Western Railroad Discussion > Yellow and Red Warbonnets--Santa Fe

I have been viewing several videos which show the Yellow and Red Warbonnets in many runbys

How in the world did we loose these beautiful paint schemes---man

Dale Smith

P.S. I understand Matt Rose wanting to intergrate the two companies but what
a cost --MAN again

Posted from iPhone

Matt Rose had no imagination.

SantaFeRuss

Posted from Android

Santa Fe blue and yellow is my favourite paint scheme of all time. If only all those GEVO's and ACe's on the southern transcon were in those colours...

>
> Dale Smith
>
> P.S. I understand Matt Rose wanting to intergrate
> the two companies but what
> a cost --MAN again
>
While I might agree with this, you're blaming the wrong guy!  Rob Krebs
made the decision on paint schemes.  He was quoted about the time of
the merger as complaining about the number of messages (letters, e-mails, etc.)
he was getting on the subject.  And while we might bemoan the endless 
orange GE's we see constantly, I would argue that if they had to changed 
paint schemes, they certainly did a pretty good job of it, given what we've
seen elsewhere.  Just my two cents worth.  

Nick Tharalson,
Marion, IA

Nick is correct - it was RDK that wanted to "unite" the two railways by scrapping both existing schemes and coming up with the new scheme.  I always thought the Heritage 1 (circle with cross, orange and green body) was the best of the new schemes, and why they went to Heritage 2 or the Swoosh is beyond me.  Couldn't read the gold BNSF on the orange hood in H2, and the swoosh is just...well, Nike.  But the orange does stand out in the PNW and Feather River Canyon!

As to ATSF schemes, if they were going to use one of those, the dark blue pinstripe scheme would have been the best choice in my opinion.  Big yellow BNSF on the side, instead of "Santa Fe" - able to read it from half a mile away!  And no fading issues with the dark blue.