Crudbonnet 846 leads NS 38G at Royersford image

Komachi wrote: If you feel we are not answering a question to your satisfaction, feel free to clarify.

Thankyou: here is one question right now.

Elsewhere Uhaul wrote:The Red Warbonnet was used as a passenger paint scheme, but eventually units in this paint scheme moved to freight service.

Peace-maker wrote:'m pretty sure that engine has hauled freight its whole life, SF stopped carrying passengers before this engine was built.

So the red and silver war bonnet scheme ( see my question on Santa Fe paint shemes) was not only moved to Freight service with units previously used for passenger traffic, but also used on engines that that never hauled anything else than freight.

Is this true?

Hence,there was a moment when a freight train was hauled routinely, and not as an exception, by a Red/ silver warbonnet liveried Loco?

I'm no expert, I only started paying close attention to trains when I went to work for the RR.

I'll try to explain it though. Up until the early 1970's the railroads hauled freight and passengers. Amtrak was started and I believe Rock Island was the only western RR to keep hauling passengers.

I believe at this time (early 1970's) Santa Fe used the the War Bonnet scheme on its passenger engines. When they quit hauling passengers some of those engines went to freight service but they were all eventually retired. Their freight only engines were painted in other schemes notably the Blue and Yellow scheme.

Sometime in the 1980's SF went back to the War Bonnet scheme, at this time they were hauling only freight and had been doing so for over a decade. All these new War Bonnet engines were freight only engines. In this time period the engine in the picture ("Crud Bonnet") was built. Since SF was only hauling freight this engine never hauled passengers.

When BN and SF merged all new engines were repainted in the Orange BNSF paint schemes. If this engine is ever re-painted it will be Orange. My guess is it will never be repainted by BNSF, eventually it will be either retired or sold.

Does this clear it up?

Don't worry about your English, if I was trying to type something in Italian or any other language it would be very bad.

Thank you, Peace_Maker! It is getting clearer to me now.

The key, whether ( more likely)I did not grab it before , whether no one pointed it out to me as clearly as you did, is in this:

Sometime in the 1980's SF went back to the War Bonnet scheme, at this time they were hauling only freight and had been doing so for over a decade.

I've seen Officer Specials with old green lizard SD40's in the lead. So long as the thing will make 70MPH, the executives in back could care less. They are not going to be botherd with what their power looks like. They would never lower themselves to getting in front with the crew.