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TTX New Image

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TTX New Image
Posted by ouengr on Monday, March 3, 2008 10:27 PM

TTX has changed their logo.  If you go to their new website, you will see the new image.  The website is www.ttx.com.

 I really like the old logo and I am not a fan of the new one but maybe it will grow on me.  What do you guys think?

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Posted by trainboyH16-44 on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 12:12 AM
The older one was flashier and racier, for sure. I liked the colours better on it, too, they totally botched the new ones.

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Posted by stmtrolleyguy on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 1:55 AM

I don't like it.  Their old logo had a lot going for it that the new one doesnt. 

1.  The old one was black and white.  It could fade a bit, but it was still TTX.  It was also bold, and easy to read on a speeding boxcar or flatcar. 

2.  The old logo has the white lines behind the TTX letters forming an arrow pointing forwards.  The old logo was also italic, leaning forwards implying motion.  The new logo feels very fragmented and fractured.  The addition of the black line in the "X" sort of splits the logo.  It doesn't read smoothly from left to right.

 

3.  The mixing of vertical-edged and angle-edged toppers on the T's looks funny.  Maybe its supposed to look like an articulated well car?  Either way, it doesn't work.

4.  The old logo was slanted.  The new one it totally vertical.  They may have added the slogan "forward thinking," but their logo doesn't feel like its ready to move forward on the page.  If anything, it looks much less dynamic to me.

 

I think I would have tried to make the white lines forming the arrow on the old logo red, to stand out a bit, and added in the "forward thinking" slogan under the old logo.  I might have also seen what could be done about the number of lines behind the text on the old logo- it looks a bit pixelated, although angling the ends of the lines to match the slant of the X might fix that. . . .I've never studied their logo in depth. 

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Posted by ericsp on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 2:17 AM
The X appears to be a reference to Railbox. I prefer the old logo better.

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Posted by CNW 6000 on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 5:55 AM

I saw two images on their site:

and

Of the two I actually like the second one a bit more, but neither is "bad" to me.
Link to their site: www.ttx.com

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Posted by steam_marc on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 6:59 AM
I'm sorry, but I'm a traditionalist; I can't stand the new logo. I grew up with the old (notice how we're thinking of it already) logo, and I saw the forward-moving logo moving forward on freight trains. This new one looks like it is just standing there, not earning revenue for any railroad.
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Posted by CNW 6000 on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 7:05 AM
To me that black chevron on the X looks like it's moving forward.  We're on opposite ends of the spectrum so let's agree to disagree.Cool [8D]

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Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 7:12 AM

If the memories from my dim and distant youth are still correct, the original Trailer Train herald was an italicized TT only, without any speedlining, in the same general style as the former TTX herald. 

The X does not refer to RailBox, but rather to Trailer Train's reporting mark as a private owner, similar to the renaming of General American Transportation Co. to GATX, Inc., based on its tank car reporting marks.

Keep in mind that the logo is used on more than the sides of freight cars, the new logo looks better on print media (press releases, financial statements, etc.) and this was also a factor to be considered in the redesign.

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Posted by CShaveRR on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 8:48 AM

I can remember four distinct logos.  The first was a pair of italic Ts, one slightly above the other, arranged with the name so it appeared as "Trailer (logo) Train".  The second one is what Paul described, a pair of Ts on the same level, and touching each other.  I'm not sure, but I think this one originated from about the same time that they started painting their cars yellow instead of dark brown (or boxcar red).  The third logo, the italicized "TTX" with speed lines, came about when the name was officially changed from Trailer Train Company to TTX Company.

And now this new one.  It will be interesting to see how it's applied to new cars.  There's a series of GNTX cars out there with a 50th-anniversary logo that not only features PRR Tuscan Red, but also has the older "TTX" inside a keystone.  So one wonders:  will we lose yellow?  will the new cars (and there are always new TTX cars coming out!) be Tuscan Red?

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Posted by JSGreen on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 10:17 AM

Has anyone seen the new logo on an actual railcar yet?  Getting it in context will provide a better platform for deciding if I like it...it'll look different on a well car than on paper/web pages...

Wonder who will be the first to post a picture?Big Smile [:D]

 (edit)

The new logo works well on the new website... 

...I may have a one track mind, but at least it's not Narrow (gauge) Wink.....
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Posted by CShaveRR on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 10:47 AM

Saw a photograph (closeup) of the new logo on a flat car over on another website.  Doesn't look too bad.  The colors were reversed, IIRC, with the "TT" and most of the "X" in Tuscan Red.  The car was still yellow.

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Posted by SchemerBob on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 11:41 AM
 CSSHEGEWISCH wrote:

Keep in mind that the logo is used on more than the sides of freight cars, the new logo looks better on print media (press releases, financial statements, etc.) and this was also a factor to be considered in the redesign.

That's just it. It looks like a press release. I don't really like it much, either. Too bland. The only thing that's kind of neat about it is the "X" - it does remind me of the "next load any road" emblem on the RailBox cars, which is kind of cool.

They could have at least slanted the letters!

Oh well, I guess I'll get used to it.

Long live the BNSF .... AND its paint scheme. SchemerBob
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Posted by CSXDixieLine on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 11:53 AM

 JSGreen wrote:
The new logo works well on the new website... 

I agree. At first I thought it did not look good at all, then I clicked the link to preview the new TTX website and in that context the logo actually worked quite well. I really like the newest "old" logo on the current railcars (just about one of the most recognizable logos around), but I will have to reserve my opinion until I see the new one in actual use. Jamie

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Posted by K. P. Harrier on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 12:03 PM
The logo looks like something straight out of Mexico!  Isn't there a railroad down South with locomotives that wear red and green? 

