BNSF has had a history of repainting and updating schemes on locomotives, but consistency and weathering has been an issue. Cascade green, Heritage 1, and fakebonnets have lasted 20 years with little issues. But starting with H2, fading has been very rapid especially on the SD70MACs. These units have started to turn a burnt yellow/orange color, with some sections being actually burnt off. Lettering is turning white and peeling is happening consistently on the top of the prime mover. The Dash 9-44CWs however, have kept their colors extremely well, besides for a few "yellow bonnets" appearing. The new ET44ACs are also starting to get their H3 stripes peeled on the long hood. H4 seems to be staying on well enough.
Why does BNSF seem to have a hard time with paint on some units and not others, when the same paint is used? Other roads have little issues with paint and have the same locomotives.
Max Karl, MRL and BNSF
There is a lot of technology that gets rolled into paint durability - a lot of the technology is guided by various hazmat handling restrictions. If you notice - automotive paints from the late 70's on fail over time. The industrial level paints used by the railrods have similar issues.
Expecting paints to be exposed to the elements 24/7/365 without fading or changing colors is a big wish.
Some colors fade over shorter periods of time than others. ACL had their issues with Purple.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Remember when it comes to industrial style paint - cheap paint isn't cheap.
For some reason the Genesee & Wyoming orange seems to hang in there, as well as the CP red and black, NS black, KCS red and Brunswick green, and CP red. But there are sure to be exceptions to that statement out there.
So, this is the exact opposite of the way I would describe this.
The SD70MACs have not faded particularly badly. Some have, but most haven't. It was the Dash 9s that really got the worst of it. All the more so, because the Superfleet units stayed looking nice for so very much longer.
And of course, it has been decades since these H2 units were painted. So their current condition isn't exactly something to grouse about.
We've discussed this in this forum over the years. I don't have the insider knowledge, but those that did have posted here in the past. There was a paint formulation issue with the Emron paint. That's why there's a group of units from the mid to late 90s that faded so badly. GE got the worst of it.
Paint formulations have indeed changed over the years as regulations have limited what can be used.
I blame that muckraker Troy McClure for these failings, if it weren't for his magnum opus ("Lead Paint: Delicious but Deadly") we could still have locomotives that don't bleach in the sun!
Greetings from Alberta
-an Articulate Malcontent
Maybe they would not bleach out in the anemic Canadian Sun, however, when faced with the robust Florida Sun - anything will bleach out over time. Witness the ACL's purple.
CGW maroon turned purple and C&NW had its new colors fade very fast that they went back to the old colors. Gary
I seem to remember that some of the railroad paints were produced by Dupont.
Do you by chance mean Imron?
That's a product I've heard mentioned many times in the railfan press, but I've never heard of Emron.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.