Nostalgia & History > The diesel colors I wished SP would have kept.

When we Espee lost the "black widow" paint to scralet & grey, we lost a great paint scheme. However, in 1981 SP painted their one and only SD44R SP7399 in a colorful orange/red/black paint scheme. In my opinion they should have kept it.

First are few shots of mine of SP7399 at Davis, CA. on November 10, 1981, shortly after being released from the Sacramento Locomotive Works. - Tony J.

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Photo #2 at Davis, CA. - Tony J.

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Photo #3 at Davis, CA. - Tony J.

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Photo #4 at Davis, CA. - Tony J.

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Photo #5 at Davis, CA. - Tony J.

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SP7399 getting the red, orange and grey paint at Sacramento on October 30, 1981. - Tony J.

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It was a nice color scheme. I have pictures of the 7399 in the early/mid '80s on the BN LAC/CLA trains(SP runthroughs from KC to Chicago).

Didn't SP have a SD40R also painted in these colors? SP 7342 comes to mind IIRC.

Regards
Q-GP30

Photo #2 at Sacramento on October 30, 1981. - Tony J.

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Q-GP30 Wrote:
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> It was a nice color scheme. I have pictures of the
> 7399 in the early/mid '80s on the BN LAC/CLA
> trains(SP runthroughs from KC to Chicago).
>
> Didn't SP have a SD40R also painted in these
> colors? SP 7342 comes to mind IIRC.
>
> Regards
> Q-GP30


Yes, SD40R SP7342 had a different, but also colorful paint scheme and was nicknamed "Orange Bird". I've got some shot somewhere of that as well. - Tony J.

How about SP7399 running light between Grass Lake and Weed! - Tony J.

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SP7347 at Sacramento Shops in July 1985 - Rick Dunsmuir photo - Tony J.

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I think this is the only picture I ever took of the 7342...

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Tonyj,
Is the upper color black or gray? I've seen some pics that don't seem faded that it appears gray, in others black. Were these two separate units?

SantaFeCF7 Wrote:
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> Tonyj,
> Is the upper color black or gray? I've seen some
> pics that don't seem faded that it appears gray,
> in others black. Were these two separate units?


I think the color was dark grey on both the 7399 and 7342. In my first post I said black, but that is incorrect. - Tony J.

WOW It Rocks!

Thanks 4 great pictures. SP did super enhanced locomotives. An SD45T-2 with a P3 horn, Icicle breakers, Popscicle paintscheme and paint scheme.

I wish these monsters were normal today, true classics.

-Hector

I loved the 'new' colors... but now, I'd take anything Southern Pacific!

Take Care, Stay Safe, Have Fun!

Larry (Excellent set of pic.'s, BTW)

TonyJ Wrote:
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> SantaFeCF7 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Tonyj,
> > Is the upper color black or gray? I've seen
> some
> > pics that don't seem faded that it appears
> gray,
> > in others black. Were these two separate
> units?
>
>
> I think the color was dark grey on both the 7399
> and 7342. In my first post I said black, but that
> is incorrect. - Tony J.

The reason I'd asked, I've seen a custom-painted model at a train show, and the upper portion was black. But the last picture I'd seen was SP Lark Dark Gray. thanks for clarifying it for me!

Really neat color scheme.

I use a picture of the SP/SSW GP30 as my backdrop on my PC homepage. This is the picture of #5002 with Cotton Belt on the loco side and SP on the nose. It's my favorite.

Jim