Nostalgia & History > Last CSX YN2 Paint Jobs on Manor Branch 4/7/2002

While photographing coal trains on the ex-Monongahela Manor Branch, we ran into what happened to be the last two units to be painted in CSX Yellow Nose 2 paint. AC44CWs 556 and 555 (Built March/2002) are bringing a Somerset unit train out of the Bailey Mine on the Manor Branch at Time,PA. on 4/7/2002. The so-called Dark Future scheme started with AC44CW 557. Personally, I've always preferred the YN2 scheme over the Dark Future or current Box Car scheme.

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I remember that after CSX debuted "YN3" on SD50 8503, GE as well as Norfolk Southern (which was repainting units under contract to CSX at Altoona) continued to crank out YN2 painted units for a while aftterwards.  Heck, I think that just last year CSX received a freshly repainted YN2 GE from a repair facility in Mexico.  I agree--it was a much mor appealing scheme than the goldish yellow and blue they use now.  Like BNSF and "H1", they had it right, and messed it up.

 

perklocal Wrote:
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> While photographing coal trains on the
> ex-Monongahela Manor Branch, we ran into what
> happened to be the last two units to be painted in
> CSX Yellow Nose 2 paint. AC44CWs 556 and 555
> (Built March/2002) are bringing a Somerset unit
> train out of the Bailey Mine on the Manor Branch
> at Time,PA. on 4/7/2002. The so-called Dark Future
> scheme started with AC44CW 557. Personally, I've
> always preferred the YN2 scheme over the Dark
> Future or current Box Car scheme.

CSX #555 and 556 would be the last two brand new locomotives delivered in YN2. SD70MAC #700 would be the last unit repainted into YN2 when it was rebuilt under contract at a GE facility following an accident that resulted in the unit ending up on its side and a crew member being fatally injured. It returned to CSX during the second week of April 2002 and went to either Cumberland or Huntington Shops to have new "Spirit of Cumberland" logos added to the fresh paint. By this time Huntington shops had already started repainting units in YN3 as had NS on units rebuilt for CSX at Juniata Shops.

Last year during February 2016 a curveball was thrown at them when CSX AC4400CW #156 returned from wreck rebuild at a GE contract shop in San Luis Potosi,Mexico  in fresh YN2. It was wrecked while operating on one of the Mexican railroads ( pretty sure it was Ferromex) and the railroad had to pickup the tab for the rebuild. Apparently the wording in the agreements between the railroads call for a unit to be returned in the same physical condition and appearance it arrived it and being that the unit wore YN2 at the time that's how it was repainted. A couple minor details were off, such as the number font on the cab sides but otherwise looked really nice.

YN2 was a really sharp paintscheme, far better than the YN3 or YN3b of today. In particular the 700 series SD70MAC's were the best looking units to wear the colors. Would have loved for the 4700 and 4800 series SD70MAC's with flared radiators to have worn these colors or even better the SD70ACe's. The F40PH's #9992 and 9993 looked pretty sharp in YN2 as well.

Bryan Jones
Brooks, KY
Bryan's Train Photos

I remember opening Trains magazine and seeing the YN2 scheme for the first time. It was a GE unit and all I could think was, "Wow, now THAT'S more like it!" Seeing them in person was even better. Classy and appealing to my eye, best CSX scheme by far. I thought the CW40-8's delivered in that scheme seemed like some of the last "clean lines" locomotives. It seemed like after that the hoods and radiators kept bulging and the lines changed.

Posted from iPhone

Jared Hamilton
Scott Depot, WV