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Posted by SchemerBob on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 12:27 PM

Ferromex --- TTX

Interesting. Big Smile [:D] Ironically, when comparing TTX with Ferromex, the Ferromex lettering looks more like the old TTX logo!

Long live the BNSF .... AND its paint scheme. SchemerBob
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Posted by MOPACnut on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 1:05 PM
YUCK!! That will not look right on a yellow car. If they use it they better switch back to the old tuscan red. The one i like the most is the connected T logo from the 80's. Don't know why i guess that's just the one i grew up seeing, and was in a few of my train sets.
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Posted by Andrew Falconer on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 7:34 PM

This new TTX logo will be easier for both kids and adults to draw with markers.

It is a more professional logo that is meant to attract attention to the fact that they are in the transportation business, not just the railroad business. They are becoming a logistics corporation. It is not all about railroads anymore.

Get out some markers and start practicing drawing the new TTX logo.

Andrew

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Posted by ericsp on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 9:32 PM

 CSSHEGEWISCH wrote:
The X does not refer to RailBox, but rather to Trailer Train's reporting mark as a private owner, similar to the renaming of General American Transportation Co. to GATX, Inc., based on its tank car reporting marks.

Let me clarify, the design of the X appears to be a reference to Raillbox. Compare the left side of the X to the logo on the right end of Railbox boxcars. There is a remarkable resemblance.

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Posted by METRO on Wednesday, March 5, 2008 1:10 AM

You know that new logo with the colors what they are and the lettering style actually looks dated to me compared with their old one.  The new logo reminds me of the 70s-80s, not the future.  I've got a couple friends in graphic design and their logos they do for companies seem to either be getting more organic looking, more curves and stylization or on the other hand looking more traditional, like 1950s or earlier logos with serf fonts and simple colors.

I could see why TTX would want something new though, an economic downturn is a good time to unveil a new image, try to atract new business or win back what was lost.  Maybe I would have chosen a different PR firm though...

Cheers!

~METRO 

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Posted by Andrew Falconer on Monday, August 25, 2008 9:50 PM

The New TTX Logo is now on many TTX Flatcars for Auto Racks.

It looks too small and underwhelming on those Flat Cars.

The logo must be a light colored logo on a dark colored background to stand-out like the previous logo.

Andrew Falconer

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Posted by videomaker on Tuesday, August 26, 2008 11:28 AM
 ouengr wrote:

TTX has changed their logo.  If you go to their new website, you will see the new image.  The website is www.ttx.com.

 I really like the old logo and I am not a fan of the new one but maybe it will grow on me.  What do you guys think?

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Posted by zugmann on Tuesday, August 26, 2008 11:30 AM

Seriously - does anyone look at logos on flat cars?   

 

Wasn't this new logo a throwback to the PRR days? 

It's been fun.  But it isn't much fun anymore.   Signing off for now. 


  

The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any

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Posted by trainfan1221 on Tuesday, August 26, 2008 5:17 PM
I never minded the old logo, the new one I guess is modern but not necessarily better.
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Posted by Ted Marshall on Tuesday, August 26, 2008 5:31 PM

I never realized how much I like the old logo until I saw this one. I only hope, for photo sake, that new logos are fixed to new rail cars and old logos allowed to remain on existing rolling stock.

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Posted by trainfan1221 on Tuesday, August 26, 2008 5:54 PM
The old logo had a feeling of speed to it, and it certainly worked on an intermodal car!
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Posted by amtrakjackson on Saturday, August 30, 2008 1:05 AM

Not a bad idea for them to get into logistics management, since they're the largest private car owner and a HUGE player in the intermodal business. Seems a natural fit.

"Forward thinking" is too much like Toyota's 'movingforward"  (sic), LG's "Life's Good", Iam's "Life's Better", and US&S's "Further on". Murky, foggy statements that don't mean much. These two-word tidbits that beg questions are simply trendy ways of saying something without saying anything of substance. (And they don't represent an offer of any kind; harder to get sued over.)

In the early part of this decade we had all those Three.Word.Slogans. 

Ugh.  

 Andrew Falconer wrote:

This new TTX logo will be easier for both kids and adults to draw with markers.

It is a more professional logo that is meant to attract attention to the fact that they are in the transportation business, not just the railroad business. They are becoming a logistics corporation. It is not all about railroads anymore.

Get out some markers and start practicing drawing the new TTX logo.

Andrew

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Posted by TimChgo9 on Saturday, August 30, 2008 9:02 AM
I saw the new logo on a well car the other day... It actually does stand out, and looks good rolling by.  I like the new logo, while the old one was cool too, it was beginning to look dated. This new one stands out a little bit, and has a cleaner, more modern look. I always thought the "speed lines" on the old one were distracting clutter. 
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Posted by alcodave on Saturday, August 30, 2008 3:12 PM
i just saw it on some fresh painted Norfolk Southern AutoRacks. i had to look to notice it after reading the forum earlier. looks alright.
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Posted by alcodave on Saturday, August 30, 2008 3:13 PM
Is railbox still around? i like those old boxcars.
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Posted by CShaveRR on Saturday, August 30, 2008 8:16 PM

When the subject first came to the Forum in a previous thread, I was waiting for the day when I'd see one of these cars in the flesh.  I've now seen the new logo on rackers, stackers, and ordinary (OTTX) flats, and hardly a day goes by that the new logo doesn't.

I would like to see how a Railbox car gets the treatment.  They have room for a good-sized logo on that "canvas".

Carl

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