Pan Am's Heritage Locomotives

Looks like the engine will be on display in Freeport in conjunction with Amtrak's 40th Anniversary Train.

KSmitty wrote:I just noticed that the 77 has white on black number boards, quite contrary to, umm, every other current PAR locomotive...

Anyway I was just wondering-do we know yet if the 77 is still ST property or if it has been transferred back to B&M?

I highly doubt they went through the hassle of transferring everything just so it can be registered as a B&M engine. Its just for aesthetics, I don't think they're going to go too crazy with it.

KSmitty wrote:I just noticed that the 77 has white on black number boards, quite contrary to, umm, every other current PAR locomotive..

Good! It would have looked ridiculous with black-on-white numberboards.

TheJollyRailfan wrote:Maybe one day if were lucky PAR may even do a D&H paint job. But for now the BM one looks great.

Unlikely since they don't own the D&H anymore. For D&H heritage you'll have to look here

http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopi ... 83&t=61532

Or here http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=370700

Here are my shots of 77 today
http://jwdp.rrpicturearchives.net/showP ... id=2675520
http://jwdp.rrpicturearchives.net/showP ... id=2675515
This is the info on the engine. from what it seems here, it is still ST.
http://jwdp.rrpicturearchives.net/showP ... id=2675517

Shouldn't there be a small minute man on the small part of the front of the loco where the two angled sides meet the flat one?

I have a picture of B&M GP7 1566 sitting at Madison Station (Conway Branch) in the mid-50's and it did not have a Minute Man on the nose, so I'm going to go with "no", there should not be a Minute Man on the nose.
I did notice something different with the logo on the side, it doesn't have "Railroad" written at the bottom of the logo. Is this historically accurate for a Geep?

Some flipping through "New England Diesels" by Dave Albert and George Melvin seems to reveal the following patterns: The post-FT maroon-and-gold cab units, including the 3800s, and the pre-blue switchers and road-switchers had "BOSTON AND MAINE" along the sides with "AND" being about half the size of the other words. Post-FT maroon-and-gold cabs had Minuteman heralds on the nose, while pre-blue switchers and road-switchers generally had heralds on the cab sides. Exceptions? Yep!
Historical accuracy, as in many public-relations exercises, has been a casualty. Pre-builder-blue road-switchers carried four-digit numbers, the first two indicating approximate horse-power. 15XX for 1500 HP, approximately, allowing for 1600-HP RS-2s and RS-3s, and 17XX for 1750-HP GP-9s, so "77" is newly-created history, as is the paint job.

I'm surprised/impressed that it's this detailed and [almost] historically accurate. Particularly the numberboards, which appear to be the original as-built style of having clear glass in front, with interchangeable white-on-black numbers behind the glass. Even Conway Scenic's 573 doesn't have that level of accuracy. I imagine it would have been easier and cheaper to go with basic white-on-black numberboards rather than clear glass and interchangeable numbers, and a lot of people (even some of my fellow rivet-counters!) probably wouldn't have noticed the difference. Kudos to PAR and Waterville Shops for going that extra mile!

I've said in the past that I'll always give this company credit when credit is due... and I think it's definitely due here. They did one heck of a nice job. I was born too late to see this paint scheme on an in-service B&M locomotive, but since scientists are apparently too lazy to build a time machine that won't turn me into tapioca pudding, this locomotive is the next best thing.

Thank you, Pan Am! Thank you, Waterville Shops!

MEC407 wrote:I've said in the past that I'll always give this company credit when credit is due... and I think it's definitely due here. They did one heck of a nice job. I was born too late to see this paint scheme on an in-service B&M locomotive, but since scientists are apparently too lazy to build a time machine that won't turn me into tapioca pudding, this locomotive is the next best thing.

Thank you, Pan Am! Thank you, Waterville Shops!

AMEN to that! And this from the railroad that, only a couple short years ago, would have been the absolute LEAST likely to ever paint a heritage locomotive. Times they are a-changin'...

Wow, that looks tremendous. There is some real talent up there in the paint booth. Kudos.

Nice shot of 77 by our own Mr. David Hutchinson:

http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPictur ... id=2675325

It amazes me that they still have all the specs to perform this kind of work. For a company that didn't show pride in its own history not so many years ago, managed to keep everything.