Train slogans

[FJ and G]

Waiting for VRE Friday in Alexandria station I was surprised when a weird CSX consist went by on the mainline, triple-headed by an MP-15, a Rio Grande vintage diesel and leading the trio was a modern CSX locomotive with big letters going across it: "DIVERSITY" and rainbow paint around it.

Train slogans seem to be popular with the toy train crowd, from safety slogans on UP cabeese to vintage War Bonds and Santa Fe map cars.

Yet, your average modern real train contains relatively few slogans, and oftentimes, the name of the railroad is very small.

Toy train enthusiasts seem to llike the more colorful stuff. I've always wondered why the rail railroads don't copy the toy train models and use their rolling stock as billboards. Especially the private cars. About 70 years ago, a lot of the private wood reefer cars had some cool slogans. Today, most of the hopper and tank cars are privately owned by are painted very unimaginatively.

Dave Vergun

[cnw1995]

I seem to remember this very question in a Trains magazine of not long ago. Wasn't there some sort of ICC ruling on the billboard reefers that ended it. I know the painting issue is costs-related these days. I'd like to extend your thread a bit by asking if any of you have a slogan and name for 'your' railroad. My son and I have yet to name our pike: I'd be open to any clever suggestions or would like to hear about your road.

[FJ and G]

Doug,

Why extend it when you can make a post? Space is free. I'll grab it out for yoDave

[Big_Boy_4005]

The truth is that most railroads are getting away from complex paint schemes in favor of almost blank cars. Reporting marks and logo is about all we get anymore.

This may be a bit of a chicken and egg argument, but has graffiti had anything to do with this, or has graffiti sprung up in response to the "blank canvas" cars riding the rails.

I happen to like some of the graffiti, and plan to model some on some inexpensive Weaver cars. A lot of people hate graffiti because it IS ILLEGAL, but there are some very artistic examples out there, if you are willing to look.

Keep in mind that the purpose of paint is to protect the car from the elements, and not necessarily to be pretty, though in the past some have been.[:)]

[FJ and G]

Elliot,

I would probably model graffiti except for the earlier time period I'm modeling. It is esp. interesting how similar much of the grafiti is, with colorful, fat noodle letters that look meaningless to most of us but are full of emotion and symbolism to the hoodlums who paint them.

Yes, cars are very very plain, with all black or boxcar red or gray being favorites; it rolling stock companies could get away with it as cost savings, they'd probably just coat everything with gray primer. Come to think of it, I've been seeing quite a few locomotives in full gray primer going down the CSX main (ex RF&P).

While much of the advertising world has gone to brilliant colors, trying to draw attention, real railroads seem to want less and less publicity; even neglecting to paint their bridges and add nice logos on the bridges. It's almost as if they are ashamed to be railroads.

I'm glad we can add color with our 3-rail trains, however; but occasionally, I like to include some dull ones for variety; that way, the colorful ones are highlighted even more.

dav