Does anyone know if they're using wraps on any of the locomotives or are they still being painted? I'll assume that the logos and such are vinyl decals (same basic material as a wrap) and the larger areas are still being painted.
That's an "It depends" situation. The heritage locomotives such as the ones Union Pacific and Norfolk-Southern have are painted. The heritage locomotives NJ Transit has are wraps, with the exception of the Jersey Central GP40.
A wrap is much easier to do if you've got a slab-sided engine.
A picture being worth 1,000 words check these out. The slab sides are wraps, the ones that aren't are painted.
https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=AB5stBgl5G06QuDioXzi0t-D7iBiTyAf9g:1689904695216&q=nj+transit+heritage+locomotives&tbm=isch&source=univ&fir=NfEn3q4tqrIXsM%252CxQLNhM939C0y3M%252C_%253Bv-KFKiVB1GLK6M%252Ck9ybvmHkK0hDzM%252C_%253B4UbNFYjMv90aQM%252C_hIXyi8zWwSc7M%252C_%253B4x8azTAZ8r06dM%252CKFGPSl7jBTD9yM%252C_%253B_hmTBpWgl4FuPM%252CXXZ9--Zq6y8syM%252C_%253BAhVcSerBeVXMyM%252Ck9ybvmHkK0hDzM%252C_%253BCFAMm546BNWfJM%252C_hIXyi8zWwSc7M%252C_%253B-sBTvvszGIZLyM%252Cwl7hMi1Tkg6dMM%252C_%253BLwvV5BK3QUGoGM%252CkDtnegNamNNtyM%252C_%253BjF-HM3yQi579YM%252Ck9ybvmHkK0hDzM%252C_&usg=AI4_-kQ37cu_ymddx5A1P7KUcasjuzSeEg&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi907_I2Z6AAxVZFlkFHRP-AjQQjJkEegQIDRAC&biw=1366&bih=625&dpr=1
As Flintlock notes, it depends. Wrapping a standard hood unit would be very labor intensive - all those doors, etc.
Another consideration is the planned duration of the marking. A temporary commemorative, or a sponsored unit would be wrapped (previous considerations a factor, of course). The railroads' various heritage units are in it for the long haul.
I read some years ago that the way the railroads sometimes put lettering/graphics on a locomotive is to apply said graphic over the primer, then paint the unit. The graphics have a carrier over them that is then removed, revealing the graphic in question.
Painting cars is another story. Many railroads have metal stencils specific to certain cars that take ribs, etc, into consideration. Some are all one stencil, some are a collection of several, which occasionally leads to a gross misspelling (think SOURNTHE).
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
In either event - it costs big bucks to cover locomotive no matter if it is with paint or with wrap.
I believe it cost between $20K & $40K to paint a locomotive. The amount and quality of paint required to withstand the railroad enviornment for 10 to 20 years is not inconsequential. Throw in the labor to prepare and mask off the locomotive as well as the manpower for the actual painting. In todays enviornmentally conscious world, facilities doing the painting have to meet a lot of local standards. Rattlecans need not apply.
Wrapping, while less expensive, is not applied over bare metal - a locomotive has to be painted with at least a primer coat before wrapping. I am going to guess that a wrap for a locomotive will cost in the neighborhood of $10K to $15K and will last a year, maybe two.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
tree68 Painting cars is another story. Many railroads have metal stencils specific to certain cars that take ribs, etc, into consideration. Some are all one stencil, some are a collection of several, which occasionally leads to a gross misspelling (think SOURNTHE).
Or "NORFOLK WEST & ERN".
Maybe; MP173(Ed M.) might respond to this? He used to sell "ARTWORK' to OTR(?) companies who decorated their trailers,trucks. buses(?), etc.
Would not be too far a leap ,possibly, to pricing diesel locomotive wraps?
samfp1943Would not be too far a leap ,possibly, to pricing diesel locomotive wraps?
Those carbodies on diesels get pretty hot. Curious how well a wrap would hold up.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.
Not hood units, but there's been plenty of Amtrak and commute cab units that have been wrapped for various promotions.
Metra has six heritage units (CNW, MILW, CB&Q, RI, City of Chicago, State of Illinois) that are painted and one F40PH in the original paint job that's a wrap.
NittanyLionNot hood units, but there's been plenty of Amtrak and commute cab units that have been wrapped for various promotions.
Most of the Amtrak units only wore the wraps for a limited time. Any others wear them longer than a year?
