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WHAT?! Grey Paint with Yellow Stripe for UP 6344!

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Posted by wgnrr on Sunday, April 13, 2008 11:26 PM

This loco was NOT a photoshoped image!

It was an actual locomotive, that was painted incorrectly by the contractor. Search the net for photos of it, and look at the HO model made.

Also notice the date that the loco was painted after all the images of it in grey were taken.

Phil

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Posted by UPRR engineer on Friday, April 11, 2008 5:07 PM

http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=34743

Its a photo shop job, i had that unit one night and took some pictures of it. It was never painted grey. Click on that link and you should be able to find my pictures in there.

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Posted by UPRR engineer on Friday, April 11, 2008 4:57 PM

 

It was a photo shop job, i had that unit on my train one night and i took some pictures of it.

You can find them here:

 http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=34743

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Posted by WSOR 3801 on Saturday, July 21, 2007 8:08 PM

You could get your own, in HO scale from Athearn. 

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Posted by WSOR 4025 on Wednesday, July 18, 2007 11:33 AM
I like the scheme better than te armour yellow,Thumbs Up [tup] but why did they have to do it to an SP unit?Thumbs Down [tdn]
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Posted by miniwyo on Thursday, December 14, 2006 11:19 PM
 stmtrolleyguy wrote:

Also, that photoshoped sd40 looks like it had the color saturation turned way down, because a few things still show fringe color (the strobe lights being the brightest are still a bit orange).  Getting real gray in photoshop takes a little more work. Wink [;)]

 

Definitly, It literally took me 2 minutes to do it. If I had had a little more time I wuld have done it better.

RJ

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Posted by stmtrolleyguy on Thursday, December 14, 2006 11:08 PM

I wouldn't say is looks good, but it does look different.  I agree that it should have the flag decal on the side.  It would look better with yellow numbers, but that sort of removes the SP heritage from the locomotive....(Possibly the use of the red letters?)

Also, that photoshoped sd40 looks like it had the color saturation turned way down, because a few things still show fringe color (the strobe lights being the brightest are still a bit orange).  Getting real gray in photoshop takes a little more work. Wink [;)]

StmTrolleyguy
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Posted by coborn35 on Thursday, December 14, 2006 6:06 PM

Looks good if UP wants to screw over their public relations department. Keeping the yellow UNIFIES them, the grey just looks ugly and then you will half half the units grey half yellow and it will be a big mess.

Bring back the flag, and the yellow, and have a ball.

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Posted by oscaletrains on Thursday, December 14, 2006 4:00 PM
lol looks like crap! fits just right!Laugh [(-D]
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Posted by TimChgo9 on Saturday, November 25, 2006 8:00 AM
I like the new paint.... there is something about a gray locomotive. I would like to see the yellow on the cab roof, now that would cool, and kind of a reversal of the original paint scheme.

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Posted by Big90mack on Saturday, November 25, 2006 1:50 AM
Cooooool its new   I like it
Jesse C. If at first you don't succed get a bigger hammer !!!!
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Posted by Nataraj on Saturday, November 25, 2006 12:21 AM
I LOVE IT!!
Nataraj -- Southern Pacific RULES!!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The GS-4 was the most beautiful steam engine that ever touched the rails.
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Posted by RR Redneck on Friday, November 24, 2006 11:41 PM

 BNSFrailfan wrote:
NOW I TRULY LIKE THAT. OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD.....
I REALY REALY LIKE THAT. SWEEEEET!

I hate it.

Lionel collector, stuck in an N scaler's modelling space.

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Posted by edblysard on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 7:46 PM

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/locoPicture.aspx?id=20541

A link just to add to the process.

 

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Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 1:15 PM
 CNW534 wrote:

 Lord Atmo wrote:
it's got all the decals on it though. no RR puts decals on primer units.

Exactly.  Those Scotchlite emblems, letters and striping aren't cheap, even when purchased in bulk.  I know a modest graphics package for each of my EMS department's ambulances costs $800.

Mark

I dont know the cost of decals for big trucks but on the Fiberglass freightliner bodies it is no problem to use Citrus Acid to strip the old decal off and literally rub the new one on. Sometimes in cold weather we gotta heat the surface to hand peel or scrape the decal off.

I was assigned a virgin unit that was decaled for the so called Elite Fleet and it only took 20 minutes to strip that decoration off the body. 5 unit letters later (And a computer speed reduction from 75 to 63), it was a regular unit in revenue service.

The old days of hand painting signs etc on trucks is pretty dead, but it is still maintained as a art form for show trucks.

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Posted by zapp on Tuesday, November 21, 2006 10:59 PM

Sorry folks, but I miss read the info on this unit. It was transported from Fife, WA. to Paducah, KY on 04 AUG. then released on 14 NOV. So something happened to it, either a very bad accident, or a very serious mechical issue (I'm going for the first one), but the car trace on the website doesn't give enough information.

I do know this:

(1.) It's not a "B" unit and,

(2.) It's not in yard service. It is currently on the  MSCNP-19 headed back to N. Platte from somewhere out west.

I realize this doesn't answer the original question, but hey we're a little closer. 

I'll try to get by a yard so I can get on the main frame and do an =LI on this unit.

