The early days of Conrail were colorful, if nothing else. On top of all of the predecessor paint schemes that could find their way to any location on the system, lease units from Chicago & North Western, Bangor & Aroostook, Canadian National, and others were brought in to help with the aged, under-maintained and unreliable units that made of the majority of Conrail’s roster. Here a leased C&NW GP9 visits the engine terminal at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Also on the service track are an Erie Lackawanna GP35, a Penn Central GP40, and a former Lehigh Valley RS11. Although it hasn’t been renumbered/rebranded, the EL GP35 has been in the shops since the merger, as is indicated by presence of a silver box next to the short hood in the engineer’s side. This box housed equipment for PRR-style cab signals, which were required for a locomotive to lead a train on the former PRR lines.
Crazy pool power consists, colorful gatherings of locomotives at a diesel service area, or a mixture of colorful locomotives in storage lines. A minimum of four different paint schemes required.
Not
just heritage schemes, not just commemorative schemes - this album is devoted to some of the world's most interesting paint schemes, past or present.