USAF TSgt C-17 Aircraft Maintenance Flying Crew Chief & Flightline Avionics Craftsman
QUOTE: Originally posted by oltmannd QUOTE: Originally posted by Limitedclear QUOTE: Originally posted by oltmannd QUOTE: Originally posted by BNSFGP38 Remember the golden rule of railroading...........if it dont make dollars, it dont make sense. [8D] The owner of the short line I was referring too is cash poor, he has alot of recieveables, but he aint getting his share of pie from the dreaded ( another thread) Guilford rail. Out of all his engines, 2 have the " official" scheme. One is still in its old faded jeans blue conrail paint, the other is a UP with a black sqaure covering the UP and the other is a orange switcher. Yeah it would be "cool" to have a matched fleet. But he needs to buy others things, like fuel and new ties. Belive me, he is a railfan first and has a tremendous amount pride, blood,sweat and tears invested...........despite his unmatched fleet. While yes, it is " nicety" that locomotives look nice, and he does handle a passenger train every month or so, he just doesnt have the money. Right now, its more important to handle trains safely over new ties..... or to even have the fuel to handle them. But some how, just some how.......the trains keep rolling.[2c] Actually, the rule is "if it won't raise the stock price don't do it". Making money is part of it, but even more important is making MORE money each year at a steady pace and convincing the market that: 1. this will occur 2. it will occur because you have a plan to make it happen 3. the plan is a good one 4. you have a track record of implementing your plans 5. management is competent and engaged Your overall corporate image is a large part of this and clean, painted locomotives are a part of this. Why do railfans obsess over paint? Might as well ask why they obsess over Alcos and Baldwins, too. Because their railfans! The last part is true. I don't necessarily buy into the rest. I'm not necessarily saying I would never paint or wash locomotives if I owned (or managed) the railroad, but I think there are other things I would prioritize above paint. I also would have no trouble explaining that to my shareholders. LC You mean you just might paint'em all black, perhaps with some white lettering? Hmmm. Who does that?
QUOTE: Originally posted by Limitedclear QUOTE: Originally posted by oltmannd QUOTE: Originally posted by BNSFGP38 Remember the golden rule of railroading...........if it dont make dollars, it dont make sense. [8D] The owner of the short line I was referring too is cash poor, he has alot of recieveables, but he aint getting his share of pie from the dreaded ( another thread) Guilford rail. Out of all his engines, 2 have the " official" scheme. One is still in its old faded jeans blue conrail paint, the other is a UP with a black sqaure covering the UP and the other is a orange switcher. Yeah it would be "cool" to have a matched fleet. But he needs to buy others things, like fuel and new ties. Belive me, he is a railfan first and has a tremendous amount pride, blood,sweat and tears invested...........despite his unmatched fleet. While yes, it is " nicety" that locomotives look nice, and he does handle a passenger train every month or so, he just doesnt have the money. Right now, its more important to handle trains safely over new ties..... or to even have the fuel to handle them. But some how, just some how.......the trains keep rolling.[2c] Actually, the rule is "if it won't raise the stock price don't do it". Making money is part of it, but even more important is making MORE money each year at a steady pace and convincing the market that: 1. this will occur 2. it will occur because you have a plan to make it happen 3. the plan is a good one 4. you have a track record of implementing your plans 5. management is competent and engaged Your overall corporate image is a large part of this and clean, painted locomotives are a part of this. Why do railfans obsess over paint? Might as well ask why they obsess over Alcos and Baldwins, too. Because their railfans! The last part is true. I don't necessarily buy into the rest. I'm not necessarily saying I would never paint or wash locomotives if I owned (or managed) the railroad, but I think there are other things I would prioritize above paint. I also would have no trouble explaining that to my shareholders. LC
QUOTE: Originally posted by oltmannd QUOTE: Originally posted by BNSFGP38 Remember the golden rule of railroading...........if it dont make dollars, it dont make sense. [8D] The owner of the short line I was referring too is cash poor, he has alot of recieveables, but he aint getting his share of pie from the dreaded ( another thread) Guilford rail. Out of all his engines, 2 have the " official" scheme. One is still in its old faded jeans blue conrail paint, the other is a UP with a black sqaure covering the UP and the other is a orange switcher. Yeah it would be "cool" to have a matched fleet. But he needs to buy others things, like fuel and new ties. Belive me, he is a railfan first and has a tremendous amount pride, blood,sweat and tears invested...........despite his unmatched fleet. While yes, it is " nicety" that locomotives look nice, and he does handle a passenger train every month or so, he just doesnt have the money. Right now, its more important to handle trains safely over new ties..... or to even have the fuel to handle them. But some how, just some how.......the trains keep rolling.[2c] Actually, the rule is "if it won't raise the stock price don't do it". Making money is part of it, but even more important is making MORE money each year at a steady pace and convincing the market that: 1. this will occur 2. it will occur because you have a plan to make it happen 3. the plan is a good one 4. you have a track record of implementing your plans 5. management is competent and engaged Your overall corporate image is a large part of this and clean, painted locomotives are a part of this. Why do railfans obsess over paint? Might as well ask why they obsess over Alcos and Baldwins, too. Because their railfans!
