I always loved the bright paint colors and schemes of railroads and I have been worndering what are your favorites?
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Ever since I was a little kid I loved the Santa Fe War Bonnets. They are colorful and look fast. Of course they were what I frequently saw and we often took the train from Chicago to Los Angeles. (I was so happy when they brought back the War Bonnet paint scheme in the 90s.)
Then one day as a young adult in southern California I was racing a Southern Pacific train that was hauling ass along the side of the 10 freeway. Something about the basic black with the bloody nose on the point caught my eye and I started loving that paint scheme too.
Hello All,
I prefer utilitarian black with safety orange heralds and accents.
Hope this helps.
"Uhh...I didn’t know it was 'impossible' I just made it work...sorry"
For the steam era, My favorite scheme is the Glacier Park:
For the diseasel era, The Burlington's Chinese Red is about my favorite, though I also really love the GN Big Sky Blue.
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton
My vote goes to the Jersey Central's "Blue Comet."
https://www.broadway-limited.com/6931HeavyPacific4-6-2CNJ831TheBlueCometParagon4Sound/DC/DCCN.aspx
Andy Muller of the Reading & Northern must like it too, here's the R&N's #425.
Coincidence? I don't think so!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading_Blue_Mountain_and_Northern_Railroad_425#/media/File:RBM&N_425_Jim_Thorpe.png
It's a tie between GN Empire Builder, GN Big Sky Blue, NP Lowry Green, or CB&Q Grayback
I don't know if the scheme had an official name, but this is my favorite.
Bowser calls this the "as delivered" scheme, which is inaccurate, but who's counting? The tops of the locomotives were painted Oxide Red some while after the SP&S had taken delivery of them.
I also really like Northern Pacific's "canoe" scheme: https://www.railpictures.net/photo/744661/
-Matt
Returning to model railroading after 40 years and taking unconscionable liberties with the SP&S, Northern Pacific and Great Northern roads in the '40s and '50s.
For steam- GN Glacier scheme, but they are a bugger to mask and paint.
For diesel - always liked, and miss, SP's bloody nose and grey. However I also like the early SP&S with their red/maroon, as well as the NP's Pine Tree scheme.
Kev
For me it's an easy choice. The SP Daylight scheme for both locos and passenger cars. It looked sharp in for both steam and diesel locos.
d42a01d8ffad7370136b8246e7443044.jpg (980×649) (pinimg.com)
054e7e3b3b863b8d43479cc3ff51b076.jpg (1301×821) (pinimg.com)
GP025For steam- GN Glacier scheme, but they are a bugger to mask and paint. For diesel - always liked, and miss, SP's bloody nose and grey. However I also like the early SP&S with their red/maroon, as well as the NP's Pine Tree scheme.
I generally don't like bright colors on my layout, except for Pacific Fruit Express cars. I have a few of those in yellow and orange schemes. I find they match well with the earth-tones of my layout. But they still get the weathering job!
Simon
I model the 1950s and most of the photos I see from that era are black and white so color is difficult to discern. The few color pictures I see from that era indicates to me boxcar were mostly some shade of boxcar red although the brighter colors did start to appear, especially later in the decade. I model 1956 so I do have some bright colored freight cars, probably a few more than is prototypical, but boxcar red is still dominant.
I deleted my post, I think I replied to the wrong post, or it ended up here by mistake???
weird.
I originally posted it in the Rattle Can Paint recommendation thread, go figure?
Mike.
My You Tube
crossthedog I don't know if the scheme had an official name, but this is my favorite. Bowser calls this the "as delivered" scheme, which is inaccurate, but who's counting? The tops of the locomotives were painted Oxide Red some while after the SP&S had taken delivery of them. I also really like Northern Pacific's "canoe" scheme: https://www.railpictures.net/photo/744661/ -Matt
Matt, you must have posted while I was typing. The Bowser version is what I was talking about, and I will have to get one of their F units in the same scheme.
It might be kind of odd, but I really never cared for the Empire builder scheme, just a personal preference. I do like NP's Canoe scheme though....
