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America's dirtiest railroad/locomotive?

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Posted by NS SD70M-2 on Friday, July 20, 2007 2:08 PM
 chefjavier wrote:

 NS SD70M-2 wrote:
 chefjavier wrote:
 I am having problems downloading the picture. Does anyone has better way to do it?
Copy and paste?

I already did the copy and paste. Do you have another choice?

Save the picture in a file and then go to the little tree icon on the options board when you are posting a message.
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Posted by silicon212 on Thursday, July 19, 2007 2:42 AM

You need to use an image host.  Something like photobucket, webshots, Geocities premium etc.  You can't cut and paste into a message - the image has to be somewhere on the internet where you can image tag it into this message, for example the picture below:

would have been using the image tags <img> </img> (except use the [ or ] instead of < or >)

<img>http://www.silicon212.org/sd40-2.jpg</img>

Same image but formatted so you can see the text.

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Posted by chefjavier on Wednesday, July 18, 2007 9:35 PM

 NS SD70M-2 wrote:
 chefjavier wrote:
 I am having problems downloading the picture. Does anyone has better way to do it?
Copy and paste?

I already did the copy and paste. Do you have another choice?

Javier
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Posted by espeefoamer on Wednesday, July 18, 2007 8:03 PM
It's a NS Dash 9 in gray primer in a snowstorm.
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Posted by NS SD70M-2 on Wednesday, July 18, 2007 4:16 PM
 chefjavier wrote:
 I am having problems downloading the picture. Does anyone has better way to do it?
Copy and paste?
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Posted by emdgp92 on Tuesday, July 17, 2007 1:41 PM

Many of Penn Central's engines were pretty grungy, especially the ones that hadn't been repainted.

http://rr-fallenflags.org/pc/pc4027acz.jpg

http://rr-fallenflags.org/pc/pc4224ags.jpg

http://rr-fallenflags.org/pc/pc4821ags.jpg

Some of this wear was because the railroad was more concerned with keeping things running than their appearance. Also, when PC repainted units, they didn't bother scraping off the old paint and decals--the new paint went right over the old. After awhile, the paint would come off the old decals in sheets! However, before that happened, most units looked pretty good, http://rr-fallenflags.org/pc/pc4312ags.jpg

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Posted by NS SD70M-2 on Tuesday, July 17, 2007 1:03 PM
 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.
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Posted by Limitedclear on Thursday, July 12, 2007 10:15 AM
 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! Laugh [(-D]Wink [;)]

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...

LC

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Posted by Cris_261 on Wednesday, July 11, 2007 11:25 PM

Now I know why N&W, NS, and IC opted for solid black locomotives with a minimal amount of white: to hide the dirt! Laugh [(-D]Wink [;)]

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.

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Posted by espeefoamer on Wednesday, July 11, 2007 9:32 PM
I couldn't get it either.Black Eye [B)]
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Posted by chefjavier on Wednesday, July 11, 2007 8:21 PM
 I am having problems downloading the picture. Does anyone has better way to do it?
Javier
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Posted by silicon212 on Tuesday, July 10, 2007 6:14 PM
Not just you.
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Posted by Limitedclear on Tuesday, July 10, 2007 5:11 PM

Hmmm, is it just me, or did that photo not show?

LC

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Posted by chefjavier on Monday, July 9, 2007 11:48 PM
Javier
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Posted by Limitedclear on Monday, July 9, 2007 1:40 AM
 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).

LC 

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Posted by Railfan1 on Sunday, July 8, 2007 4:07 PM

$30,000 for a paint job? Now I know Why NS and CSX painted their own locos.

"It's a great day to be alive" "Of all the words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these, It might have been......"
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Posted by Limitedclear on Sunday, July 8, 2007 12:02 PM
 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?  LOL

I love the railroads, but think they should spend a little more care in their appearance.Cool [8D]

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  

 

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Posted by galaxy on Sunday, July 8, 2007 9:09 AM

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.Cool [8D]

-G .

Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.

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Posted by route_rock on Tuesday, June 5, 2007 4:41 PM
  Any old Warbonnet . Pink now and paint peeling so bad it flies off at any speed over 10!Laugh [(-D]

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Posted by traintownofcowee on Monday, June 4, 2007 12:19 PM

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.

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Posted by THayman on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 1:04 PM
 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

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Posted by garyla on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 11:22 PM

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!"

 

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Posted by IRONHORSE77 on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 10:40 PM

I'll have to agree on the SP locos. In the houston/pasadena area they looked like abandoned equipment.

Chuck

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Posted by espeefoamer on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 8:46 PM
Sometimes Southern Pacific's diesels got so dirty,you could'nt read the road name or sometimes even the number.Rio Grande engines were almost as bad.Rio Grande had the dirtiest cabooses,though,by a good margin.
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Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 7:32 PM
The early Conrail years had plenty of dirty locos. They were more concerned to be able to get them operating rather than clean.
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Posted by Railfan1 on Friday, May 18, 2007 6:54 AM
 dansapo wrote:

How about shabby.3 diiferent paint job's showing at once.

 

Southern,Norfolk Southern,Wle 

Laugh [(-D]

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Posted by PBenham on Thursday, May 17, 2007 6:55 PM

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.

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Posted by dansapo on Thursday, May 17, 2007 6:34 PM

How about shabby.3 diiferent paint job's showing at once.

 

Southern,Norfolk Southern,Wle 

Dan Sapochetti
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Posted by PBenham on Thursday, May 17, 2007 3:59 PM
As it declined toward its shotgun marriage with Penn Central, New Haven was as raunchy as any railroad I have ever seen. Even the roaches gave up on them!Laugh [(-D] The MBTA (Boston) tries to get that bad, but once in a while it snows or rains and the equipment gets "washed". The Blue line is grubby, the Orange line is, too and then there is the Green line, which despite the departure of the Boeings still cries out for better equipment. The classic PCC and "5000" on display at Park Street (?) would be an improvement over what runs there now. The Red line, is less septic. Sox Deux- Tigre Un.Sign - Off Topic!! [#offtopic]
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Posted by Railfan1 on Thursday, May 17, 2007 3:05 PM

Just look at some UP pictures and you should run across quiet a few dirty locos.

"It's a great day to be alive" "Of all the words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these, It might have been......"

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