I did find out that there are 11 B23-7's and B-30's fixin' (for you yankee's this means "is about") to be scrapped!! Thank God. I hate those pieces of crap! They were junk off the assembly line and they are very close to be really junked! 

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Posted by CNW534 on Tuesday, November 21, 2006 8:56 PM

 Lord Atmo wrote:
it's got all the decals on it though. no RR puts decals on primer units.

Exactly.  Those Scotchlite emblems, letters and striping aren't cheap, even when purchased in bulk.  I know a modest graphics package for each of my EMS department's ambulances costs $800.

Mark

You should see what an SD70ACe does to a dead fish!
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Posted by zapp on Tuesday, November 21, 2006 3:43 PM

I got that off our computer. It doesn't say, one way or the other, if it is in primer or not. Remember who you are talking about, this is Union Pacific, and those decals are going to be written off. Their cost to this corporation is truly minuscule in the big picture. Come on man, they repainted all those 50's then turned them back in to the lessor in 8 month's after the repaint. They do crazy things in Omaha!

I can make a call to a friend of mine in Omaha and find out for sure. 

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Posted by Lord Atmo on Tuesday, November 21, 2006 3:17 PM
 zapp wrote:
Sorry folks, hate to bring you down, but this unit is in primer. It is scheduled to go to Paducah, KY. for repainting after the holiday rush. 


it's got all the decals on it though. no RR puts decals on primer units. i mean look at NS's fleet. their numbers were all spray painted on. and primer isnt shiny dark grey, it's light greyish white

Your friendly neighborhood CNW fan.

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Posted by alcomotive on Tuesday, November 21, 2006 1:11 PM

Nice work on obtaining this shot...but something else has caught my attention and I wonder if any one else has noticed....

the unit in the background.  UP yellow Milwaukee Road???  Where was this taken and when?  is that a E unit? A or B number etc.  What is the "dirt" on this unit?

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Posted by zapp on Monday, November 20, 2006 10:05 PM
Sorry folks, hate to bring you down, but this unit is in primer. It is scheduled to go to Paducah, KY. for repainting after the holiday rush. 
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Posted by CaptainChuck on Sunday, November 19, 2006 10:07 PM
http://www.railroadforums.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=66711&d=116394
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Posted by edblysard on Sunday, November 19, 2006 8:41 PM

Why would UP assign a AC44 to yard duty…other than they have lots and lots of them from mergers.

UP 6344 is former SP 298, part of the first SP AC 44 order.

She is old, and pretty worn…rode hard and put up wet quite a few times.

Pretty close to 10 years old, if not older.

If you haven’t noticed, UP is not doing all that much in the form of repair work to the SP or CNW units…basically running them till the wheels wear off!

Now, if you want to believe that, after so much bad press, and the lawsuits over trademark infringement, UP has decided to give up Amour Yellow and paint their units grey…

Keep in mind UP has closed most of the back shops and major fabrication shops, so making yard slugs or converting old locomotives to cab less helper units is much harder than before.

If you will look, the windows in the photo I took this afternoon are painted over, not plated over.

The paint was nice and shiny about two years ago, but two years of hump duty with only the rain as a wash station will pretty much fade out any paint.

 

 

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Posted by Lord Atmo on Sunday, November 19, 2006 5:02 PM
yes yard units are gray it seems. HOWEVER!!!! look at the unit this topic focuses on. WHY would UP assign an AC4400CW to yard duty? honestly, that's just plain  dumb. AC4400CWs are so powerful, they'll live out their whole lives on road duty

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Posted by doghouse on Sunday, November 19, 2006 4:52 PM
Real photo or not, helper or not, A or B, this is one striking unit.  
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Posted by chicagorails on Sunday, November 19, 2006 4:19 PM
yellow is a more safe color than grey so thats why up most units are yeller......
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Posted by Nataraj on Sunday, November 19, 2006 3:53 PM
Yeah, the new unit is a actual engine, not a control "b" unit. Notice the control or "b" units have no cab windows.

This is a frsh painted loco right out of the shops.
Nataraj -- Southern Pacific RULES!!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The GS-4 was the most beautiful steam engine that ever touched the rails.
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Posted by espeefoamer on Sunday, November 19, 2006 3:36 PM

I like the new scheme.It is a refreshing change from yellow.Smile [:)]

The gray on the ex GE RC control units is NOT shiney like on the 6344.

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Posted by edblysard on Sunday, November 19, 2006 3:21 PM

It is not a “new” paint scheme, but has been in use for about a year or so on helper and hump units, along with the remote units.

UP paints the hump helpers, transfer units and remotes grey now, when they shop them for repairs or when they absolutely have to have new paint.

Most of them are “B” units, in that they are no longer lead unit qualified.

Note the unit below, it is about to help drag a switch cut over the hump at Englewood, (Houston, look at the background))…it will also be used on yard to yard transfer work.

Sorry about the bad shot, I was blocked by…you guessed it, a train!

The photo is about an hour old.

The Y in the unit number is there because this is a merger acquired engine, and UP already had a 153 road unit.

They add the Y to denote it is a yard engine, not a road unit.

As more of the older units become too expensive to maintain, or when units such as the one in the original post become damaged or broken, if the cost of bringing them up to lead unit specs is too great, you will see them become part of the grey fleet, and be used as helper units.

 

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