Railroad Forums 

Discussion relating to the operations of MTA MetroNorth Railroad including west of Hudson operations and discussion of CtDOT sponsored rail operations such as Shore Line East and the Springfield to New Haven Hartford Line

Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, nomis, FL9AC, Jeff Smith

 #1466163  by nomis
 
Mod Note: I split apart the livery posts from several threads into this thread. This thread is to cover the new paint scheme for Locomotives and coaches, and other marketing materials. Keep in min CTdot's common markteting between CT rail, CT transit, and CT fasttrack.
 #1466203  by ConstanceR46
 
Are the Mafersas leaving or are the MBBs (i find it funny how a company that armed the nazis provided coaches to the US but nevermind that) just supplements?
 #1466209  by DutchRailnut
 
The Mafersa's were to be used on springfield line, but because the M-8's are still not accepted by Amtrak they are still needed for SLE.
The extra Mafersa's plus the 10 leased cars will be used on Springfield line.
the lease is only temporary (5 years) as CDOT will order new cars for Metro North pool, which in turn will free up the Shoreliners.
 #1466303  by Traingeek3629
 
NH2060 wrote:Behold, ladies and gentlemen, the rebuilt and re-liveried 6694:
http://www.railpictures.net/photo/651914/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
UGH!!!

That thing is just ugly. I liked the old logo. BTW, any knowledge on when 6694 will be running this weekend?
 #1466473  by Backshophoss
 
Hopefully some "legal beagle" at ConnDOT's Legal Dept has tended to"rights and releases" on that logo,or Microsoft will come down HARD on ConnDOT
for copyright and/or trademark infringement.
 #1466491  by NH2060
 
Sorry guys that stupid looking logo (and it IS stupid looking) does not in any way rip off the Microsoft logo and thus ain't going away any time soon. For those who thought the 1990s "CT Commuter Rail" logo was awful (I think it was one of the best ones out there) I'm sure you're wishing it was still going to stick around.
 #1466627  by NaugyRR
 
I honestly don't mind it, it reminds me of the Alpert paint scheme that the New Haven PA's wore. It'll be interesting to see how they adapt it to the P40's.
 #1468686  by shadyjay
 
NH2060 wrote:Here's a better shot of 6694 in its new paint. I'm starting to like the color pattern more and more (as imperfect as it is). I look forward to seeing something like this on the "patch job" units.
http://www.railpictures.net/photo/652665/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Granted, I have not yet seen one of the new paint CTRail units person (yet), but it doesn't look "too" bad. I think it would look better if they moved the CTRail on the cab to the end of the logo on the hood and made it larger, and put the road number on the cab.

I still like the McGinnis colors/logo better. But perhaps this was done because the original project website nhhsrail.com had (stock?) images of a modern train. Perhaps ConnDOT wanted to strike a new image for this line and its services as a whole, not just relocate standard SLE trainsets over to the new line. A fresh coat of McGinnis paint would've looked sharp, though, especially on the P40s.
 #1468695  by NH2060
 
shadyjay wrote:Granted, I have not yet seen one of the new paint CTRail units person (yet), but it doesn't look "too" bad. I think it would look better if they moved the CTRail on the cab to the end of the logo on the hood and made it larger, and put the road number on the cab.

I still like the McGinnis colors/logo better. But perhaps this was done because the original project website nhhsrail.com had (stock?) images of a modern train. Perhaps ConnDOT wanted to strike a new image for this line and its services as a whole, not just relocate standard SLE trainsets over to the new line. A fresh coat of McGinnis paint would've looked sharp, though, especially on the P40s.
I'm almost convinced that enough of a possible multiple personnel change at CDOT over the years since 2006 -when the decision was made to re-paint/touch up the MAFERSAs using the "NH" logo on one end- has a great deal to do with it. Whoever is in charge right now likely has/had no use for continuing to reuse the now 60-year old "McGinnis scheme". And on top of that the "NH" logo doesn't adequately brand the non-MNRR commuter rail ops in 2018; I remember when I was younger being baffled that the name "Shore Line East" wasn't stamped on the equipment. The "CTrail" branding -while not perfect- is concise, snappy, and looks great on the trains themselves. Let's not forget that the NH livery (incl. logos) becoming the public image of CDOT rail operations came about only because Joe Trifono and others petitioned CDOT and Conrail to have even just one FL-9 repainted. As explained here:

https://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/07/nyre ... ected.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I will say as someone who grew up with the McGinnis scheme at the turn of the 21st century I feel a change in the livery is warranted for the rebuilt GP40-2Hs and *hopefully soon to be rebuilt* P40s and any future Chargers though I would like the basic principle of using red black and white retained, which they indeed have with the 6694. Some Alpert-era white pinstripes would add just enough extra color/flavor to the CTrail livery and really add a nice touch. As for the MBB cars.............. I'll leave that alone.