One thing that has always bothered me is that EMD always paints their CSX SD70ACe's with a light blue, instead of a dark blue, and this personally makes the engine look bad. The true CSX YN3 paint scheme, with the dark blue and deluxe gold, is the best looking paint scheme on the rails, IMHO... But I think that the light blue on the SD70ACe's really do bad to the YN3 and the SD70ACe itself, it just doesnt look right.
Is their a reason that EMD uses a light instead of dark blue?
SD70ACe side shot, clearly showing a light blue:
ES44DC side shot, painted at the GE factory, with the dark blue:
The only EMD's with dark blue, the ones painted at the CSX shops:
"Lionel trains are the standard of the world" - Jousha Lionel Cowen
Perception is everything. I'm sure that CSX simply tells GE and EMD a paint number and away they go.
I'm also sure that if you coupled the three locomotives together, they'd look remarkably the same. Your examples are shown in varying lighting and background situations.
Per a story in one of the modelling mags some years back, a fellow acquired a sample of the actual paint that his prototype of choice used. He painted a model locomotive with it, and when he showed it to his fellow modellers, he was told in no uncertain terms that it was the wrong color.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
There was a recent picture on railpictures.net showing a line of CSX locos, and the EMD SD90 (? don't remember) had a faded yellow that looked like crap. All the GEs looked great.
Phil
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
10000 feet and no dynamics? Today is going to be a good day ...
traisessive1 wrote:Is someone actually complaining about the shade of blue paint on a machine?
YES, somebody is. Paint schemes represent the company. Why else would they spend hunderes of thousands in repaints and paints?
Lets get this straight ... North American Class One railroads don't give two craps what their equipment looks like. They will paint it and let it rot until theres no paint left and then eventually paint it again.
Freight railroads in North America are such money whores that they don't spend a single cent unless it needs to be spent. CN repaints all the locomotives they've bought through mergers and take overs so the locomotives end up in the CN scheme. Same goes for any other railroad.
If a unit goes into the shops for a major overhaul it's likely to get painted too. They don't paint them to make them look good. They never get washed so what is a new coat of paint worth if its not needed?
They are not going to care if one locomotive has a slightly different shade than the other one.
I love my job, I love railroading and I still love trains as a whole, so don't think I am a grumpy railroader.
It's ok to have a liking for locomotives, but when you come and complain about colour ... I mean come on.
Get over yourself, it's a machine not a teddy.
You make several good points.
However, I still think that paint scheme is what really makes engine look good or bad. Wouldnt you like a engine in a nice, clean, good looking paint scheme rather than be fading and the paint coming off?
Every paint fades to some extent and some colors hold up better than others. Another factor to consider when comparing photos is how well the film and film processing represent colors. I've had a film photo of a BNSF switcher in Heritage colors electronically scanned and re-printed and the shade of orange on the scanned photo was less faded than the original.
magicman710 wrote: You make several good points.However, I still think that paint scheme is what really makes engine look good or bad. Wouldnt you like a engine in a nice, clean, good looking paint scheme rather than be fading and the paint coming off?
Umm...you don't work for a railroad, do you?
How about an air conditioned engine in the summer time, a heated engine in the winter time. Or maybe not having to go through a roll of duct tape to keep the heat in on the engine because there is more rust than metal. Maybe a seat that was comfortable for more than 15 minutes. Hmm, maybe an old engine that doesn't have the horns right above my head for 12 hours. I could go on for pages and pages without even coming close to the paint. Most of us out here really like our jobs and we have a trillion or more things to worry about rather than if the particular shade of paint matches.
I can only guess that you were joking when you thought this was a serious issue...right?
SR1457 wrote:PICKY PICKY PICKY, The Railroad calls for the designated color of the engine, they pay emd, not otherway around, Railroads not running a beauty contest, of all the things wrong in this world, lets dont get to PICKY PICKY PICKY, back in ww2 days it was just think of all the starving children in europe!
