Amtrak should go one step further and paint a few cars in UP yellow, NP greens, GN green/orange, SP red stripe, IC brown, etc. to recreate a rainbow era train from the early '70's.
To make it even more interesting, go in a similar vein as UP by applying the heritage schemes to modern equipment such as Superliners that never saw the actual paint scheme they would wear. Add in a crew wardrobed in bell bottoms, puffy shirts, and wide tie---pronto--instant time machine with a "modern" touch.
Jay
Amtrak is planning on using six engines for their heritage program. Four P42s will be painted into retro schemes, each one painted in one of Amtrak's past past schemes, Phase I, II, III (already out) and IV. They are also painting Amtrak P40 822 into a scheme similar to 145's and they also are planning on reactivating a F40PH. Supposedly the P40 and the F40PH will be used for Amtrak's planned 40th anniversary special and the four P42s will be pressed into regular service as they are released. It will be interesting to see a P42 wearing the Phase I "bloody nose" scheme used on the SDP40Fs, that's for sure!
I like the idea of the heritage schemes. And why not? UP has a few "heritage" locos. And if it gets more people noticing Amtrak....maybe it will make a few people decide to want to, I don't know...use it!
coborn35 That wasnt directed at you Zug
That wasnt directed at you Zug
Sorry, this has been a very long week. My reading comprehension is somewhere between sucks and not there.
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
So far, after seeing all the photos of unit 145 in the Phas III scheme, I really like this look MUCH BETTER than the current blue nosed scheme, which seems dull looking and always seems to look dirty to me. Looking foward to seeing the Phase I, II and IV schemes...especially the Phase I "bloody nose" or "pointless arrow" look, and REALLY looking forward to seeign an old F40 back on the point of Amtrak trains again (wow, never thought I'd be saying that after the E units were scrapped but the F40 is so much better looking than the P40 or P42 series IMHO).
expresslane400 So is Amtrak painting engines in retro Amtrak colors or host railroad colors? Why would they waste money they could use where is is needed?
So is Amtrak painting engines in retro Amtrak colors or host railroad colors? Why would they waste money they could use where is is needed?
I would assume that the engines being repainted were due for other shop work so paint work may have been needed. They will probably retain the retro colors until their next scheduled turn in the shop.
I recall hearing the "new" schemes are applied in traditional paint.
I know they were wraps. I stated that in my post. My question was whether the temporary retro colors are paint or a wrap.
Cleaning the adhesive off can't be anywhere near the cost and complexity of stripping and repainting...twice. Once for the retro paint and once for the return to the current scheme.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
Those "Christmas Carol", Post Office, etc. special schemes were merely wraps that were quickly taken off once the promo period of time was over. If you ever have a chance to see one of these units AFTER the wrap has been off for a while you'll notice the sunsequent dirt really sticks to the residual adhesive (whatever that may have been) left on the flanks of the unit where the wrap had been.
Just curiosity...
Is it paint, or is it a wrap? They have wrapped engines before when they needed custom paint for a few months.
zugmann coborn35: Yeah, Amtrak is run for the benefit of railfans I never said it was run for the benefit of the railfans. I said it has railfan support. Two separate things entirely. I just don't understand why a company should completely ignore its past - even if looking back at the past is a tiny little thing like painting an engine that needs painted in a different livery...
coborn35: Yeah, Amtrak is run for the benefit of railfans
Yeah, Amtrak is run for the benefit of railfans
I never said it was run for the benefit of the railfans. I said it has railfan support. Two separate things entirely. I just don't understand why a company should completely ignore its past - even if looking back at the past is a tiny little thing like painting an engine that needs painted in a different livery...
Mechanical Department "No no that's fine shove that 20 pound set all around the yard... those shoes aren't hell and a half to change..."
The Missabe Road: Safety First
Even Pepsico is getting in on the heritage angle. They are printing cans by the cases in old Pepsi, Mountain Dew, and Dr. Pepper graphics and even going so far as sweetening with cane sugar. This is at least the third year that Pepsi has been available in the Throwback campaign.
