New England Central Railroad (NECR)

Paint does not make a loco run any better or pull more cars. When the locos are tied up for prep and paint, they aren't earning any money.

Hey, if PANAM can do it, NECR can do it any day! And don't they ever sideline engines for overhauls? Paint them then.

"If PanAm can do it, NECR Can!"

Oh jeeze, what a joke.

Paint does nothing for power other then to make it look pretty for railfans. It's a waste of money for the NECR (read: RailAmerica) to paint or repaint engines that have perfectly fine paint jobs on them as they are now. Until you have large areas that are unpainted, fresh metal, or a need to paint them, or in serious need of overchaul (by the way, none of those really exist on the NECR power. Overhauls could be performed, but aren't' really "needed" on all power), then it's a waste of money to take a unit out of service for just paint.

Railroading isn't meant to be some clean and pretty photo-factory for railfans. It's dark, dirty, and disgusting. Why bother with fresh paint when the diesel soot, oil spatter, and exhaust stains preserve things just fine?

OneForTheKick wrote:"If PanAm can do it, NECR Can!"

Oh jeeze, what a joke.

Paint does nothing for power other then to make it look pretty for railfans. It's a waste of money for the NECR (read: RailAmerica) to paint or repaint engines that have perfectly fine paint jobs on them as they are now. Until you have large areas that are unpainted, fresh metal, or a need to paint them, or in serious need of overchaul (by the way, none of those really exist on the NECR power. Overhauls could be performed, but aren't' really "needed" on all power), then it's a waste of money to take a unit out of service for just paint.

Railroading isn't meant to be some clean and pretty photo-factory for railfans. It's dark, dirty, and disgusting. Why bother with fresh paint when the diesel soot, oil spatter, and exhaust stains preserve things just fine?

This sounds like shades of the Southern Pacific. They would not even wash a unit!

Make money first, then paint.

NellsChoo wrote:Hey, if PANAM can do it, NECR can do it any day! And don't they ever sideline engines for overhauls? Paint them then.

Pan Am has painted, what, four engines since 2006? Hardly a good comparison

A good paint job is abotu $25,000 for paint and prep and a few days of downtime while that engine makes its way to the shop or contractor and during that time it's not hauling freight, so it's not making any money.

Locomotives are routinely painted during major overhauls when they are already in the shop, however. So if one of these units is due for major work, you might see some new paint.

-otto-

OneForTheKick wrote:"If PanAm can do it, NECR Can!"

Oh jeeze, what a joke.

Really? To me, YOU'RE the joke. Everyone around here always wants to BASH people. You want the same? OK.

I bet your car is full of dents and scratches. It has no resale value. And everyone who looks at it says "that guy's either poor or somone who has no pride in what he owns". If a railroad looks derelict, it probably is, thinks both the public AND customers. BNSF, NS, UP, PW& have a good overall appearance in their property and equipment, so customers know they can provide a good service because they KNOW HOW TO MAINTAIN, and as you all point out, MAINTAINING COSTS MONEY. So despite what you say, looks DO matter in promoting your company. And while maybe a cheap railroad like PanAm has only done a few engines, look at all the boxcars in the scheme. THAT costs money, too, and provides protection to the metal.

JD

NellsChoo wrote:

OneForTheKick wrote:"If PanAm can do it, NECR Can!"

Oh jeeze, what a joke.

Really? To me, YOU'RE the joke. Everyone around here always wants to BASH people. You want the same? OK.

Yikes! Jonelle, no one is bashing you or anyone else here. I think we have a little misunderstanding here. However, the economics of railroading is a little different than the economics of personal automobile ownership. The simple truth is, when it comes to railroading, not every company puts image first. As long as the locomotive has the ability to pull, some railroads (NECR included) don't care what the condition of the body is. Rusty, dirty, old paint, new paint... as long as it protects the parts inside and can safely carry a crew is all that matters. Some shortlines pride themselves on appearance, and wash and wax their locomotives every week. Some major railroads make sure their engines go through the wash rack after every visit to the fuel rack. Others, not so much.

Throw me a PM or email if you have more to add to this thread about New England Central and their lack of newly painted locomotives.

-otto-

I went up last saturday around 2:00pm and I saw PAR 352, VRR 307 and NECR 3853 all sitting by the station. The PAR and NECR engines both had freight cars attached. I went down to the NECR yard, and there was no power there. It was sad to see the burned out roundhouse.

I took Elm Street and visability was really good. Trees do not have there leaves yet so you could see right through. I saw 4 NECR engines, 1 NECR leaser, 2 CSOR and 1 CSOR leaser, and 1 GSWR engine.

Susquehanna SD70's are on their way to St. Albans for storage and possible work.

Does anyone know the general days/times that NECR goes from Palmer down to CT? I tried to ask one of their crew who unfortunately was a jerk about it, not the typical attitude I've seen from them so maybe he had a bad day. Either way, I didn't see anything on here and thought I would ask.

There are really about no "scheduled" jobs on the NECR.

Everything is a big spare board currently.

Plate C wrote:I tried to ask one of their crew who unfortunately was a jerk about it...

Truthfully, he's under no obligation to share that info with you, so be careful who you call a jerk.

Of course he is under no obligation to share anything, but one can still be a jerk about it, versus a nice guy and still get the point across that, "I can't help you out with that info buddy..." The point is that while it is a post 9/11 environment, you can still choose to use common sense and courtesy when interacting with the public, across all professions, including rail versus being an A*****e.