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Post by atsfan on Jul 28, 2014 16:38:47 GMT -8
Athearn Tiger Stripe GP50's for BN are available. Man that is one nice looking engine. Stock seems limited, which is normal for first release of GP50 paint jobs.  |
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Post by Spikre on Jul 29, 2014 11:00:13 GMT -8
 this is the paint scheme that convinced BN that Orange and Green don't play well together ? seems the lesson was lost on BNSF. Spikre 
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Post by edwardsutorik on Jul 29, 2014 11:11:48 GMT -8
...Orange and Green don't play well together ? OH, REALLY?  Ed |
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Post by atsfan on Jul 29, 2014 11:27:59 GMT -8
The swoosh is growing on me slowly.
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Post by Spikre on Jul 29, 2014 11:34:45 GMT -8
 Ed, looks like GN is an acquired taste. there were many other cab delivery schemes that were better. how about C&EI Blue and Orange ? or ACL Purple and Silver ? or NYC Ligtning Stripe passenger Grey ? or Erie Green and Grey ? could go on,but many schemes are great in the eye of the beholder. but the BN GP50s just looked bad in Tiger Stripe. Spikre 
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Post by Spikre on Jul 29, 2014 11:39:26 GMT -8
Ed, those 3/4 size number boards on the E7s are interesting. didn't the GN FA-1s also have those odd boards ? did any other Road have them,or were they a GN exclusive ? Spikre 
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Post by edwardsutorik on Jul 29, 2014 16:10:25 GMT -8
Spikre,
I believe (as opposed to know) that the GN E7A's from 500 to 509 were delivered with the little itty bitty side mount number boards, and that they were later replaced with those 3/4 size boards that you note.
And I believe 510 through 512 were delivered with the later standard 45 degree mount number boards.
I'm don't have an answer to you FA-1 question; but on the SP&S, the first batch of them had the itty bitty's, and kept them. Later SP&S FA-1's had the later standard 45 degree style. I don't know which, if any, GN Alco's were delivered with the itty bitty's. Or if they were changed.
Interesting questions!
Ed
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Post by IAISfan on Jul 29, 2014 19:39:45 GMT -8
...many schemes are great in the eye of the beholder. but the BN GP50s just looked bad in Tiger Stripe. I actually really liked that scheme! Always wished BN had stuck with it instead of the whiteface, but I get the feeling I'm in the minority there. Whiteface just never looked "railroady" to me. |
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Post by The Ferro Kid on Jul 29, 2014 22:19:26 GMT -8
A catchy variant despite the color clash. The other cool thing about the Tigerstripe GP50s is that they were among the BN units which typically ran with fuel tender tank cars. I think Athearn at one time did a stand-in tank car in the BN fuel tender scheme. I may have to pick up a couple of these GP50s just for that modeling fun.
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Post by tdspeedracer on Jul 30, 2014 5:35:41 GMT -8
The GP50 is actually a pretty interesting model for BN. Between the Phase I, Phase II, 5 man cab, and different paint schemes, it seems like you could have 8 or 9 units with no two alike.
Even still, I will probably let these pass, unless I stumble across a too good to pass up deal. The only pumpkins left near the end of BN were the EMD sd60s and I believe that even they were repainted in mid '94. So I would have to hope to be able to rip it apart and white face it.
I'm sure the next run would have the white face scheme in it, which I will probably break down and buy. It's hard (for me anyway) to put a BN intermodal train on the track and not have a GP50 paired with an LMX or B30-7ab.
Trevor
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Post by dstark on Jul 30, 2014 7:52:17 GMT -8
You do know every BN GP50 between 3110 and 3162 was delivered with a five man cab? Cabs on the last five units were however 23" longer. Doug Stark The GP50 is actually a pretty interesting model for BN. Between the Phase I, Phase II, 5 man cab, and different paint schemes, it seems like you could have 8 or 9 units with no two alike. |
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Post by edwardsutorik on Jul 30, 2014 8:17:42 GMT -8
While I like the tiger striping on these units, I never warmed up to the change on the hood sides--from the tasteful and useful giant numbers over to that garish self-promotion of the corporate name. On the original scheme, I think it was felt that you didn't have to be told what railroad owned the locos; it was the one that owned the rails. As opposed to the freight cars, that wandered all over. With those, there was a purpose in announcing the owner with giant letters and an even gianter logo.
My favorite BN scheme was the "regular" one.
