Trains.com

Photo of ex-Conrail SD40-2 Repaint.(NS).

1743 views
21 replies
1 rating 2 rating 3 rating 4 rating 5 rating
  • Member since
    April 2003
  • 305,205 posts
Photo of ex-Conrail SD40-2 Repaint.(NS).
Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, November 30, 2004 5:21 PM
www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=86317
I love that Paint[:p],I like to have that in HO Scale.
  • Member since
    September 2002
  • 762 posts
Posted by kolechovski on Tuesday, November 30, 2004 5:40 PM
I'd love to have it in Conrail paint...those Big Blues are disappearing quickly!
  • Member since
    April 2003
  • 305,205 posts
Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, November 30, 2004 6:44 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by kolechovski

I'd love to have it in Conrail paint


[#ditto] Nothing better than a Conrail (unpatched) SD40-2.
  • Member since
    July 2003
  • From: Elmwood Park, NJ
  • 2,385 posts
Posted by trainfan1221 on Tuesday, November 30, 2004 6:50 PM
I like the paint also, BNSF. Norfolk Southern's scheme does look good when new and fairly glossy. I also think the new white strip works, at least on certain locos. The fact that it is an older unit like an SD40-2 helps, they were good looking to begin with.
  • Member since
    January 2004
  • From: NY
  • 913 posts
Posted by dwil89 on Tuesday, November 30, 2004 7:51 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by kolechovski

I'd love to have it in Conrail paint...those Big Blues are disappearing quickly!
Your best bet would be to get out to the Altoona area of Pa. There are still Conrail and Conrail Quality blue SD40-2 units in helper service there, but their numbers are dwindling as units have been getting painted into NS Black, and more recently, into Horsehead scheme with white numberboards. Dave Williams http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nsaltoonajohnstown
David J. Williams http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nsaltoonajohnstown
  • Member since
    April 2003
  • 305,205 posts
Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, November 30, 2004 7:52 PM
Looks like an old friend. Anyone got the original Conrail number?

LC
  • Member since
    January 2004
  • From: NY
  • 913 posts
Posted by dwil89 on Tuesday, November 30, 2004 7:58 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by Limitedclear

Looks like an old friend. Anyone got the original Conrail number?

LC
3388 was originally Conrail 6455 built 10/78 Dave Williams
David J. Williams http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nsaltoonajohnstown
  • Member since
    January 2004
  • From: NY
  • 913 posts
Posted by dwil89 on Tuesday, November 30, 2004 8:24 PM
The SD40-2 is one of my favorite locomotives.....Listening to anywhere from 1 to 2 pair of them shoving a heavy coaldrag up the West Slope out of Johnstown has to be experienced. first hand! I enjoy hiking along Jeep Trails and old roadbeds in that area, and when I get into some of the narrow valleys off the beaten path, and watch a Coaldrag struggle up that grade with the sound of those SD40's in Run 8.......it never fails to impress me! Dave Williams http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nsaltoonajohnstown
David J. Williams http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nsaltoonajohnstown
  • Member since
    January 2002
  • 4,612 posts
Posted by M636C on Tuesday, November 30, 2004 9:53 PM
Those guys at Juniata really only used blue for a short time. PRR used black (with a tiny amount of green), Penn Central used Black, early Conrail was black ...

It's lucky that CSX didn't get the old Pennsy, all that yellow (and for a while grey) would be distracting!

Peter
  • Member since
    April 2003
  • 305,205 posts
Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, November 30, 2004 10:28 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by dwil89

QUOTE: Originally posted by Limitedclear

Looks like an old friend. Anyone got the original Conrail number?

LC
3388 was originally Conrail 6455 built 10/78 Dave Williams


I think I may have run it in blue...

LC
  • Member since
    January 2004
  • From: NY
  • 913 posts
Posted by dwil89 on Tuesday, November 30, 2004 10:35 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by M636C

Those guys at Juniata really only used blue for a short time. PRR used black (with a tiny amount of green), Penn Central used Black, early Conrail was black ...

It's lucky that CSX didn't get the old Pennsy, all that yellow (and for a while grey) would be distracting!

Peter
Many of the SD40's that Conrail inherited from predecessor roads like Penn Central, etc.stayed in their original colors for awhile after Conrail took over...However...the SD40-2's were bought new by Conrail, between 1977 and 1979 and were painted Conrail Blue from delivery. Conrail also, in the 1990's, rebuilt a group of 40 SD40's from their own fleet of inherited SD40's, along with ex-KCS SD40's. These were rebuilt to SD40-2 specifications internally, but retained the SD40external spotting features, such as shorter frames than the Dash-2's, and chickenwire radiator grills. These rebuilds are still operating for NS and CSX. They were in the 6900 series in Conrail, and now in NS are numbered 3425-3447...numbered behind the as-built Conrail SD40-2's in NS numbered 3329-3424. and any combination of these can be rotated between road service, and helper duty around Altoona, Pa. Dave Williams http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nsaltoonajohnstown
David J. Williams http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nsaltoonajohnstown
  • Member since
    August 2003
  • From: Still on the other side of the tracks.
  • 397 posts
Posted by cpbloom on Wednesday, December 1, 2004 4:52 AM
Thats a great looking dash 2! Who says you can't like Black and White! [:p]
  • Member since
    April 2003
  • 305,205 posts
Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, December 1, 2004 5:13 AM
Nice, that is an awsome paint scheme. I love the "Horsehead" paint scheme.
  • Member since
    April 2002
  • From: Northern Florida
  • 1,429 posts
Posted by SALfan on Wednesday, December 1, 2004 11:50 AM
This is a (slight) improvement over the previous NS paint scheme, but I'd much rather see the old N&W Tuscan (or whatever they called it) red. Even better than that would be the old Southern green, white and gold livery. Long live the Southern!
  • Member since
    October 2002
  • From: Milwaukee, WI, US
  • 1,384 posts
Posted by fuzzybroken on Wednesday, December 1, 2004 12:12 PM
Ooooo!!! Shiny!!!

