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Worst painted engine in BNSF's fleet

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Posted by route_rock on Sunday, August 12, 2007 6:38 PM

   What does the 832 look like on the inside? Well the ceiling is falling down and moist from the SC blowing on it ( hanging down from by where the AC vents are) and its black lets call it mold I bet. The floor nasty, the desks on both sides NASTY. The controls, loose and the notches are more like speed bumps not notches. The lights behind the guages are dim . All in all these motors are B unit only in my mind. But still on the point.

   Junk em all, Give me good old Cascade green, Or better yet bring back the Rock and I will work for them instead.

Yes we are on time but this is yesterdays train

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Posted by Lord Atmo on Saturday, August 11, 2007 10:00 PM

i find that the BN unitn with noselights looks worse.

Noselights and BN dont mix at all. blugh 

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Posted by Doublestack on Saturday, August 11, 2007 9:25 PM

About a decade ago I had the chance to attend Topeka RR Days.  ATSF 844 was pretty new and pulled an excursion train from Topeka to Lawrence.   I got some nice shots of this nearly brand-new locomotive.  (I thought it ironic that UP 3985 was at RR days along w/ Santa Fe 844).   Anyway - about 2 yrs ago, I was at Corwith in Chicago and saw 844 again.  All I could say was pitiful.  It looked like she'd had a fire so the middle was in bad shape.  Where she wasn't scorched, it was painfully apparent that Neil Young was right when he said, "Rust never sleeps."   Amazing what 10 yrs or so did to that engine.

Here's a latter day photo.

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=129089&nseq=1

 

Thx, Dblstack
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Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, August 5, 2007 8:11 AM
 CSXFan wrote:

I think BNSF #4437 comes pretty close to being the worst looking.

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=195287&nseq=0

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=137633&nseq=1

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=61698&nseq=2

At least #832 has some character. #4437 looks just plain disgusting.Dead [xx(]

There is more than one C44 fading like that. Caught both of these at the Tehachapi Loop.

BNSF 4527

http://neil300.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=450539

BNSF 5387

http://neil300.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=450614

 

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Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, August 5, 2007 8:11 AM
 CSXFan wrote:

I think BNSF #4437 comes pretty close to being the worst looking.

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=195287&nseq=0

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=137633&nseq=1

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=61698&nseq=2

At least #832 has some character. #4437 looks just plain disgusting.Dead [xx(]

There is more than one C44 fading like that. Caught both of these at the Tehachapi Loop.

BNSF 4527

http://neil300.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=450539

BNSF 5387

http://neil300.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=450614

 

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Posted by Poppa_Zit on Saturday, August 4, 2007 2:06 PM
 CopCarSS wrote:

 Poppa_Zit wrote:
Chris, did you shoot this with film or digital? I haven't shot film for years but when I was going through 200 to 300 rolls a year I discovered the red hues as captured by Fuji and Kodak were distinctly different -- Fuji's red was more fiery, more vibrant.   

Pop_Z,

It was digital, but it was with my Canon D60, which had a very Provia flavor to it (part of why I really liked that body so much...Provia 100F was my favorite film). All my new stuff on the Pentax has a very different feel to it...still Fuji-ish, but a lot more like Astia 100. It's great for portraits, but post-processing for railroad or landscape stuff takes a little more work to get it to a "look" that I like.

Thanks. Discovered the difference in reds when we were shooting magazine pages with Kodak graphic arts film -- but the photos were off prints made with Fuji film & paper. Couldn't figure out why a guy's red shirt wasn't reproducing properly. 

"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. They are not entitled, however, to their own facts." No we can't. Charter Member J-CASS (Jaded Cynical Ascerbic Sarcastic Skeptics) Notary Sojac & Retired Foo Fighter "Where there's foo, there's fire."
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Posted by CopCarSS on Saturday, August 4, 2007 2:03 PM

 Poppa_Zit wrote:
Chris, did you shoot this with film or digital? I haven't shot film for years but when I was going through 200 to 300 rolls a year I discovered the red hues as captured by Fuji and Kodak were distinctly different -- Fuji's red was more fiery, more vibrant.   

Pop_Z,

It was digital, but it was with my Canon D60, which had a very Provia flavor to it (part of why I really liked that body so much...Provia 100F was my favorite film). All my new stuff on the Pentax has a very different feel to it...still Fuji-ish, but a lot more like Astia 100. It's great for portraits, but post-processing for railroad or landscape stuff takes a little more work to get it to a "look" that I like.

-Chris
West Chicago, IL
Christopher May Fine Art Photography

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Posted by Poppa_Zit on Saturday, August 4, 2007 1:57 PM
 CopCarSS wrote:

So I'm curious...

