Where are our graphic artists?? Need a sharp looking paint scheme for my AgRail short line. Something that looks sharp but cost effective on a pair of ex Lehigh Valley C420's. My chosen era is 89-92, so pre ditch light era, both units will have Leslie 3 chimes above the headlights and a Prime Stratolite beacon at the rear edge of the cab roof. My line also has its black sheep unit, a hand me down ex BN GP35 problem child/back up unit. But it will be in its old Cascade green and Black and heavily weathered. The setting is northern to north central Indiana in the farm lands, working the remains of one of the many main lines that are now gone or small shortlines to serve the remaining/larger grain elevators, co-ops and fertilizer plants. Thanks in advance. Mike
Silly NT's, I have Asperger's Syndrome
Here is the black sheep unit getting a break from being in the box in the closet. I need to change horns and add the Prime beacon light yet.
Let's see. Locomotives look sharp with two tone paint jobs. Then there is the prototype solid primary color all over freight cars. Boston&Maine blue, Conrail Blue, NYC green, and probably some others that I cannot remember. Pick a bright color that you like, and do a boxcar with it. And you need a good sharp roadname in white, custom decal would be best. For that matter, after McGuinnis left the B&M, they dropped his fancy expensive paint schemes and just painted the entire locomotive blue. This paint job was called "the blue dip".
David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
These 420s are in Cornell red as received by your line, right? Is there money to prime and spray the BN locomotive?
How about a supergraphic "Ag" within the graphics for periodic-table representation, in bright silver or aluminum vinyl angled on the hood and nose. Cab lettering likewise in either silver-edged black or black-edged silver (again in vinyl with overprint, so either would be about as cost-effective).
Silver frame stripe with Scotchlite patches or stripe. Visible both day and night.
OvermodHow about a supergraphic "Ag" within the graphics for periodic-table representation, in bright silver or aluminum vinyl angled on the hood and nose. Cab lettering likewise in either silver-edged black or black-edged silver (again in vinyl with overprint, so either would be about as cost-effective).
Way too high-brow.
You need good & simple farm colors.
It's been fun. But it isn't much fun anymore. Signing off for now.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any
I've done a couple of trolleys for the Moose Bay Transit Authority. I printed my own decals. What works best for me is a two-tone color scheme, one light, one dark, with decals in the dark color applied over the light paint. The painting is simple and the decals look good. Paint the whole thing, mask over it and paint the contrasting color. Apply decals and put a clear coat over everything to seal the decals.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Yes, simple colors one might find at the local farm and fleet store but some flair is good, think of the real shortline/baby regional Farmrail. White units with brownish orange lettering. Granted, white is high maintance to keep looking decent. Yes Cornell Red would have been the original colors of the C420's. Reflective frame stripe or seperation stripe would be a good idea for night time visablity but not required. All will have the amber flasher beacons on them. Yes, the GP could be repainted at some point, but its date with the custom painter(once I find one thats reasonable) will be last. I swapped in a 5 chime horn and tacked the beacon in place temporarly.
Part of the point of a distinctive logo is that it can be used on 'any' paint scheme for a family resemblance. With a little care about the edges you could develop the logo as a 'patch' with background color(s).
How about green and yellow? Farmall red as a repaint hue?
I have decals for a failed project for a Grain/Ethanol plant SW1 called the Kernal, its paint scheme looks to be faded JD Ag green and yellow, or very close to it. The cab had a hearld of Colorado Sweet Gold and a corn cob, with the engines name "The Kernal" on the long hood. I also had "The Cob" decals done for a fictional second unit. Might be able to use those instead of AgRail. I need to dig them out from my decal drawer. I will post a pic when my photo hosting site is back up, its down right now
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"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Those look good, but I brain farted and forgot I had these custom decals made up last year when I was going to model this large ag/ethanol plant with its own railroad. I proto-freelanced it with two more names for locos and a sheet of larger logos for some rolling stock. The paint scheme looks like JD AG green and yellow, both easy to get in bulk from any farm/fleet store. I think I can mask the end of the long hood with the same pattern for the yellow, then put the names and the ISG(changed from Colorado Sweet Gold) on the cab sides. or even the front of the low nose. Here are pics of the CSG "The Kernal" and my custom decals(cost about 50 bucks to have done). Might as well put them to use!! The two C240's can be The Kernal and The Cob, with the GP35 being The Husk.
Waste not, want not!
No No No. Original color of ALL Lehigh Valley C-420's was yellow and gray with orange handrails and silver trucks. SOME were repainted into New Cornell Red. One was repainted into PRR Tuscan Red as a sample paint scheme, and 3 or so retained yellow and gray into the Conrail/D&H ownership era.
PRR8259No No No.
Raises an interesting possibility, though: if he were to receive engines in the gray and yellow, he could just straight mask off the top of the yellow stripe and a straight level line across the tops of the LEHIGH VALLEY on the long hood and shoot the green 'dip'. Leave the cab roof gray too to save paint... this leaves a command decision on color for cab front (which I think needs to be high visibility) and rear. Is the road keeping the LV road numbers and numberboards or not?
With the premade decals in yellow, and an ex-BN GP35, why not paint the C420's in a BN Green dip scheme. The medium shade of the green should allow both the yellow and black lettering to show.
For a snappy look, paint the fuel tank green also, and the trucks silver. A yellow sill stripe, or hashed like conspicuity dashes, and maybe yellow chevron stripes on the nose and tail ends.
Or, paint everything UP Harbor Mist gray, including tank and trucks. Yellow and black decals with yellow chevrons would look nice too.
Personally, I don't like schemes that have horizontal stripes along the sides of the loco, so I would avoid that if it was my scheme.
- Douglas