-Mark
http://www.geocities.com/fuzzybroken
-Fuzzy Fuzzy World 3
  • Member since
    January 2001
  • From: Atlanta
  • 11,971 posts
Posted by oltmannd on Thursday, December 2, 2004 7:48 AM
The best part of the NS scheme, IMHO, is the speed stripes on the nose logo. Looks like it was designed to fit on the nose of the locomotive. The absence of a good "nose logo" was the worst thing about the blue Conrail scheme.

I'd bet that white frame stripe that is part of the NS scheme came from Juniata. I don't thnk NS believed a solid strip would stay put for the life of the paint job until the CR guys showed them some they had been there for 10 years.

I'd sure like to see some color in the NS scheme. Maybe painting the carbody tuscan? It really doesn't cost much more to shoot two colors, particularly when you don't have to mask. It's in NS's PRR and NW heritage, so why not?

-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/

  • Member since
    June 2003
  • From: Colorado Springs
  • 728 posts
Posted by FThunder11 on Thursday, December 2, 2004 7:52 AM
I think it looks quite nice in NS paint, even though some of you think it should be still in Conrail.
Kevin Farlow Colorado Springs
  • Member since
    January 2004
  • From: NY
  • 913 posts
Posted by dwil89 on Thursday, December 2, 2004 9:43 AM
Originally posted by oltmannd

The best part of the NS scheme, IMHO, is the speed stripes on the nose logo. Looks like it was designed to fit on the nose of the locomotive. The absence of a good "nose logo" was the worst thing about the blue Conrail scheme.

I'd bet that white frame stripe that is part of the NS scheme came from Juniata. I don't thnk NS believed a solid strip would stay put for the life of the paint job until the CR guys showed them some they had been there for 10 years.

Yeah...Somewhere around the early to mid 1990's, Conrail added the white frame stripe to locomotives, probably around the same time that they added 'Conrail Quality' to the logo. Dave Williams http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nsaltoonajohnstown
David J. Williams http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nsaltoonajohnstown
  • Member since
    January 2001
  • From: Atlanta
  • 11,971 posts
Posted by oltmannd on Thursday, December 2, 2004 10:40 AM
QUOTE: Originally posted by dwil89

Originally posted by oltmannd

The best part of the NS scheme, IMHO, is the speed stripes on the nose logo. Looks like it was designed to fit on the nose of the locomotive. The absence of a good "nose logo" was the worst thing about the blue Conrail scheme.

I'd bet that white frame stripe that is part of the NS scheme came from Juniata. I don't thnk NS believed a solid strip would stay put for the life of the paint job until the CR guys showed them some they had been there for 10 years.

Yeah...Somewhere around the early to mid 1990's, Conrail added the white frame stripe to locomotives, probably around the same time that they added 'Conrail Quality' to the logo. Dave Williams http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nsaltoonajohnstown


1990, to be exact. C40-8W 6050 was the first to get it as built at Erie. Juniata started repaints shortly thereafter. It preceded the Quality scheme by about a year.

Here it is at Erie before they put the front stripe on:

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=19888

Here some "sisters"

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=17779

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=9136

-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/

  • Member since
    January 2004
  • From: NY
  • 913 posts
Posted by dwil89 on Thursday, December 2, 2004 4:15 PM
Well, as long as NS stays as NS, and doesn't merge with another Class 1.....Of course, if the long running joke...BNSF= Buy Norfolk Southern Fast ever became reality, Heritage 2 paint would look interesting on the Altoona SD40-2 Helper Pool.....BNSF power runs through Altoona alot already as trailing units on freight traffic. Dave Williams http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nsaltoonajohnstown
David J. Williams http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nsaltoonajohnstown
  • Member since
    March 2002
  • From: Harrisburg PA / Dover AFB DE
  • 1,482 posts
Posted by adrianspeeder on Thursday, December 2, 2004 4:41 PM
That a sharp lookin loco.

Of course im partial to black diesels :p

Adrianspeeder

USAF TSgt C-17 Aircraft Maintenance Flying Crew Chief & Flightline Avionics Craftsman

  • Member since
    January 2004
  • From: NY
  • 913 posts
Posted by dwil89 on Thursday, December 2, 2004 5:12 PM
It appears that the SD40-2's must be getting repainted when they go to Juniata for major work, or for 92 day inspections. The pace seems to be picking up on the repainting of these units...I am curious as to how long it takes on average, from the time a rusty, grungy SD40-2 pulls up to the paint shop, until it emerges with fresh paint. It would appear that the locomotive would have to be washed, de-greased, sanded, puttied, and prepped. How much time is involved in all the prep work, before shooting it with fresh paint? Dave Williams http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nsaltoonajohnstown
David J. Williams http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nsaltoonajohnstown

Join our Community!

Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.

Search the Community

Newsletter Sign-Up

By signing up you may also receive occasional reader surveys and special offers from Trains magazine.Please view our privacy policy