Wheeling Lake Erie GP40 the pride of the fleet
Most of their locomotive are still in its previous owners paint.I would call it not dirty,just rusty.It kind of weird finding a Rio Grande locomotive in Cleveland..
thanks, dansapo that is filthy ....WOW!!!!....I thinks its bath time!.....,foamer8101
Your friendly neighborhood CNW fan.
foamer8101 wrote:thanks, dansapo that is filthy ....WOW!!!!....I thinks its bath time!.....,foamer8101
Just look at some UP pictures and you should run across quiet a few dirty locos.
How about shabby.3 diiferent paint job's showing at once.
Southern,Norfolk Southern,Wle
That reminds me of when Guilford tried repainting it's power on the cheap. There were B&M, D&H, MeC and Springfield Terminal units running around with Guilford grey and old B&M blue, D&H blue and who knows whose other colors showing on the units.
D&H had a lot of its blue dip units lose their new paint, revealing the "classic" D&H lightning stripe blue and grey. Norfolk & Western had paint headaches, too like RS11s with their Nickel Plate black with yellow stripes paint returning to view.
Then there were the famous paint less P42s Amtrak had running around with their paint falling off seemingly in sheets.
dansapo wrote: How about shabby.3 diiferent paint job's showing at once. Southern,Norfolk Southern,Wle
I'll have to agree on the SP locos. In the houston/pasadena area they looked like abandoned equipment.
Chuck
In California, the SP locomotives looked that bad too. They merited the railroad equivalent of the auto bumper stickers which say: "This is NOT an abandoned car!"
PBenham wrote: That reminds me of when Guilford tried repainting it's power on the cheap. There were B&M, D&H, MeC and Springfield Terminal units running around with Guilford grey and old B&M blue, D&H blue and who knows whose other colors showing on the units.D&H had a lot of its blue dip units lose their new paint, revealing the "classic" D&H lightning stripe blue and grey. Norfolk & Western had paint headaches, too like RS11s with their Nickel Plate black with yellow stripes paint returning to view.Then there were the famous paint less P42s Amtrak had running around with their paint falling off seemingly in sheets.
Anyone have photos of those P42's?
-Tim
I think all the railroads had dirty locomotives. Especially back when they had steam. But to me, its the older the engine, the dirtier it is. I belive some railroads should have a clean locomotive policy.
Take a Ride on the Scenic Line!
Yes we are on time but this is yesterdays train
I have to say that if I owned a railroad, I'd want the locos to be cleaned at least as often as they were refueled, or as often as possible. Just like we do with our cars, especially when dirty in winter. Today's pressure washers can use filtered recycled water and sprayers can make high use of little water and soap.
Black locos tend not to show dirt as much, but I don't care if the locos are pink with purple and yellow polka-dots, they should be reasonably clean if the railroad has any pride in its equipment! Trucking companies and owner/operators tend to keep their fleets clean on the dirty open roads, and RRs can't? LOL
I love the railroads, but think they should spend a little more care in their appearance.
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
HO and N Scale.
After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.
galaxy wrote: I have to say that if I owned a railroad, I'd want the locos to be cleaned at least as often as they were refueled, or as often as possible. Just like we do with our cars, especially when dirty in winter. Today's pressure washers can use filtered recycled water and sprayers can make high use of little water and soap.Black locos tend not to show dirt as much, but I don't care if the locos are pink with purple and yellow polka-dots, they should be reasonably clean if the railroad has any pride in its equipment! Trucking companies and owner/operators tend to keep their fleets clean on the dirty open roads, and RRs can't? LOLI love the railroads, but think they should spend a little more care in their appearance.
Not to pick on you, too much. I at least give you credit for saying what you mean.
Locomotive paint is expensive. A good locomotive paint job can cost $30,000 or more. EPA regs, spray booths, limitations on sand blasting, labor costs and specialized paint requirements and new FRA reflectorization requirements have all combined to these high prices. When a short line has to make choices between necessary bridge and track repairs or payroll versus a nice looking paint job, the responsible choice is to fix the infrastructure or pay the employees. That is the reality of railroading. Sure, its nice to have a clean good looking locomotive, but even washing the power can give rise to litigation. Remember, they have to be washed at a wash rack that has EPA approved drainage handling equipment so all that oil and fuel that are getting washed off plus the detergent don't get into streams and lakes or perhaps the groundwater. More expense. No more just get out the hose and the squeegee at the roundhouse.
Railfans like to have pretty paint for nice photos. Railroaders like to have good looking property and equipment, but it isn't a priority and isn't likely to be in the future as costs continue their upward spiral.
LC
$30,000 for a paint job? Now I know Why NS and CSX painted their own locos.
Railfan1 wrote: $30,000 for a paint job? Now I know Why NS and CSX painted their own locos.
Some painting is done in RR shops and others by outside contractors or manufacturers. NS does paint at Juniata Shops. EMD is well known for contracting out paint work to Alstom, Super Steel and others. Repaints can be done in house or contracted out depending upon the railroad and their union agreements and other factors, primarily cost. A large portion of the cost is the labor needed to prep the locomotive for painting including masking off all the doors and trucks, removing lights and numberboards or masking them off and grinding and filling rust or other damage. Once all that is done, the actual painting is much simpler and quicker, usually 3 coats depending upon the type of paint used. Remember, if specialty paint like Imron is used there are strict temperature and humidity requirements that must be met to assure the paint cures properly. These and other concerns all factor into the cost in addition to the number of colors, size of the unit being painted and other factors in my last post. Improper painting can be embarassing like two different numbers being painted on one locomotive or very expensive like accidentally painting the wheels (wheels are prohibited from painting by FRA Regs as it makes it more difficult to identify critical defects in the wheels and if painted, the wheels must be replaced).
Hmmm, is it just me, or did that photo not show?
Now I know why N&W, NS, and IC opted for solid black locomotives with a minimal amount of white: to hide the dirt!
And if my memory serves me right, Rio Grande's locos were grungy on the outside due to running trains through all those mountain tunnels, but they were well maintained. I don't know what level (or lack) of cleanliness was to be found inside the locomotive cabs, much less the interior conditions of RG's cabooses.
Cris_261 wrote: Now I know why N&W, NS, and IC opted for solid black locomotives with a minimal amount of white: to hide the dirt! And if my memory serves me right, Rio Grande's locos were grungy on the outside due to running trains through all those mountain tunnels, but they were well maintained. I don't know what level (or lack) of cleanliness was to be found inside the locomotive cabs, much less the interior conditions of RG's cabooses.
Black is an FRA friendly color...
4884bigboy wrote:UP and CSX have some of the dirtiest fleet's for class 1's. UP inherited SP's wash policy ("We don't need no stinkin' wash racks!") when it merged with SP in 1996.
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.