I have some of the heritage 'Tonka toys which were sold 10 or so years ago. Matchbox has new models based on old models from the late '60s/'70s.
Railroads are not the only corporations proud of their history. Just don't know how measurable the rr heritage marketing efforts will be on the bottom line profits, the other examples above are/were easier to monitor in terms of profit/loss.
Just before I saw the pictures of No. 145, I had been scanning in pictures that I had taken of Amtrak in the late 80s-early 90s. I realized how much I prefer that "retro" paint scheme instead of the current scheme. Simple, yet classy.
Companies need to look toward the future, but they also need to remember their past - "where they came from."
I dunno. It sure looks like a marketing promotion to me. If it brings more awareness to what Amtrak is and what is does, is that bad? I guess they could have done what PC was doing- paint things black, in hopes that they could keep below the radar, but what good would that do?
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
coborn35 Yeah, Amtrak is run for the benefit of railfans
In a similar vein....the 'Throwback' uniforms that each of the NFL teams wear from time to time, have most of the maggot population gagging!
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
But zug, a tribute to the past history is by definition an appeal to nostalgia. And yes, the freight rails have done so as well. But unlike Amtrak, they aren't huge money losers. And unlike Amtrak, they aren't run for the benefit of railfans - some are pretty hostile. I consider myself a railfan. But if the average taxpayer thought that Amtrak was making decisions for the benefit of the minuscule number of railfans in this country, perhaps that knowledge would lead to the needed reforms.
C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan
I don't consider these paint jobs as purely nostalgic. It is just paint/graphics. Amtrak isn't the first company to revisit previous paint schemes/logos/colors at some point.
And if nothing else, amtrak does have a lot of railfan support (with many railfans in their very ranks).
schlimm zug: No outrage. I guess I wasn't clear. It isn't really the waste I object to so much as the "living in the past" aspect of a retro paint scheme. Amtrak should be doing all it can do to present an image of looking to the future. But continuing to have half its operations be nostalgia-oriented long distance trains makes that difficult.
zug: No outrage. I guess I wasn't clear. It isn't really the waste I object to so much as the "living in the past" aspect of a retro paint scheme. Amtrak should be doing all it can do to present an image of looking to the future. But continuing to have half its operations be nostalgia-oriented long distance trains makes that difficult.
So you object to long distance trains. Are the people using them soley for nostalgic reasons, though?
UP also had legal considerations related to protecting trademarks and copyrights that were among the factors in setting up the Heritage Fleet.
They're using these engines for an anniversary special. They were in the shops already, and probably needed painted, so they put a different scheme on it. I don't get what your outrage is about it, Schlimm.
MerrilyWeRollAlong schlimm: Regurgitating past paint schemes is wasteful but appropriate for Amtrak, an organization more dedicated to preserving trips down memory lane than being a popular, modern, efficient service. I suppose it was inevitable that another Amtrak thread would eventually derail into a politically infused hate-fest.
schlimm: Regurgitating past paint schemes is wasteful but appropriate for Amtrak, an organization more dedicated to preserving trips down memory lane than being a popular, modern, efficient service.
Regurgitating past paint schemes is wasteful but appropriate for Amtrak, an organization more dedicated to preserving trips down memory lane than being a popular, modern, efficient service.
I suppose it was inevitable that another Amtrak thread would eventually derail into a politically infused hate-fest.
I support a modern passenger rail network. What is political about my comment?
If Amtrak had to paint some of their units anyway, what harm is done by using one or more of the older "heritage" schemes...paint is paint from a cost standpoint and if it garners the carrier more positive attention then so much the better.
schlimm Regurgitating past paint schemes is wasteful but appropriate for Amtrak, an organization more dedicated to preserving trips down memory lane than being a popular, modern, efficient service.
On the economic plus side, model railroaders will have more P40 paint schemes to add to their collections.
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