Did GE use different paint than EMD did? I was looking through some shots last night, and I came across this Geep 60 that I shot only a few months before the shot of 832:

I would have thought that on something like the warbonnet units, the Santa Fe would have spec'd a paint manufacturer that both builders would have used. Were GE and EMD free to use who they wanted as long as the color matched?

Chris, did you shoot this with film or digital? I haven't shot film for years but when I was going through 200 to 300 rolls a year I discovered the red hues as captured by Fuji and Kodak were distinctly different -- Fuji's red was more fiery, more vibrant.

My contribution to the discussion (cannot see loco number):

   

"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. They are not entitled, however, to their own facts." No we can't. Charter Member J-CASS (Jaded Cynical Ascerbic Sarcastic Skeptics) Notary Sojac & Retired Foo Fighter "Where there's foo, there's fire."
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Posted by SFbrkmn on Saturday, August 4, 2007 1:38 PM
Several of the redheads in the 600 & 800 series as stated in above posts I agree are looking sick. The worst though of any seen is GP7 3832. This is former SF 1322 which was renumbered about 1999. Even back then the unit was starting to look bad w/paint peeling off all over the body and it isn't any better now.  Granted this is a eng held captive in yd service, so it is fair to cut a little slack, but not an eng one would want to photograph.
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Posted by EJE818 on Friday, August 3, 2007 9:30 PM
824 is starting to look pretty bad. I just saw it yesterday. I have seen quite a few chipping up ATSF Dash 8s and 9s. I haven't seen too many GP60Ms that look too bad, and the bluebonnets seem to be holding up quite well. It seems to just be the warbonnet Dash 8s and 9s. Ive seen some of those faded H2 Dash 9 pinkbonnets.
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Posted by anb740 on Monday, July 30, 2007 3:16 PM

I seem to recall that BNSF had a lawsuit against Dupont for the crappy quality of their so-called durable paint. I believe the paint was advertised with a 3 or 5 year no fading warranty. (as can be seen on the 4437)  Ironically, it seems that the orange paint on the original H1 Dash-9's is still holding up for the most part....which is more than I can say for these H2 disasters!  Don't even get me started on the rustbucket "pinkbonnets"!

anb740

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Posted by Trailryder on Monday, July 30, 2007 12:28 PM

BNSF Warbonnet 542 assembles the Ringling Bros train at Moline Illinois. http://www.pbase.com/trailryder/image/66393040

Heres another sad paint job that I caught in Moline, Illinois last summer moving around the Circus train.  You would think BNSF would have put a nicer looking engine in charge of a train that the general public is going to see.

 

Later Bill

 

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Posted by CopCarSS on Monday, July 30, 2007 8:29 AM

So I'm curious...

Did GE use different paint than EMD did? I was looking through some shots last night, and I came across this Geep 60 that I shot only a few months before the shot of 832:

I would have thought that on something like the warbonnet units, the Santa Fe would have spec'd a paint manufacturer that both builders would have used. Were GE and EMD free to use who they wanted as long as the color matched?

-Chris
West Chicago, IL
Christopher May Fine Art Photography

"In wisdom gathered over time I have found that every experience is a form of exploration." ~Ansel Adams

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Posted by mudchicken on Monday, July 30, 2007 7:45 AM
 Trainnut484 wrote:
 sarahd wrote:

 

THE SANTA FE WOULD OF NEVER LET THERE LOCOS LOOK LIKE THAT,WHAT A SHAME FOR SUCH A PROUD HERITAGE. LONG LIVE CHICO!!!

The Santa Fe had a color chart to measure when a locomotive had to be repainted.  If the fading got pass a certain point, it was sent to the paint booth.  Yes, the 832 and 838 would have NEVER got this bad back then.

Take care,

Russell

True,

...Except when they pulled the rustbucket U33C's and U23C's (*8500's and 7500's) out of the stored lines (LUGO-Argentine) to run for a few weeks in the eighties just to prove to the lessor that they were servicable before turning them in to Greyhound Leasing. [the lease was up, they were still crap]....some rusted so badly that you could not read the yellow "Santa Fe" on the long blue hood hood when they wobbled into/out of La Junta on a 304/403 train.

Mudchicken Nothing is worth taking the risk of losing a life over. Come home tonight in the same condition that you left home this morning in. Safety begins with ME.... cinscocom-west
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Posted by Trainnut484 on Sunday, July 29, 2007 10:44 PM
 sarahd wrote:

 

THE SANTA FE WOULD OF NEVER LET THERE LOCOS LOOK LIKE THAT,WHAT A SHAME FOR SUCH A PROUD HERITAGE. LONG LIVE CHICO!!!

