HOL WAGNER
John:
The Burlington Route heralds and road numbers on the cabs of these units
were standard Burlington steam locomotive decals, and thus employed
Dulux gold instead of white, and the herald had a red border. My
authority for this statement is an Oct. 13, 1943, letter from Q general
superintendent of motive power H.H. Urbach to storekeepers R.D. Long and
H.V. Schiltz:
"The following decalcomanias will be required for lettering the six
[shortly increased to eight] Baldwin Diesel switchers we are to receive
from the Baldwin De La Vergne Sales Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa.
"The switchers will be numbered 9350 to 9355, incl. [and this was soon
raised to 9357].
"12 30" x 36" Burlington Route monograms
"18 7" high figures #9
"21 7" high figures #3
"21 7" high figures #5
"3 7" high figures #0
"3 7" high figures #1
"3 7" high figures #2
"3 7" high figures #4
"Will you please arrange to forward this material so that builder may
apply them?
"The first two switchers are due to leave the plant Oct. 20th and 22nd.
"A diagram is being made up to show the location of the lettering and
numbers."
The letter is amended in pencil to include the necessary additional
decals for two more units, 9356 and 9357. The reason for supplying three
sets of unit numbers for each unit is for both sides of the cab and the
rectangular number plate on the front of the hood.
As for the "Blackbird" scheme, it was adopted in 1940 and was first
applied to SW1s 9141-9147 and NW2s 9203-9204, though these units came
with the road numbers in Burlington Block Gothic instead of Railroad
Roman. The previous order of SW1s, units 9136-9140, came in the same
solid black scheme as the SWs and NW1s of 1937, with "BURLINGTON"
spelled out on the hood in Dulux gold Railroad Roman and the herald and
road number on the cab sides, again employing steam locomotive decals.
At this time, black was the standard EMC paint scheme, and that remained
the case until WWII. The EMC painting specs for units 9136-9140 read as
follows:
"Exterior Finish: Consists of:
"( a ) Special primer (1 coat)
"( b ) Surfacer (6 to 8 coats)
"( c ) Knife glaze
"( d ) Wet-sand entire surface by hand and machine
"( e ) Gun glaze entire surface
"( f ) Dry-sand and thoroughly clean
"( g ) Duco finish (6 to 8 coats) (Black is standard)
"Cab Interior: "Ceiling and walls finished in green Dulux. Maple floor
and all wood trim varnished.
"Power Plant
Compartment: "Primed and finished in postal car buff Dulux.
"Under Carriage: "Underframe black (2 coats).
"Trucks: "Underframe black (2 coats).
"Special Colors: "Special exterior color treatment can be supplied at
additional cost."
Obviously, the builder was concerned about producing a fine finish --
and this was even before Electro-Motive had become a division of General
Motors!
As for the solid black scheme on the first VO1000s, that was simply a
wartime expediency, to which the additional colors of the "Blackbird"
scheme could be added by the railroad at a later date. The only change
from the pre-1940 switcher scheme was the use of the white script
"Everywhere West" and "Way of the Zephyrs" slogans in place of the gold
"BURLINGTON" on the hood sides. When the script "Way of the Zephyrs" was
first adopted for use on freight cars in 1937, there was considerable
debate about what style of "Z" to use -- cursive, as the remainder of
the script, or the more recognizable free-standing capital "Z" which
eventually won out.
Hope this helps.
Hol
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [CBQ] CB&Q VO-1000 #9352
Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2011 20:12:57 -0700
From: John Manion <railbass@comcast.net <mailto:railbass@comcast.net>>
Reply-To: CBQ@yahoogroups.com <mailto:CBQ@yahoogroups.com>
To: CBQ <CBQ@yahoogroups.com <mailto:CBQ@yahoogroups.com>>
A couple of weeks ago, I had raised the question about the attached
photos of VO-1000 #9352, which appear to be builders photos from the
BRHS photo gallery. Built in Dec 1943, the motor appears to be all
black with white lettering. I am trying to find out what decals to
use on a Stewart VO-1000 to model this loco.
The "Everywhere West" and "Way of the Zephyrs" appear to be the same
white as on the blackbird paint scheme, which appeared later on these
units. My main questions are about the herald and lettering on the
side and rear of the cab. The Burlington Route herald appears to be
outlined in white and another color. Charlie Vlk thought it might be
white and gold, as were on the steam tenders at the time. However,
the color does not seem to have a tint to it, as gold would be, so I
am thinking it might be white and red, as on the blackbird scheme. I
am also wondering if the numbers and initials on the cab are white, as
on the blackbird scheme, or gold, as on the steam engines. Does
anyone know of color photos of these early units during the war? Was
this unique to Baldwin units or did other early Q switchers come in
this scheme? When did the blackbird scheme first appear?
I have most of the Q books, but I have not seen a photo of this scheme
in any of them. Does anyone know of painting instructions for these
units? Was this a scheme devised by the Q or by Baldwin?
- John Manion
Denver, CO
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