wjstixI recall (maybe at a regional NMRA meet?) someone giving a presention on BC Rail. They said the color change was political. BC Rail was owned by the provincial government so wore the green colors of the party in power until a different party took power, and changed to their party's red-white-blue.
The green colours are a classic heritage from Pacific Great Eastern, don't think that those had anything to do with politics.
The red, white, and blue colours were apparently a provincial rebranding that was applied to a lot of provincially owned and operated services (including BC Transit and BC Rail) in 1983. As the railway was one of those services, it received this update to their colours. So, in that sense, yes it was a political move, but the railway was just part of it.
While it may or may not (but likely did) have something to do with 1983 being an election year, and the colours were (coincidentally or not) the same as the ruling party's colours, it wasn't a move to erase a previous governing party's colours, as the party had been in power since 1952, except for a term in the early 1970s.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Columbia_Social_Credit_Party
Chris van der Heide
My Algoma Central Railway Modeling Blog
wjstix I recall (maybe at a regional NMRA meet?) someone giving a presention on BC Rail. They said the color change was political. BC Rail was owned by the provincial government so wore the green colors of the party in power until a different party took power, and changed to their party's red-white-blue.
I recall (maybe at a regional NMRA meet?) someone giving a presention on BC Rail. They said the color change was political. BC Rail was owned by the provincial government so wore the green colors of the party in power until a different party took power, and changed to their party's red-white-blue.
That's the way I remember it, big stink about it that was covered in the news for quite a while.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
British Columbia Railway didn't exist until it was renamed from Pacific Great Eastern Railway in 1972. PGE was already using the two-tone green colours.
British Columbia Railway was renamed BC Rail in 1984. This introduced the red-white-blue locomotive and caboose colours. Freight cars remained dark green.
They know all.....
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Maybe I do :-)
LOL.
You need a reference book on railroad paint schemes.
Rich
Alton Junction
What year did BCR adopt the two tone green scheme and when did it start shifting to the red,white, and blue scheme