http://www.thedieselshop.us/UP6344-PBieber.jpg Not my picture but, Why does this UP Unit have that paint scheme?
A contract repaint shop never finished the full paint job. The first paint coat on a UP locomotive is complete Harbor Mist Gray over the whole locomotive as you see in the picture. Then parts get masked off and the Armour Yellow is applied. In this case the shop for some reason stopped and applied the decals without finishing the paint job. Needless to say the UP wasn’t pleased. By covering the entire locomotive with the base paint coat you leave no chinks in the corrosion protection. And since the Yellow covers the Gray better than the reverse, it is the Gray that goes on first.
As Paul Harvey used to say( I paraphrse) " The Rest of the Story"Not to mention this thing may be approaching something of an "urban ledgend’ in railfan circles:
Reaching back to Jan 28,2008 (linked here): http://cs.trains.com/trccs/forums/p/117151/1339603.aspx#1339603
and 11/08/2006 (Trainorders.com) linked here: http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?1,1282522
and (excerpted in part)
11/18/06 18:11
Re: UP 6344 in all over grey
Author: Railhead1956
UP 6344 came out of the Coast Engine and Equipment Co. in Tacoma, WA (CEECo) in this paint scheme. Today 18 Nov she was the third unit on a southbound through Tacoma, WA.
I remember doing a re-wire on the electrical cabinet when I was in Denver (06-07) and it was painted yellow.