I have a December 1961 New York Central Headlight employee magazine showing an ad featuring a Flexi-Van container with the yellow FlexiVan emblem and a black/white/red "Cigar Band" herald toward the front of the trailer. It was also featured on the April 29, 1962, Form 1001 passenger timetable cover.
Here's the 1964 scheme:
The first appearance I see of the "green" scheme with the large vertical panels spelling out "Flexi-Van" on the sides as shown in the Canada Southern photo is in May 1967. This scheme has the "Cigar Band" emblem prominantly displayed on the blind end of the van about 8 feet wide. That's not to say it didn't appear sooner.
I believe due to the aluminum construction of the trailers and the early use of vinyl Schotch Lite™ lettering, NYC probably didn't "repaint" the vans often but new lots of the vans had the newer graphics applied.
I remember seeing many yellow NYC oval Flexi-Van trailers at Collinwood, Ohio even into the 1980s
Hope that helps, Ed
Does anyone know what year the NYC repainted the old yellow style to green?
http://www.canadasouthern.com/caso/images/nyc-504523.jpg
Amtrak America, 1971-Present.