Overmod would probably remember this more than me, but I think some steam outfits have been using cut vinyl for their lettering?
zugmann Overmod would probably remember this more than me, but I think some steam outfits have been using cut vinyl for their lettering?
I think what some steam outfits have done is had custom large magnetic placards made with various road names that they've applied to the tenders for special purpose events.
They did something really unusual with Western Maryland (ex-C&O) 1309 several months ago. To reletter 1309 as a C&O locomotive they used a Hollywood scene-dressing painting technique where a light wax-based paint was used to blacken the tender and then apply "Chesapeake & Ohio" over it. Once the event was over it was easily washed off.
Flintlock76They did something really unusual with Western Maryland (ex-C&O) 1309 several months ago. To reletter 1309 as a C&O locomotive they used a Hollywood scene-dressing painting technique where a light wax-based paint was used to blacken the tender and then apply "Chesapeake & Ohio" over it. Once the event was over it was easily washed off.
Who will be the first outfit to install giant LED boards on the side of the tender so you can change the lettering at will?
Maybe even a pay-per-play thing?
Zugs is spot on on the heat issue - plenty of long hoods out here scorched to the point that the paint is long gone, replaced by rust and burn marks. (and then there are GE passenger carbodies that melted or had firemen fall through them)
Are the side access panels too hot to touch when the locomotive is working normally (no exhaust leaks under the hood or other such problems) either idling or loaded heavily pulling down the tracks?
Perry Babin Are the side access panels too hot to touch when the locomotive is working normally (no exhaust leaks under the hood or other such problems) either idling or loaded heavily pulling down the tracks?
Generally not too hot to touch, barring issues such as MC suggests. But probably warm enough that it wouldn't be conducive to have a wrap stay adhered.
The LED sign idea is intriguing. We have an outfit here that drives around trucks with LED displays on three sides, advertising whatever someone has paid to advertise.
They can use black wrap (likely to get the hottest) on cars with very deep cutouts/grooves and the wrap is OK (doesn't pull away). In areas where it's really hot (Arizona, etc), I'd think that it would be difficult to hold your hand on a black wrap at the hottest time on a sunny day. That's why I asked about holding your hand on the panels.
You will see plenty of photo images of locomotives running around in the west with the carbody doors thrown wide open with crews trying to disapate excessive heat.
mudchicken You will see plenty of photo images of locomotives running around in the west with the carbody doors thrown wide open with crews trying to disapate excessive heat.
Or the latches no longer able to keep the doors closed.
Jeff
zugmannWho will be the first outfit to install giant LED boards on the side of the tender so you can change the lettering at will?
It didn't help that I had done a proposal for the 'new London bus' contest that featured both e-ink and strategic RGB LEDs that would give you both static color patterns and light-up moving images...
Perhaps mercifully, when he found out exactly how much carbon the T1 would put into the atmosphere, he resigned in horror...
There have been plans to sell space on equipment on the model of pages in a yearbook, or program.
The Susquehanna had to do the same with their first-generation Alco RS-1's during the summer months to keep them from overheating. Turns out the Suzy-Q didn't buy enough locomotive when they bought the RS-1 model. According to a story I read sometime in the late 1940's an Alco rep paid the Susquehanna a visit and almost had a heart attack when he saw how the RS-1's were being used and abused!
I should add this was on the freight trains, commuter trains with single RS-1's had no problems with overheating.
It was standard practice at EMD to do a carbody ventilation test on any new model locomotive. This was done on the center track in the 3-track train shed North of the Engineering building with the shed doors closed and only some windows open to get fresh air in for combustion, blowers and radiator fans. The locomotive was fully instrumented with thermocouples measuring temperatures inside the carbody and on the surfaces of interest. The test was run at 8th throtle heating the air in the train shed to the design max ambient, 115 degF for North America; 122 degF for exports to desert climates. The alterntor exhausts its cooling air (8,000 cfm) into the engine compartment to provide cooling airflow and to pressurize the carbody to 1-2 inches of water to keep dirt and dust from entering. Air exhausts thru any opening it finds, mostly small gaps where the doors overlap top and bottom and thru the knucklebusters which are not sealed. There is also a vent on the roof above the governor between the dynamic brake and cooling fans to let hot air escape. It was critical to keep the air around the governor below about 225 degF to avoid issues with its operation. I recall the carbody doors around the engine would get over 250 degF near the top so too hot to touch. Engine and cooling system tests were done in a similar setup to verify performance.
Dave
This one's a wrap.
(They're calling it "The Beach Ball!")
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oEW8DpGhHU
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