QUOTE: Originally posted by BNSFGP38 Remember the golden rule of railroading...........if it dont make dollars, it dont make sense. [8D] The owner of the short line I was referring too is cash poor, he has alot of recieveables, but he aint getting his share of pie from the dreaded ( another thread) Guilford rail. Out of all his engines, 2 have the " official" scheme. One is still in its old faded jeans blue conrail paint, the other is a UP with a black sqaure covering the UP and the other is a orange switcher. Yeah it would be "cool" to have a matched fleet. But he needs to buy others things, like fuel and new ties. Belive me, he is a railfan first and has a tremendous amount pride, blood,sweat and tears invested...........despite his unmatched fleet. While yes, it is " nicety" that locomotives look nice, and he does handle a passenger train every month or so, he just doesnt have the money. Right now, its more important to handle trains safely over new ties..... or to even have the fuel to handle them. But some how, just some how.......the trains keep rolling.[2c]
QUOTE: Originally posted by adrianspeeder Im not understanding the nascar connection. I like it when they are all beat up because that means they are racin'. Why doesn't dirty loco = work. ??? Adrianspeeder
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...
QUOTE: Originally posted by tree68 QUOTE: Originally posted by adrianspeeder Im not understanding the nascar connection. I like it when they are all beat up because that means they are racin'. Why doesn't dirty loco = work. ??? Adrianspeeder Just like a locomotive, the body of a NASCAR car serves to cover what's inside - An engine, a frame, and the driver, along with some ancillary stuff to make it all work, just like all the other cars on the track. All the pretty paint and stickers on the outside have absolutely no effect on the outcome of the race. So it is with the RR. As long as the required horsepower is making it to the rails, it'll do.
QUOTE: Originally posted by erikthered I'm a railfan deep in the heart of NS territory. Sure, it's nice to see a "clean" locomotive, but even I'm not dumb enough to believe that a working freight engine is going to look like it belongs on the Southern Crescent. Pretty paint jobs are important when people ride on the train... it's a first impression. The New Haven RR went through about a half dozen different paint jobs as it died. The only thing a McGinnis paint scheme did to the locomotives was show up where rust, corrosives and fire had caught an unfortunate passenger engine. Did anyone really want to ride the Yankee Clipper? Yes... when they had to. An argument can be made for some "speciality" freight trains to have a speciality paint scheme. The bright orange PFE trains come to mind. TRAINS did an article about two months ago about moving fresh fruit and veggies cross country. They tracked a lettuce car that looked, well, like the rust fairy had been by to visit. Do I really think that I actually want to eat lettuce that had been riding in that car? Nope. But until TRAINS did the article, how that lettuce hit my table in Georgia never really occurred to me.
"No soup for you!" - Yev Kassem (from Seinfeld)
QUOTE: Originally posted by dougal The only paint schemes I REALLY don't like are the UP patch jobs.
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