Passenger color schemes:SP the champ?

[agentatascadero]

Pick a date, any date; my candidate would be SP in 1950. The question is: which RR, at any one time, had the greatest variety of in-house color schemes? There was Daylight orange/red/black, Lark/Cascade two-tone grey, Sunset stainless with red letter band, Golden State silver below the windows, red windows and above on streamlined equipment. Heavyweights: Pullman green, of course, but I think two-tone grey had been started by then, and some was in Daylight colors. I'm not sure, but I think solid grey came later. I left out UP yellow, because it was inter-line, not in-house, or any number of roads could compete. Between light and heavyweight that makes 6 schemes all in use at once. Off hand, I can't think of another road that had more than 3 CURRENT schemes at any one time.

[twhite]

I agree with you on the number of SP passenger schemes. Probably the most of any railroad I can remember. The fun part took place near the end of SP's passenger service when you could see all 6 schemes in one train. Now, THAT was as colorful as a circus! As to other varying paint schemes, I remember Rio Grande suddenly applying Grande Gold stripes to some of their standard pullman green equipment, especially on the 'Royal Gorge.' And when they finally did go to that attractive Grande Gold and silver scheme for the 'Prospector" and "Royal Gorge" streamlined equipment, they had a tussle for a few years about how many black stripes to band the windows with. Four thin ones or one thick one, take your pick at almost any given time. Of course they didn't fool around with the CZ equipment, that was interline. But when the Royal Gorge was changing from standard to streamlined, the train often looked as if it had been put together by a committee. To say nothing of one of their handsome 1800 series 4-8-4's pulling vista-domes. Try THAT on your model railroad layout and see how many experts start chewing your ear off!

[agentatascadero]

Whether from lack of competition or lack of interest, I hearby declare SP in 1951 the undisputed Champion of in house color scheme variety. Long live the King!

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

If you didn't exclude interline operations, PRR might well be the champ, as I discovered in the pages of TRAINS (A Twist on Tuscan Red, November 1967). In the immediate postwar period, PRR ran through trains or at least through sleeping cars with just about everybody, with the equipment usually painted in the other railroad's colors.

Cars were PRR Tuscan red; stainless steel with letterboards in PRR Tuscan red, ACL purple, unpainted for the California Zephyr; UP yellow; MP blue and gray; Red and stainless for the Texas Special; two-tone gray for the Pullman pool and possibly others.

[gabe]

How about the Central of Alabama?

[Anonymous]

I think that the Great Northern is a great color scheme

[passengerfan]

How about CB&Q in 1954 they had their Stainless steel, they owned one set of NP NORTH COAST LIMITED in the two tone green. One set of GN in the Pullman Green and Omaha Orange for the EMPIRE BUILDER and operated the Mainstreeter in the old NP two tone green, not to mention there was still several of their own cars painted in Pullman Green. They also operated cars of their own that were not stainless steel painted in Aluminum. Not unusual during this time period to see the CZ operate with B&O sleeper in some consists and even C&O sleepers. And don't forget 1970 BN with Cascade Green & White, Ex GN Big Sky Blue, Omaha Orange and Pullman Green, NP two tone Green, ex SP&S should be included as well, ex CB&Q Silver, and even some of the old NP was still around at the time. I guess that makes BN the Champ with seven different paint schemes.

[espeefoamer]

Southern Pacific also had 3 heavyweight cars painted in the Sunset scheme,and also had lightweight cars painted in Pullman dark green.They also bought some cars from the C&O.These ran in modified C&O paint.