Nostalgia & History > "Kodachrome" SF C30-7 leading in Alabama

Dec 90
C30-7 8032 is on a CSX freight on ex-L&N trackage close to Brewton,Al.
In the 80's the Santa Fe and SP were very confident that their planned merger would take place.
Some engines were painted in this scheme but when the merger was denied in 1986-87, it was back to the paint shop for some but not all of the "Kodachrome" painted units.

Gary

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Looking at the nose of these future SPSF units I always thought that the S and the F should have been painted farther apart so they could add the future P and S without repainting all the letters. I guess had the merger been consummated they would paint all the letters anew....

Good looking location.
Bob

SPMW5771 Wrote:

> Looking at the nose of these future SPSF units I
> always thought that the S and the F should have
> been painted farther apart so they could add the
> future P and S without repainting all the letters.

A few units did have the letters painted that way:

http://www.trainpix.com/atsf/GE/B23-7/6388.HTM

What I wonder about is how they would have squeezed all four letters onto the skinny proboscis of the 9500-class SF30C's.  Two letters fit just right - four's a crowd. 

By the way, 8032 was no longer a Santa Fe locomotive in December 1990.  It had been turned back to GE in late 1989 for credit against the 500-series Dash 8's and was now in lease service, which is why it remained in red and yellow.  It would eventually get a blue-dip paint job and the number GECX 0585, later HLGX 0585. 

Santa Fe intended to have its active fleet repainted back to blue and yellow by the end of 1990.  The program may have carried over into January 1991, but not much later than that, leaving only some stored U36C's destined for scrap, turned back C30-7's destined for rent-a-wreck service, and sold-off GP7's and GP20's destined for shortlines wearing the SF version of the scheme.  Some of those C30-7's were eventually leased and then bought by BN, returning to the fold with the BNSF merger.