The Santa Fe had a color chart to measure when a locomotive had to be repainted.  If the fading got pass a certain point, it was sent to the paint booth.  Yes, the 832 and 838 would have NEVER got this bad back then.

Take care,

Russell

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Posted by wctransfer on Sunday, July 29, 2007 9:41 PM

Duct tape does wonders.....

Alec

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Posted by csmith9474 on Sunday, July 29, 2007 9:29 PM
I wonder what sort of condition the cab interior is in.
Smitty
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Posted by wctransfer on Sunday, July 29, 2007 9:24 PM

Ive also shot that 832, gross for sure. BUT, this one here, the 838, seems much worse.

Alec

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Posted by blhanel on Sunday, July 29, 2007 4:07 PM

I remembered seeing a very faded SF unit in Galesburg a couple of years back- looked through my pictures hoping it was 832, but no-

 

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Posted by Murphy Siding on Sunday, July 29, 2007 4:03 PM
     Would an engine look any better, if the engineer was waiving and smiling?

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Posted by Poppa_Zit on Sunday, July 29, 2007 3:43 PM
I wasn't aware locomotives were subject to a fashion review. I just thought they were supposed to run well.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. They are not entitled, however, to their own facts." No we can't. Charter Member J-CASS (Jaded Cynical Ascerbic Sarcastic Skeptics) Notary Sojac & Retired Foo Fighter "Where there's foo, there's fire."
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Posted by Lyon_Wonder on Sunday, July 29, 2007 3:16 PM
 CSXFan wrote:

I think BNSF #4437 comes pretty close to being the worst looking.

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=195287&nseq=0

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=137633&nseq=1

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=61698&nseq=2

At least #832 has some character. #4437 looks just plain disgusting.Dead [xx(]

 Rotten Pumpkin

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Posted by Murphy Siding on Sunday, July 29, 2007 2:08 PM
 CSXFan wrote:

I think BNSF #4437 comes pretty close to being the worst looking.

At least #832 has some character. #4437 looks just plain disgusting.Dead [xx(]

What color did #4437 start out as-Armour Yellow?

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Posted by Ishmael on Sunday, July 29, 2007 12:36 PM
 sarahd wrote:

 

THE SANTA FE WOULD OF NEVER LET THERE LOCOS LOOK LIKE THAT,WHAT A SHAME FOR SUCH A PROUD HERITAGE. LONG LIVE CHICO!!!

I have a couple of photos of Santa Fe GP30 #2742 among my collection. It was in the gold and blue warbonnet scheme. They were taken in Crystal City, MO shortly after the merger. I thought it was a treat to see ATSF in old Frisco territory.

But how that relates to this subject is that this locomotive is so clean and shiny it looked like it just came out of the paint shop, or like a new Athearn model. Yes, long live Chico.

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Posted by lechee on Sunday, July 29, 2007 12:34 PM

There is one that comes through Flagstaff about every two days that is way way worse, I think it is on the Phoenix run. It has been on fire, the paint, which very little is left is all burned off in the center of the engine which is now a rust color and there is graffiti everywhere on top of that. I will try to get a picture to post.

elrojo

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Posted by coborn35 on Sunday, July 29, 2007 11:44 AM
The name of this thread needs to be changed to "Worst Painted Engine in BNSF's Fleet".

Mechanical Department  "No no that's fine shove that 20 pound set all around the yard... those shoes aren't hell and a half to change..."

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Posted by GP40 on Sunday, July 29, 2007 11:39 AM

CSXfan,

On the last picture of #4437 on the Needles Sub. For a split second it kind of looked like a dirty UP unit. But still WOW !!! What a contrast of #4437 and the other Heritage II paint schemes locos in the consists!

Who did BNSF had painted #4437 ???? Earl Schrieb!?!?!?!?!?

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Posted by CSXFan on Sunday, July 29, 2007 11:21 AM

I think BNSF #4437 comes pretty close to being the worst looking.

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=195287&nseq=0

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=137633&nseq=1

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=61698&nseq=2

At least #832 has some character. #4437 looks just plain disgusting.Dead [xx(]

If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space...Wink
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Posted by sarahd on Sunday, July 29, 2007 9:09 AM

 

THE SANTA FE WOULD OF NEVER LET THERE LOCOS LOOK LIKE THAT,WHAT A SHAME FOR SUCH A PROUD HERITAGE. LONG LIVE CHICO!!!

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