Nostalgia & History > Even more SP Kodachrome from the 1980s

Adding to AlcoRSD15's great series on SP Kodachromes, here the first SP Kodachrome sits on display at CSRM in 1985. Different striping and white lettering.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/26/10 21:20 by qnyla.

Nice shot! Even can see the lower black around the roof.
Thanks for sharing.
Todd Montgomery
Eugene OR

Excellent picture! Did any units get the full "SPSF" (or was it SFSP) treatment for publicity purposes?

davew833 Wrote:
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> Excellent picture! Did any units get the full
> "SPSF" (or was it SFSP) treatment for publicity
> purposes?


IIRC, one was given the full SPSF lettering (might have even been this locomotive) very briefly but was never released from the shop wearing the "SF" letters and very few photos are out there of it.

Z

If memory serves, there was mention in a Trains mag once of sd45-2s 7219 and 7221 being painted in full SPSF.

Borrowing an answer from an old thread, ( http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,1953538 ):

No locomotives wore full SPSF lettering in regular service (they couldn't until the merger was approved, which it wasn't). There were three Santa Fe locomotives that reportedly wore full SPSF lettering "behind the scenes."

Santa Fe's very first SPSF repaint, SD45 5394, wore full SPSF lettering with several different noseband styles as the paint shop guys tried out different looks. There are photos on p.49 of The Santa Fe Diesel V.2 showing it in a couple of the styles that didn't pass muster: three black stripes on the side of the nose and black SPSF on an otherwise yellow nose front, and one that matched the initial scheme the unit was released in, but with full, white SPSF lettering on a black noseband. Joe Shine's Santa Fe 1987 Motive Power Pictorial has similar photos in black and white on p.56. When 5394 was finally released, the noseband was red and the "SP" was painted out. Other responses in that old thread suggest SP's first repaint, SD45 7551, was done up in full lettering initially as well. I've never seen a photo of it that way, but I don't have very many SP books to refer to. When it was unleashed on an unsuspecting public, it only had white "SP" lettering. All subsequent repaints had yellow instead of white lettering.

The other two Santa Fe units that wore full lettering were SD45-2's 7219 and 7221. Rebuilt by the San Bernardino Shops just before the first ICC vote on the merger in mid-1986, they were painted with full lettering for publicity photos in anticipation of a favorable decision. The 7219, at least, was the subject of a few official photos for press packets, and when the unit needed to be turned, it broke cover long enough for several unofficial photos to be snapped as well. The P was somewhat misshapen relative to what SP was using on its repaints. Mike Martin official photos of 7219 can be found on p.103 of The Santa Fe Diesel V.2 and p.57 of Santa Fe 1987 Motive Power Pictorial. Unofficial views by James Heard are on p.17 of Joe Shine's SPSF Motive Power 1986 and p.103 of Bill Shippen's Burlington Northern Santa Fe 1997 Motive Power Annual. The 7221 stayed under cover, and to this day, I have never seen a photo of it in full lettering. Several references claim it did get the full treatment, and we can only take their word for it. When the merger was rejected, the "SP" was painted out and both units were released into service with just "SF" on their flanks and noses.

One Santa Fe caboose was also done up in full lettering, Ce-1 999088. As with the locomotives, the lettering was modified before going out in public. For some reason, they painted out the middle "PS," leaving a widely spaced S__F on the side of the car. This was later modified to a normal, closely spaced SF. I've never seen a photo of the car in full lettering, but Shine's SPSF Motive Power 1986 has a photo of the car as initially released on p.22, as does Priest's Santa Fe Waycars on p.79.

I believe the 1986 SPSF Motive Power Annual (Shine) is the book that shows the SF SD45-2 in the full lettering. There is no report of the 7551 receiving full lettering.

SP 7551 was decorated in full SPSF lettering very briefly, possibly only for a few hours, in Oakland. I think I read that the "SF" lettering was only taped on or something. Someone posted a few photos of "SPSF" 7551 on the Espee Yahoo Group a few years ago. There is also a print of "SPSF" 7551 hanging on a wall at the model railroad club in Napa, CA. It might be one of the same photos that was shared on the Espee group. I took a photo of the photo in Napa , but I would prefer not to post it here out of respect for the original photographer's copyright.

Would love to see a photo of the photo. Is there any PC way to disclaim it's not yours and post it?

Very nice photo. Thanks for posting and for the info.
-- Eric