Dates of NYC Graphics

I'm wondering about when the various nyc graphics were introduced and when they ceased. For instance, the lightning stripe, the old NYC oval, the cigar band logo, and the use of green paint.

The NYC’s 4 FT’s 1600-3 delivered in 1944 were all black with vertical & horizontal nose stripes, but not a true lightning stripe. The 2 F2’s 1604-5 delivered in1946 had the same scheme.
http://gelwood.railfan.net/nyc/nyc1600ag.jpg
Four E7’s were delivered 3/45 with an early version of the lightning stripe. 4000-1 were light gray with a dark gray band. 4002-3 were black with a black band. Four more E7’s 4004-7 in 10/45 were delivered with the early light gray with dark gray band scheme.
http://gelwood.railfan.net/nyc/nyc4001as.jpg
http://gelwood.railfan.net/nyc/nyc4002ag.jpg
E7’s 4008-23 were delivered in 4/47 with the standard passenger lightning stripe.
http://gelwood.railfan.net/nyc/nyc4034ava.jpg
F3’s 1606-1610 were delivered 6/47 with the standard lightning stripe and the gray bar ending behind the rear porthole. B-units were solid black. This appeared to be the freight scheme for other units delivered through 1948.
http://gelwood.railfan.net/nyc/nyc1640s.jpg
After that the standard freight lightning stripe scheme had the gray band extending the full length of the carbody and the band was also applied to the b-units.
http://gelwood.railfan.net/nyc/nyc1726s.jpg
The cigar band paint scheme for locomotives appears to have been phased in from 1960 to 1962.
http://gelwood.railfan.net/nyc/nyc4038ads.jpg
http://gelwood.railfan.net/nyc/nyc1118ads.jpg
According to “NYC Color Guide to Freight and Passenger Cars” by Sweetland and Yanosey, “The box car red look became passé on the Central in the late 1958 changeover to Century (jade) green.” There are a couple of photos in the book dated 1959 that show green box cars with cigar band logos.
http://www.canadasouthern.com/caso/images/nyc-48246.jpg

The following is from a 1970 Central Headlight reprint available from the New York Central System Historical Society. http://www.nycshs.org/headlightreprint.html
"The familiar oval has been New York Central's emblem since 1893. To many persons even the outline of the oval without any lettering has come to mean New York Central.
NYC's oval has been in use since its chance creation in a print shop. In 1893 special folders were being prepared for use in promoting the Central's service to Chicago in connection with the World's Fair held there that year. As one folder was about to go to press, an illustrator -proof reader in the printing shop spotted a large blank space on one page. He quickly sketched an oval and lettered in the railroad's name within its border to use as a space filler.
Ordinarily, the engraving of the oval would have been discarded when the job was completed, but in this case it wasn't. A typesetter in the same plant found it when he started setting up the cover of a Central Timetable some time later and used it.
When Central officials saw the oval in the proofs of the timetable cover their first reaction was to order it taken out. On reconsideration however, they decided to leave it in.
Though the Oval and its letters were modern-ized through the years. basically it is the same oval that has appeared on New York Central Prop-erty and equipment since the unknown illustrator hastily sketched his filler space. "

Thanks, Dave, for the reply and photo links. You have helped me identify what look my mid 50s nyc locos should wear.

In case you are interested in steam, here is an excerpt from New York Central Railroad by Solomon & Schafer:
"The Boston & Albany was fully dieselized by 1951; lines east of Buffalo were converted by 1953; and Central's last steam run occurred on May 2, 1957, at Cincinnati, Ohio."

I'll settle for the name of the Gothic typestyle they used in the 50's.

I'm still doing some searching, but so far have come up emptyhanded.

I would guess that the Gothic lettering is The NYC's own font and not a standard type. The excerpt below from the 1994-4th qtr NYC Headlight lists drawing numbers of fonts that may or may not be available from the NYCS Historical Society. http://www.nycshs.org/index.html

Question 335: When did New York Central adopt the Gothic (sans serif) lettering style?
Answer: The initial alphabet and numeral drawings (number series 51900-51924) in the Gothic style were prepared in June and July 1939, and the initial lettering diagrams (number series 51925-51941) were prepared in the June-October period of the same year. The diagrams covered coaches, baggage, milk, express refrigerator, combination passenger-baggage, business, baggage-mail and multiple unit cars. Alphabet drawings for locomotives followed, and were prepared in January 1940. The drawings for locomotive numerals were common with the car style. Lettering diagrams in the Gothic style for steam locomotives were prepared in January 1940. Purists should note that each size of letter has a slightly different form, that is, an 8-inch letter is not simply 1.6 times the size of a 5-inch letter. Further, in the case of the 5-inch and 8-inch locomotive alphabets, the forms of letters A, B, C, D, E, H, M, 0, R, S, Y and & were adjusted in January 1947

The New York Central font is available from Benn Coifmann:

http://www.railfonts.com/cgi/font_shop/ ... page9.html#

-otto-

Thanks, Otto. That'll do!