I must agree with these sentiments...while I would much prefer to see every engine on a particular railroad in very clean and presentable paint, I really don't care as long as they are running well and making their owners money so we can all continue to see then rolling along, pulling trains that we can continue to watch safely from trackside.
Who cares? If CSX is happy with it, thats all that matters. They own the thing in the first place so it not up to anybody else to worry about it.
As others have said, when we are rolling down the track, the paint really is one of the last things to cross our minds. Cab onditions are the main priority.
I had one the other day where the toilet for some reason stank so bad I almost puked a couple times. The engineer said he couldn't even smell it. How he couldn't is beyond me.
One thing about dark paint is it abosrbs a lot of heat and hides dirt. Lighter paint reflects the heat better but doesn't hide dirt.
CN just recently re painted a GP9 .... of all things. Now why would they do that? Those things are falling apart all over the place and they repainted one. My only guess is the new paint must be some sort of glue.
traisessive1 wrote:Lets get this straight ... North American Class One railroads don't give two craps what their equipment looks like. They will paint it and let it rot until theres no paint left and then eventually paint it again.Freight railroads in North America are such money whores that they don't spend a single cent unless it needs to be spent. CN repaints all the locomotives they've bought through mergers and take overs so the locomotives end up in the CN scheme. Same goes for any other railroad.If a unit goes into the shops for a major overhaul it's likely to get painted too. They don't paint them to make them look good. They never get washed so what is a new coat of paint worth if its not needed?They are not going to care if one locomotive has a slightly different shade than the other one.I love my job, I love railroading and I still love trains as a whole, so don't think I am a grumpy railroader. It's ok to have a liking for locomotives, but when you come and complain about colour ... I mean come on.Get over yourself, it's a machine not a teddy.
It always amazes me when people get bent out of shape because railfans actually dare to discuss topics about trains on railfan forums..
why are we all here?? there is a problem about discussing locomotive paint schemes on the TRAINS MAGAZINE forum?? apparently, to some, there is a problem with that..apparently talking about locomotive paintschemes on a forum about trains is not allowed..please give us all the "approved topics" list, so we dont anger his majesty again in the future.
get over yourself..who are you to dictate what we can and cant talk about on a railfan forum? if someone wants to dicsuss paint schemes, whats it to you?
get over yourself..look at the big red banner at the top of this page..it says TRAINS..I think talking about the paint scheme of TRAINS should allowed on a forum about TRAINS...
Scot
scottychaos wrote: traisessive1 wrote: Lets get this straight ... North American Class One railroads don't give two craps what their equipment looks like. They will paint it and let it rot until theres no paint left and then eventually paint it again.Freight railroads in North America are such money whores that they don't spend a single cent unless it needs to be spent. CN repaints all the locomotives they've bought through mergers and take overs so the locomotives end up in the CN scheme. Same goes for any other railroad.If a unit goes into the shops for a major overhaul it's likely to get painted too. They don't paint them to make them look good. They never get washed so what is a new coat of paint worth if its not needed?They are not going to care if one locomotive has a slightly different shade than the other one.I love my job, I love railroading and I still love trains as a whole, so don't think I am a grumpy railroader. It's ok to have a liking for locomotives, but when you come and complain about colour ... I mean come on.Get over yourself, it's a machine not a teddy. It always amazes me when people get bent out of shape because railfans actually dare to discuss topics about trains on railfan forums.. why are we all here?? there is a problem about discussing locomotive paint schemes on the TRAINS MAGAZINE forum?? apparently, to some, there is a problem with that..apparently talking about locomotive paintschemes on a forum about trains is not allowed..please give us all the "approved topics" list, so we dont anger his majesty again in the future. get over yourself..who are you to dictate what we can and cant talk about on a railfan forum? if someone wants to dicsuss paint schemes, whats it to you? get over yourself..look at the big red banner at the top of this page..it says TRAINS..I think talking about the paint scheme of TRAINS should allowed on a forum about TRAINS...Scot
traisessive1 wrote: Lets get this straight ... North American Class One railroads don't give two craps what their equipment looks like. They will paint it and let it rot until theres no paint left and then eventually paint it again.Freight railroads in North America are such money whores that they don't spend a single cent unless it needs to be spent. CN repaints all the locomotives they've bought through mergers and take overs so the locomotives end up in the CN scheme. Same goes for any other railroad.If a unit goes into the shops for a major overhaul it's likely to get painted too. They don't paint them to make them look good. They never get washed so what is a new coat of paint worth if its not needed?They are not going to care if one locomotive has a slightly different shade than the other one.I love my job, I love railroading and I still love trains as a whole, so don't think I am a grumpy railroader. It's ok to have a liking for locomotives, but when you come and complain about colour ... I mean come on.Get over yourself, it's a machine not a teddy.