Ed
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2014 11:44:36 GMT -8
While I like the tiger striping on these units, I never warmed up to the change on the hood sides--from the tasteful and useful giant numbers over to that garish self-promotion of the corporate name. On the original scheme, I think it was felt that you didn't have to be told what railroad owned the locos; it was the one that owned the rails. As opposed to the freight cars, that wandered all over. With those, there was a purpose in announcing the owner with giant letters and an even gianter logo. My favorite BN scheme was the "regular" one. Ed Never a fan of the tiger stripe scheme on the GP50's, body is too short. I did think the tiger stripe scheme worked well on the long body of the three SD60 demonstrators. Never a fan of the BN white face scheme no matter what the locomotive. What is interesting is all the GP50's ordered by the Frisco left the roster in 1997, but the BN's continue into BNSF. The five man cab GP50's also solder on for BNSF and there was never any attempt to modify the cab to standard. If you want a BN GP50 in the traditional scheme, you'll have to wait for Athearn to do the ex-Frisco units complete with nose gyralight. Will be interesting to see if Athearn will do BN 3100 which was numbered for BN but delivered in Frisco red and white. |
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Post by Spikre on Jul 30, 2014 12:32:22 GMT -8
 thought the White Face looked good on the 2 window cabbed SD60s. since nothing can help the 3 window cab SD60s,never liked them no matter what road owned them. Ed, there is a pic of a GN FA-1 in Diesel Builders vol-2,Alco and MLW.the number boards seem very similar to the oddities shown on the E7s. also didn't say Orange and Green don't play well together,think that is Your take on what was said,Re- the GP50s"this is the Paint Scheme that convinced BN that orange and green don't play well together". the GN units were Loooooong Gooooone by GP50 time. even GN had switched to BSB by 67. must have been an upper management decision ?? or O&G got shelved by the Bean Counters ? Spikre
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Post by fr8kar on Jul 30, 2014 12:42:49 GMT -8
Never a fan of the tiger stripe scheme on the GP50's, body is too short. I did think the tiger stripe scheme worked well on the long body of the three SD60 demonstrators. Never a fan of the BN white face scheme no matter what the locomotive. What is interesting is all the GP50's ordered by the Frisco left the roster in 1997, but the BN's continue into BNSF. The five man cab GP50's also solder on for BNSF and there was never any attempt to modify the cab to standard. If you want a BN GP50 in the traditional scheme, you'll have to wait for Athearn to do the ex-Frisco units complete with nose gyralight. Will be interesting to see if Athearn will do BN 3100 which was numbered for BN but delivered in Frisco red and white. Without knowing for sure, my guess is the Frisco units were probably financed differently than the BN units, which led to return or sale of the Frisco units at the end of the term. The tiger stripe schemes were an attempt to improve visibility of the approaching locomotive from a grade crossing. While they were somewhat successful, the white face scheme turned out to be the most visible of all variations and ended up being adopted as the final scheme. I'm not sure how much any of these paint scheme variations ended up counting in the end since the solution was to adopt the headlight/ditchlight configuration that was already in use on BC Rail. Personally, I don't care for the white face scheme at all. I hate the large BN mark on the long hood on the tiger stripe scheme, too. I'm more of a BN traditionalist when it comes to the paint job. But these tiger stripe units are still pretty cool. I worked a road switcher last year after the regular engineer retired with 40+ years of service (6am-noon Monday thru Friday with weekends off?! Woohoo!) and I was surprised to see some orange paint underneath the white face on the conductor's side battery box step. It didn't take long to figure out it was a former tiger stripe unit. Anyway, that thing could pull. It was fun to switch with. One of these days I might have to pick up one of the Genesis models. |
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Post by fr8kar on Jul 30, 2014 12:44:21 GMT -8
thought the White Face looked good on the 2 window cabbed SD60s. since nothing can help the 3 window cab SD60s,never liked them no matter what road owned them. They are awful on the inside, too. I am glad to see them go, even if they are replaced (as far as their number is concerned) by ES44C4s. |
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Post by bnsf971 on Jul 30, 2014 12:53:58 GMT -8
thought the White Face looked good on the 2 window cabbed SD60s. since nothing can help the 3 window cab SD60s,never liked them no matter what road owned them. They are awful on the inside, too. I am glad to see them go, even if they are replaced (as far as their number is concerned) by ES44C4s. Those were a self-professed attempt to save money on the extra traction motors, while giving increased tractive effort by raising the "dummy" wheels when needed. I'm pretty sure not only did they not catch on with other roads, I don't think they caught on all that well with BNSF... |
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Post by fr8kar on Jul 30, 2014 13:27:53 GMT -8
They are awful on the inside, too. I am glad to see them go, even if they are replaced (as far as their number is concerned) by ES44C4s. Those were a self-professed attempt to save money on the extra traction motors, while giving increased tractive effort by raising the "dummy" wheels when needed. I'm pretty sure not only did they not catch on with other roads, I don't think they caught on all that well with BNSF... I don't know about that. Every model being built for BNSF at the Fort Worth plant is an ES44C4. There seems to be no end in sight to deliveries of those things. |
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Post by Spikre on Jul 30, 2014 13:28:50 GMT -8
 Terry, doesn't BNSF have 600 C4s in Service or on Order ? they seem so pleased with them that EMD is playing catch up with their own SD70ACe-P4,this is what EMD is calling the units for now. Spikre 
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Post by bnsf971 on Jul 30, 2014 14:50:11 GMT -8
I guess it's good it's working out for them, whatever else I was told. Are any other railroads doing the "A1A" option with the new engines?
