Thread For Posting Heritage Unit Locations

[Station Aficionado]

I agree with Mr. Norman that adopting a whole "new" image and repainting all or large parts of the Amtrak fleet would be a waste of a considerable amount of money, and would definitely not "win friends and influence people" among the new Congressional overlords. But I would bet the cost of repainting a few units/cars in a "heritage" (do we need to come up with a different word to distinguish old Amtrak liveries from those of the private railroads??) scheme would be no more than a rounding error in Amtrak's budget. And, in my view, it would be an appropriate way to note the rapidly-approaching 40th anniversary of A-day. Who knows--as some have suggested, it might even put a few more backsides in the seats.

[Dick H]

I believe CSX has 4 ex Amtrak F-40's. Maybe Amtrak could borrow one
and use of these "wrap" deals, with some touch up on the trucks, etc.,
and change the number.

When the party is over, change the number back, strip the wrap
and send it back to CSX.

Does the Morristown and Erie still have an F40 on the property?

[Matt Johnson]

I agree with Mr. Norman that adopting a whole "new" image and repainting all or large parts of the Amtrak fleet would be a waste of a considerable amount of money, and would definitely not "win friends and influence people" among the new Congressional overlords.

I agree. Add to that the fact that it has taken years to finally update the entire fleet and get respectable looking uniform consists following the last transition. I hope that any Phase III redux is limited to locomotives, and not applied to passenger cars.

[Pacific 2-3-1]

And the Amtrak Store has either marked down, or put on sale, most of its apparel that bear the present Amtrak logo!

[R36 Combine Coach]

The current logo was introduced in 2000 under Warrington as part of the "Acelafication", which introduced the Acela-based Phase V, Capstone "lavalamp" on some Amfleets and the ill-fated attempt to rebrand all Northeast services under the Acela banner.

[Tadman]

Here's the dollars and cents of the affair.

A few years back, Trains mag quoted a paint job on a new KCS locomotive at $27,000. That's for the stealth grey look, not the Belle look. It's safe to assume the Belle look costs more, as the complex paint jobs were the first thing to go in the 1960's when money got tight everywhere. Any road that went broke went solid-color first. (MILW, RI, PC, RDG, CNJ, D&H)

If the locomotive needs a paint job, spend the darn money - it keeps the rust out. If you want to celebrate a historic event coincidentally, go nuts and paint it in a fun look. If the locomotive doesn't need a paint job, wraps are available today at much lower cost. If you can legitimately calculate a positive ROI, it's an especially good idea, as that falls under the category of smart marketing.

Here's another anecdote once told by an MNCR crewman. Around the time the Gennies received their NH McGinnis look, one person commented to another that it was a famous paint scheme from the 1950's. The second person asked: "You mean they haven't painted this locomotive in fifty years?". Moral of the story? Save for the foamers and the design aficionados, nobody cares what color their locomotive is. They care that it carries them home to Naperville or New Rochelle on time every night.

Given that the purpose of a for-profit railroad is to increase shareholder wealth, and the job of a publicly-supported commuter line is to move maximum people safely, heritage paint schemes are neat but shouldn't be abused.

I am anxious to hear what Amtrak has up their sleeve, I would bet that the 8XX in PhIII needed a paint job if it's being overhauled.

[ns3010]

Wow, that looks sharp!

I'd say it's reasonable to believe that this unit is 822, because it is easy to see that the last digit is a two. 822 and 832 have been/are being overhauled. 832 is already in service in Phase V paint, so it must be 822.

Dick H, no, Morristown & Erie sold the two Maine Eastern F40PHs a few years back. I don't remember where they went.

[jonmurr]

If done in the normal routine of overhaul, I have no problems with it.
However, Amtrak schemes have always left something to be desired,IMHO, with the phase IV being the best of the lot. The early schemes are dated, with III seeming to me jingo-ey and hackneyed. VI was a step in the right direction. It is subtle compared to III, and I liked the Superliner script. V to me is the textbook case of giving a marketing company a lot of money to come up with something completely banal and ordinary (blobs?). IVb is back to the good IV, with addition of the swoosh thing. I know nostalgia is a rail fan hangup, but the conservative and classy schemes of the northeastern railroads postwar should be an influence for a timeless scheme to be developed. I would also look for inspiration towards the presidential airplanes 28000 and 29000, carrying the famous Raymond Loewy scheme for forty years now. I also like the Reading scheme.

The railroad basically has had three major schemes in forty years, I do not consider that excessive. If cars and locomotives are now being shopped at decent intervals, I would like to see an alternative scheme on occasion.

[Amtrak7]

How do we know the picture is not of a PhV locomotive with a PhIII wrap?

[strench707]

I mean you can't be 100% its not a wrap because there's nothing in writing on it but looking at it you can tell its paint. Pretty shiny and just has the paint look.

Davis

[R36 Combine Coach]

I know nostalgia is a rail fan hangup, but the conservative and classy schemes of the northeastern railroads postwar should be an influence for a timeless scheme to be developed. I would also look for inspiration towards the presidential airplanes 28000 and 29000, carrying the famous Raymond Loewy scheme for forty years now. I also like the Reading scheme.

Greyhound has introduced a new retro-based scheme on its new and refurbished fleet, intending to resemble the 1950s era.

[frequentflyer]

I don't care if they wrap it or paint but Amtrak needs a cohesive look with the locomotives and pax cars sharing a unified look. Which over overpaid marketing consultant that it was a good idea to mix Acela ( locomotives) livery with Phas IV (pax cars) livery (and having a red stripe at the bottom of the cars does not make for a unified look)? Is there anyone in Amtrak management left over from the Claytor's days? Phase 3 was the last time Amtrak had a unified look. And if looks does not matter why do the Acela trains sets not have phase IV striping down the pax cars? Because it does matter, even to a freight railroad it matters.

It will be interesting to see what livery the new pax cars will be delivered with. I am betting they will be bare like the Acela pax cars to match the locomotives. That will be fine, at the look will be cohesive. Heck Amtrak can start now and strip stickers off the Superliners and strip the Phase IV paint off the Amfleets and Viewliners.

[early80sNECguy]

That is NOT a decal. The entire bottom of the unit is painted black, not the usual dark grey. If you look at the unit next to it carefully you can see the reflection of the III paint and black Amtrak lettering. You can also see the black on white number in the side stripe like the F40's had! Looks pretty good to me!

If they are "rebranding" back to Phase III it doesn't have to be done all at once. As units get shopped you repaint them. It's not a waste of money if the unit needs painting anyway. If you are "america's passenger railroad" you should have red, white and blue, right? Never liked Phase 4, 4b, 4b-2, 4b-2a (okay I am making them up now.) I like the Phase V as laid out on the Cabbages and MOW units, but not a fan of the "wave" on the Gens. I hope they bring the pointless arrow back....I always thought that was a cool logo!

[chucksc]

correct and therefore I say the F40 stuff is just a rumor.

Hey Dutch - we've got a couple of almost surplus, almost running (they are in daily use complete with breakdowns) screamers down on the VRE that they are looking to sell - Maybe Amtrak could lease them back?

[ST214]

She looks AWESOME!!! I agree with what some others have said here. Phase 3 IS Amtrak. This might just be one unit for the rumored special train, or maybe Amtrak is going back to phase 3. I'm hoping for both.

As far as the F40's go, I hope that happens too. There are a few F40's still sitting that were rebuilt not too long before going into storage. Start them up, give them the FRA required tests, run them thru the paint booth, and they should be ready to roll!