GP025It might be kind of odd, but I really never cared for the Empire builder scheme, just a personal preference
As for the F-7 in the SP&S "red top" scheme, I ordered mine from Trainz.com, probably getting on two years ago. The F-7s are still at the bottom of the list on Bowser's most recent delivery schedule notice (last August).
GN24I always loved the bright paint colors and schemes of railroads and I have been worndering what are your favorites?
Non-bright paint colors and schemes - i.e. white block lettering on black or charcoal gray background. Just like a classic tux, it never goes out of style.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
tstage GN24 I always loved the bright paint colors and schemes of railroads and I have been worndering what are your favorites? Non-bright paint colors and schemes - i.e. white block lettering on black or charcoal gray background. Just like a classic tux, it never goes out of style. Tom
GN24 I always loved the bright paint colors and schemes of railroads and I have been worndering what are your favorites?
That reminds me of a George Goebel line he said to Johnny Carson when he followed Bob Hope and Dean Martin on the Tonight Show. "Did you ever feel like the world was a tuxedo and you were a pair of brown shoes?"
Lone Wolf and Santa FeEver since I was a little kid I loved the Santa Fe War Bonnets.
ME TOO!
-Photograph by Kevin Parson
An all-time classic.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
I grew up about a mile from the Union Pacific mainline. As a kid, I rode the City of Portland from Nebraska to Washington.
The train had this at the front end. I've always loved the look of the entire UP train of yellow. Back in the 1950s, to me this was a symbol of the future of modern railroads.
That's why this is on my layout:
York1 John
I adore all three Great Northern Diesel Schemes—also a big fan of CB&Q Grayback, Silver, Blackbird, and Chinese Red. BN Green looked great on Cab Unit, especially the hockey stick commuters. NP Lowry Green and Pine Tree Freight are also pretty swell.
Other paint schemes I like are Rock Island Red & Black, Erie Mining Yellow, and Soo Line Maroon and Yellow.
(isnt there another thread like this?)
From the get go, it was the Warbonnet Red scheme. Just a superior use of color and design. It's prominant use in displays for the hobby (Lionel flyers, Athearn boxes, etc) not only won me over visually, but brought me to the hobby in the first place.
If that was the intent of the artist, it succeeded wholeheartedly in my case.
PMR
Count me in for CSX blue and yellow:
https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/08/business/rail-unions-csx-deal-paid-sick-time/index.html
York1 I grew up about a mile from the Union Pacific mainline. As a kid, I rode the City of Portland from Nebraska to Washington. The train had this at the front end. I've always loved the look of the entire UP train of yellow. Back in the 1950s, to me this was a symbol of the future of modern railroads. That's why this is on my layout:
I grew up in Omaha but that wasn't my reason for choosing to model a freelanced UP when I bought my first home. The only train trip I took in my youth was east to Chicago on the Burlington. I became partial to the UP when I did a jigsaw puzzle featuring an Armour Yellow UP passenger train passing through a landscape of evergreens. I knew nothing about where the UP went in those days but looking back, it was probably somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. Probably the City of Portland or the Portland Rose.
For me it's UP Armour Yellow and Harbour Mist Grey. But a close second is a tie between GN Empire Builder, SantaFe bookend blue and yellow, SP both bloody nose and black widow, and B&O 1st gen blue grey and black. Those are all classy schemes.
Jim (with a nod to Mies Van Der Rohe)
Well, my favorite paint scheme is also one used by the Santa Fe. However, it is not the warbonnet. I prefer the simple, yet elegant black w/ zebra stripes scheme of the 1940s and 1950s. It makes even behemoths like the Baldwin Center Cab look elegant.
JW
My three favorites are all found on F units.
1. New York Central's lightning stripe (full length stripe freight version-black background)
2. Santa Fe's red and silver war bonnet
3. Chesapeake & Ohio's blue and yellow
Mike
I have always been partial to Canadian Pacific's maroon and grey scene.