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Post by tdspeedracer on Jul 30, 2014 14:51:11 GMT -8
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Post by arandall70 on Jul 30, 2014 15:06:13 GMT -8
I'm still not a fan of the swoosh. The subtle switch to black from green made a big impact on me. I also enjoyed the cigar band on the nose that Heritage-2 had. Heritage-I was cool, too. I'd also echo the sentiments about the original BN scheme being the best, but i did like the white face on the SD60Ms and still enjoy the cream 'n green SD70MACs whenever I see one. This thread reminded me of two GP50s I saw in Kansas City earlier this year.  |
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Post by Spikre on Jul 30, 2014 15:49:30 GMT -8
Edit Corrections: isn't the EMD thing an A-A-1,or 1-A-A ? NO !! its an A-1-A-CC Truck ? think the traction motor set up is different than the C4s ---YES,see above but maybe EMD isn't settled yet on what they will be -- Not Sure,if the current setup works,they may stay with it ?? so the EMD SD70ACe-P4 has 5 Traction Motors ? info from Diesel Era,January/Febuary 2014,page 2,or inside front cover. GP50 Pic: 2 good looking 50s there !! we lost these schemes for the Swoosh ? any one else feel cheated ? Spikre
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Post by atsfan on Jul 30, 2014 16:01:01 GMT -8
I'm still not a fan of the swoosh. The subtle switch from black to green made a big impact on me. I also enjoyed the cigar band on the nose that Heritage-2 had. Heritage-I was cool, too. I'd also echo the sentiments about the original BN scheme being the best, but i did like the white face on the SD60Ms and still enjoy the cream 'n green SD70MACs whenever I see one. This thread reminded me of two GP50s I saw in Kansas City earlier this year. Nice catch and picture ! |
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Post by GP40P-2 on Jul 30, 2014 16:02:50 GMT -8
I'm still not a fan of the swoosh. The subtle switch from black to green made a big impact on me. I also enjoyed the cigar band on the nose that Heritage-2 had. Heritage-I was cool, too. I'd also echo the sentiments about the original BN scheme being the best, but i did like the white face on the SD60Ms and still enjoy the cream 'n green SD70MACs whenever I see one. This thread reminded me of two GP50s I saw in Kansas City earlier this year. Cool shot! A Phase I Santa Fe and a Phase II BN with the "Extra Cab" extended length cab. Wonder if Athearn will get around to those? |
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Post by atsfan on Jul 30, 2014 16:03:50 GMT -8
Looks like Klein's sold out really fast on them.
Really fast.
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Post by atsfan on Jul 30, 2014 16:09:58 GMT -8
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Post by bluedash2 on Jul 30, 2014 16:34:29 GMT -8
Nice pic! I too am not a fan of both, the tiger stripes and the bigger cab. The original paint job was the best BN one which was and still is a favorite of mine.
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Post by jbilbrey on Jul 30, 2014 18:08:43 GMT -8
In addition to the GP50's being shipped, the GP39X's and GP49's shipped as well. My GP49 came in the mail today. Just a quick inspection didn't come up with any major QA/QC issues. There is a slight "step" where the roofs of the short hood and cab meet but I've seen worse.
James Bilbrey
LaVergne, TN
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Post by arandall70 on Jul 30, 2014 18:09:07 GMT -8
Thanks guys for the comments on the pic! About the only thing better would have been if an NS GP50 had reared its head out from behind the BN on one of the NS yard leads. The extended cab BN unit is actually on an NS train.
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