Favorite RR paint scheme

[Andrew Falconer]

The Soo Line Colormark Scheme Locomotives and Cars applied between 1962 to 1976.

The Soo Line used a combination of paint and 3M Scotchlite Reflective film to create their bold graphics.

Runner-Up: Chicago & North Western Zito Yellow locos and rolling stock

Andrew

[Andrew Falconer]

Here's one that I love, but I think it is more like MR's 75th Anniversary car, and a one of a kind paint job. Does anyone know how many were done?



By the way, the other side is a standard CN gray with red.

That Canadian National Cylindrical Hopper scheme was from a series of 4 cars that CN painted in 1971. Only one side of one car was painted. There is a G Scale Canadian Website with actual photos. Would have to search for it again. This CN Cylindrical Hopper model is a new release from LIONEL in O Scale in case anyone wonders.

These were the 4 Cars showing what they transported for an advertising campaign.

Mechanical Refrigerator with a Bull sectioned in many colors

Insulated Boxcar with a Large Apple and apple leaf

Plug-Door Newsprint Boxcar with the names of many Canadian Newspapers

Cylindrical Hopper with Pigment Formula and Spectrum of Colors.

Andrew

[spidge]

#1 SP Black Widow

#2 SP Bloodynose

#3 SP Daylight

Sadly I have no pics of my GS4.

$4 SP tiger stripes

[oleirish]

S.P./ Cotton belt.All colors!I be an S.P. nut!!!

JIM

[ohiosulator]

CSX STEALTH for me, always loved that scheme.

also the dark? future is kinda cool

[bb4884]

1: BN's Executive

 

2: UP Gray FEF's with WHITE lettering

 

 

[Heartland Division CB&Q]

Just about any post WWII paint scheme was terrific!

Some that come to mind are ....  Texas Special (especially on the Katy PA's)....    Santa Fe warbonnet or freight blue/yellow....  GN Empire Builder ....... B&O blue/gray ...... MILW pre-UP yellow ..... WP ...DRGW...... SOUTHERN Green ....... IC passenger...  Orginal Rock Island.... SP Daylight......

OF COURSE:   CB&Q silver passenger ...... CB&Q grayback freight.... CB&Q blackbird.... and later the CB&Q chinese red.

There are others.

[WCfan]

WC Maroon and gold, BN cascade green, and Soo Candy apple red.

[dabug]

1) ACL purple and silver w/yellow trim; 2) GN orange and green; 3) EL maroon and gray.  After that there are just too many other colorful postwar paint schemes to quantify easily. 

An allied question you might want to consider a posting for: beginning in the late 50s, railroads began applying greatly simplified paint schemes to their diesels and passenger equipment, often one, solid color.  What simplified paint scheme of that era and beyond did the greatest violence to the colorful paint scheme it replaced?  My vote goes to Southern-controlled CofG, that abandoned perhaps the "busiest" postwar paint scheme of them all.  Count 'em: there were six different colors on CG diesels!  Blue, gray, black, orange, yellow, and white (counting the number on the nose).  To go from that scheme to the uninspired Southern-style black was not, in my opinion, a case of merely settling for a drab, "plain Jane" color scheme (probably solely for the dubious purpose of saving money), but was an absolute abortion compared to the scheme it replaced.  Shameful!     

  

[Anonymous]

Nothing truly beats the black of a big steamer.

[DavidGSmith]

Fergus you picked all of mine.

[sleeper33]

My favourite livery has to be the santa fe blue and yellow freight it's eyecatching and basic at the same time but also the warbonnet is catchy with the combo of red and silver very in your face[:D]

[jrbernier]

Rocket Island 'Rocket' paint scheme - Now that is how God and EMD intended a passenger engine to look! Of course, the basic ATSF 'War Bonnet' has got to be the classic(I had the Lionel F3 AA set as a kid).

Jim Bernier

[DALCruiser]

Boy, WOW, hard decision! I really like the SP Daylight, but right there next to it has to be the SF War Bonnet. Both are classic paint designs and beautiful streaking down the tracks. [;)]

Dave

[Anonymous]

I voted other, couldn't pick just one.

[james saunders]

apart from The PACIFIC AYER & ATLANTIC BLUE/ORANGE i like the SF switcher Blue with yellow Pin Stripe and the Santa Fe Zebra Stripe, i also like the BN GP40s with the white trim around the front of the cab.

OZJIM

[nbrodar]

D&H Lighting Stripe. Followed by EL's Maroon and Gray.