Where did you see a title "railfan forums"? I thought this was TRAINS.com forums.
No one got bent out of shape because someone asked about paint schemes. Someone started complaining because a multi-billion dollar company couldn't get the engines painted the way 'they' wanted them. It's not his company to dictate how the engines are painted or as to how they are operated. It always irks me when someone who is not part of the machine starts to complain about how the machine is operated.
Maybe a better statement would have been..."Gee, it really is disapointing to wait all day in the hot sun to take a picture of a train, and the colors are not what I had anticipated." Wow, what a difference that made! We are all disapointed in our daily lives somehow. It's how we deal with it, that shows our maturity level.
One great example of paint colors is PRR Brunswick Green. It WAS green, but under certain lighting conditions looked as "AS BLACK AS 6 FEET SOWN A COWS TUMMY".. The standard joke was PRR took 1 gallon of black, added 1 drop of dark green, WHALA Brunswick Green.
scottychaos wrote: get over yourself..who are you to dictate what we can and cant talk about on a railfan forum? if someone wants to dicsuss paint schemes, whats it to you? get over yourself..look at the big red banner at the top of this page..it says TRAINS..I think talking about the paint scheme of TRAINS should allowed on a forum about TRAINS...
Yea pretty sure before I hired on as a conductor you'd see me trackside all the time. Now, I don't go railfanning, but I still love every bit of it. I still love standing trackside and watching the trains as they roll by, I love watching the country side go by and I love getting behind the throttle every once in a while.
When railfans come and start topics like this ... thats what separates a buff from a foamer. No one likes foamers.
A locomotive is not a dream toy, it's not an idol. It is a machine that companies work into the ground and they give them no time for maintenance. Today's locomotives are not maintained, they are fixed after they break. They are kept to the minimum standards governed by the FRA, AAR and Transport Canada.
So when someone comes on here and starts complaining about the colour of paint of all things, it's just ridiculous at a minimum. Why not complain about the things that matter.
Equipment falling apart, track falling apart, ties that are rotted out, back tracks - sidings - MAIN LINE right of ways - that have weeds up to your face, harrasment from management, terrible locomotive cab conditions, full toilets that the company won't empty ... shall I go on?
A true railfan wouldn't be concerned about the shade of paint on a locomotive.
traisessive1 wrote: scottychaos wrote: get over yourself..who are you to dictate what we can and cant talk about on a railfan forum? if someone wants to dicsuss paint schemes, whats it to you? get over yourself..look at the big red banner at the top of this page..it says TRAINS..I think talking about the paint scheme of TRAINS should allowed on a forum about TRAINS... Yea pretty sure before I hired on as a conductor you'd see me trackside all the time. Now, I don't go railfanning, but I still love every bit of it. I still love standing trackside and watching the trains as they roll by, I love watching the country side go by and I love getting behind the throttle every once in a while.When railfans come and start topics like this ... thats what separates a buff from a foamer. No one likes foamers.A locomotive is not a dream toy, it's not an idol. It is a machine that companies work into the ground and they give them no time for maintenance. Today's locomotives are not maintained, they are fixed after they break. They are kept to the minimum standards governed by the FRA, AAR and Transport Canada.So when someone comes on here and starts complaining about the colour of paint of all things, it's just ridiculous at a minimum. Why not complain about the things that matter.Equipment falling apart, track falling apart, ties that are rotted out, back tracks - sidings - MAIN LINE right of ways - that have weeds up to your face, harrasment from management, terrible locomotive cab conditions, full toilets that the company won't empty ... shall I go on?A true railfan wouldn't be concerned about the shade of paint on a locomotive.
