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From: "Paul R DOT Tupaczewski" paultup AT comcast DOT net
Date: Sun, 30 Mar 2014 16:36:37 -0400
Subject: RE: (erielack) EL diesel & caboose roof colors
"1406_Hoboken_NJ-3-10-66-Bob_Pennisi_B022-45.jpg" - image/jpeg, 1024x784 (256c)

Tony Horn asked:

> This part of your response brings up a question in my mind about roof colors. The GMY diesels apparently started out with a
standard
> of black roof color. Was it with repaints that the EL apparently dropped the black roof and left them gray?

The GMY scheme included the black roof, but in deference to time and money, repainted in the mid-1970s (around 1973 timeframe)
stopped getting the black roofs. Besides, in a short amount of time, exhaust soot made them pretty black anyway... :) Officially,
however, the black roof was still part of the scheme (the U23B's that were ordered had a black roof in their paint diagram, for
example)


What engines ended up
> being painted this way?

Most classes had examples that did... U33C, SD45, SDP45, GP35, E8 (at least one of them!), C425, C425, U25B.

Note the GP7/9's and RS2/RS3s had gray roofs (except for a token few GP7s and RS3s that did get black roofs in the 1960s, but later
lost them)


> Were some of the C-C engines also painted
> this way?

YES! Several did... I've attached a shot of U33C 3308 with the "bald look" (as I like to call it)... not too appealing, IMHO.



> 1st generation hood units seemed to have gray roof, but some pictures I have seen seem to indicate a black roof on some.
> Did any of the torpedo tube GP-7s have a black roof? I am aware of one RS-2 and one RS-3 (1000 series) with the black roof.

Notably among the GP7s is the 1241 (attached), with black roof and Roman roadname above the hand.

I think one or two others also had a black roof, but I have to go through my photo collection to verify that.

1406-1409 got black roofs, but later went to the standard gray roof.




> With regard to EL cabeese: Original repaints with the full "Erie Lackawanna" lettering seem to have had the complete black roof
> following the original Erie style. The "economy" repaints (red with herald, "radio" lettering and caboose number) did not seem to
have
> this. Pictures seem to show a red overspray on the roof. Most models, especially the factory painted brass models from Railworks,
> have a totally black roof. Is this correct?

Some earlier Spartan Red repaints did get black (see C885 attached as an example), but most did not (though they got AWFULLY grimy -
see the above diesel roof reference :)

With the Spartan Red scheme, variations abounded, in terms of lettering placement and styles, roof colors, roofwalk colors, and the
"skirt" under the bay window colors.



> Finally, the new Genesis SDP-45 has a black roof EXCEPT on the top of the headlight/numberboard housing. Is this correct. The
> Overland factory painted brass SDP-45 had a black anti=glare panel on top of the nose which I don't think the prototype ever had.

The nose top should be gray. The headlight/numberboard housing was a big point of discussion with Athearn - we could not find an
official EMD painting diagram (I do have one for the SD45 and SD45-2 - the former has a black top and the latter has a gray top on
the numberboard/headlight housing). All the photos we could find show grime that could go either way (black or gray). So in the name
of "it's easier to paint gray black than paint black gray!", Athearn went with gray. If someone can provide good photo proof (or
better yet, a painting diagram), Athearn will change it in the next run...

- Paul



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