Nick

[DavidJ611]

I'm an N&W man, myself, and yup, I dig the spartan black-and-white look but my favorite has a racy Tuscan Red stripe w/ Dulux Gold pinstriping and lettering. [^]

However (although I'm not especially a Milwaukee Road fan), I absolutely LOVE their Maroon & Orange. [Must be the Hokie in me!!! [:D]]

-Dave

[David_Telesha]

Well wouldn't you know it but...

New Haven paint schemes. All of them except the Alpert scheme really. I love the NH's pinstriped schemes. People don't know about them all.

The NH had their own fine pinstripe schemes sort of like the PRR's with Pullman Green/Gold, Hunter & Gold, and Hunter & Pearl Gray. Not to mention the Warm Orange w/Silver Gray pinstripes and 1/3 top Hunter. These all had narrow stripes of the same width.

Those early schemes were the best - especially the variations depending on the locomotive - one for the EP-4 had a small script herald on each door.

The early electrics had a plain scheme of Pullman Green with NEW HAVEN spelled out in Gold - this was simple but classy and quite pleasing to the eye on the boxcabs.

Also there's the typical NH striped scheme with wide and narrow stripes. I like this one a lot too - I like the Pullman Green & Gold better than the #401 Green and yellow version.

The McGinnis (red-orange/white/black) schemes have grown on me. I like the original with the white on the bottom. But the revised with the red-orange on the bottom is neat too - it looked just as well, and good on the FL-9's.

The Alpert scheme (simplified McGinnis) I don't care for - this is the scheme with 2/3 black carbody, a little red-orange on the bottom 1/3 and nose and small Scotchlite NH's.

The 1960's "Trustee" scheme I like a lot. This is the scheme on the EF-4 (E33), U25 and C425 that has three wide white stripes and a large single color NH. On the EF-4 the body color was orange with a black NH but on the diesels it was black with an orange NH - nice.

Before the diesels the I-5 class 4-6-4 Hudsons had two very classy schemes - one with a NYNH&H Script herald on the tender and one with NEW HAVEN spelled out. There was striping on the tender and loco too, and there were small script heralds on the side of the shrouding on the steps on the front side of the loco too. I like the tender with New Haven spelled out best. Great scheme.

I would have to say I like the PRR's schemes too. Especially the pinstriped, striped, and 1950's schemes.

I also love the NYC's lightening stripes and cigar band schemes.

Boston and Maine's Minuteman scheme of Maroon and Gold is nice too.

There's other old ones I like I can't think of right now - I could go through a book and pick out a ton of them!!!!!

More modern, I like Conrail (I grew up with it), CSX YN3 "Dark Future", Amtrak Phase 3 and Phase 5, Metro-North's red/blue/silver, Providence and Worcester's current scheme and a few others.

[Soo Line fan]

SOO LINE white and red.

Jim

[Anonymous]

# 1 Wabash Bluebirds
# 2 NKP Bluebirds
# 3 DTI Orange & Black
# 4 NKP Freight Scheme
# 5 PRR Passenger 5 Stripe

Rick

[Anonymous]

#1 BNSF H3
#2 IC death star
#3 IC white/ orange
#4 SF or BNSF warbonnet

[icmr]

Illinois Central's Death Star scheme.



ICMR

Happy Railroading.[swg][swg]

[Anonymous]

Theres not many i don't like as long as there on trains.

[Anonymous]

SP Lark (sadly only on the pass. cars)
SP Black Widow
SP Daylight
NYC lightning
That nifty one I designed for my short line

-dave

[Bill H.]

B&O (Blue/Gray)

[ckape]

My #1 BNSF Heritage, but there's a few other ones I like that weren't listed: BN Executive and CSX Bright Future.

And just to rile people up a bit, I might as well mention that about the only scheme I find more boring than the Union Pacific's are the Norfolk Southern schemes.

[ozzy01]

My favorite is Chessie followed by SF Warbonnet , SR Tuxedo , UP and EL

[Anonymous]

My personal favorite is the Reading RR Beeline Service Scheme. Yellow and Green with a Bee on the side. Of the Nationals I would have to go with the Chessie. If you asked me this 25 years ago A Red White and Blue SCL Uboat would have been THE answer. Dave

[Anonymous]

#1 ACL Purple and Silver
#2 FEC Red & Yellow
#3 SAL Citrus
#4 D&H Blue/Gray
#5 B&O Blue and Gray
#6 LV Snowbird