Why would a true railfan care anything about your working conditions? I just want to watch or photograph the railroad. I don't care if your a/c doesn't work for my hobby. I would feel bad that you have to work in those conditions but not because of my hobby.
They don't give two craps. If they did all locomotives and freight cars would be rust free and be all shiny. They get painted and then they are left to rot.
Look at CN, almost all of their older locomotives are in deplorable condition paint wise. They seem to be painting some when they go in for major work but I would imagine its more for engine durability than what it looks like.
Gone are the days where railroads competed with imagine to gain traffic. I really don't need to be told by someone who doesn't work for a company how a company operates. Railroads don't operate by imagine, they operate by scheming and highway robbery.
Why does a locomotive need to look good when that railroad is guaranteed service anyway.
As for BNSF, if those old forms were still good ... I can guarantee you they got used until they ran out or were set to the side as spares.
A true railfan should care because they are the ones standing next to a network of steel and equipment that is ready to crumble at any moment.
It is very scary the state of disrepair that the railroads are in. Some of you railfans risk your lives every day when you go railfanning. Nothing is fixed and the railroads hide that fact very well.
CRRRRRAAAASSSSSSHHHHHH
That is the sound of the chasm between rails and fans on here widening...
But really, there is one factor in a railroad's image: EGO. Why else would you waste the tens of thousands of dollars to paint an engine, only to turn around and sell (or scrap) it a few months later? Why is there such a push to paint the last of the CR blue engines on a certain black-and-white railroad? Someone must have gotten upset at the fact that 10 years later, there are still "yankee" colored engines roaming around. I don't understand why you'd paint an engine black, they are hotter in the sumemrtime than the blue ones...but I digress.
But it is all ego. Who are they trying to impress? The customer? They could care less if the engine was purple with pink polka dots, as long as they got their cars in a timely manner. People trackside? In this day and age of run-through and lease power, plus all the different names on freight cars, they have no clue who is running on those tracks. Long past are the days that a railroad would put its name on all overpasses, tunnels, catwalks, and rope bridges. All offices are now centrally located, so you dont have buildings in every town with the RR logo on them.
Image is fine, but take care of the people that make the difference. All the pretty paint in the world will not save you if you cannot provide the safe efficient service that is promised.
PS>> Travsirocs, I think I had one pair of RR gloves my whole career (and they came from the MOW dept) the rest are self-supplied. But gloves and other items we need for the safe execution of our job. Equipment gets damaged, but that is what happens when dealing with heavy machinery. Sure every couple should be made with a click, or we should never have slack run-outs, but welcome to real life. The motto remains the same: until you walk the ballast for 3 miles in my boots.....
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
I think there are still a few railroads around that care about their public image; at least to some extent. Look at UP's Heritage locomotives, and their steam program. That is the PR department's doing though, not the work of the operations department... I think the operations department could care less whether they had the heritage locomotives or primer-painted locos with stenciled on reporting marks.
Just my
travsirocz wrote:I am just standing up for magicman710's original post and question. Why are there two different blues?
Two reasons:
First - From the second any paint job sees daylight it starts to fade. Granted, a number of factors can impact how quickly that occurs, but occur it does. So two pictures of a given locomotive taken two years apart will show it to be "different" colors.
Second - I can take the same locomotive, on the same day, photograph it in several varying locations, mask the number in the images I post here on the web, and (the rhetorical) you will tell me that it's different locomotives with different shades of blue.
The other day I saw four locomotives, apparently operating as a set. They were all leasers, and were four different colors.
But they were locomotives.
The basic premise of the original question is the problem as it implies that CSX somehow screwed up and painted different locomotives different colors. While the colors of various locomotives may vary, there are myriad reasons why, and danged few of them involve CSX with a paintbrush in its hand.
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