&NW locomotives painted their heritage color schemes.
what were the first three and does anyone have pics?
Missouri Pacific, #1982
Western Pacific, #1983
Missouri-Kansas-Texas, #1988 (“Miss Katy”)
(Somebody else can supply pics of the other two.)
Missouri Pacific - http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=139964
Western Pacific - http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=132646
M-K-T (Katy) - http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=116597
I hope that they will let the Units run off Home Road once in a while like have the MP, WP and MKT run as one and the CNW, DRGW and SP unit run as another trip. But I doubt it will happen.
1982 was lookin’ sharp at Franklin Park Railroad Daze yesterday! I’ll put up some photos as soon as I get a chance…