Bryan, if you will recall, CSXTransportation already had its share of so-called "stealth" locomotives, and wants no more of them for reasons of increased safety and visibility.
In fact, at 6:30 a.m on May 12, 1986, I coined the phrase "stealth locomotive" when I "saw" CSXTransportation GP40-2 #6382 as it rounded a curve at Elkatowa coal tipple down in Kentucky during the first photo shoot with CSXT's then-new blue and gray locomotive paint scheme. At first, in the distance I saw two beige-colored CSXT covered hoppers apparently rolling along by themselves in the pre-dawn mist, and I immediately thought that they were run-aways. But just then the #6382 came 'round the bend toward me with the cars and I saw its headlight--and that was all--until it got about 20 feet from us. I had seen the beige hoppers from a distance of 600-700 feet, but, except for its headlight, the blue and gray locomotive was invisible until it was right on top of me. I joked with the other CSX photographers there that our new "stealth" locomotive was just like the all-but-invisible stealth Air Force plane then-rumored to exist. We all laughed, but we kept my joke to ourselves lest our bosses heard us laughing at their beloved new paint scheme. In my office in Baltimore we always called CSXT's blue and gray livery (in its many configurations) as "stealth". In the first year or so after the new livery was introduced there was no standard, pre-mixed gray paint for the locos, and you could tell which shop had painted which locomotive as each shop mixed its own gray paint from scratch--the engines painted at Waycross always were a little more blue than the locos painted in Huntington. I started out photographing for Chessie with its bright yellow locos, and CSX even shot a corporate ad with a Chessie loco in the fog, which was beautiful. But because of CSXT's hard-to-see paint scheme, I made damn sure NEVER to shoot its locos in the rain or fog lest some quick-witted attorney see my photo in a magazine and catch on that these locos posed a possible hazard at grade crossings. Eventually I became embroiled in a big battle with CSXT mechanical, operational and public relations people over this very sensitive topic, and I even presented my case for more visible locomotives face-to-face with CSX chairman of the board Hays T. Watkins aboard a corporate jet. He agreed with everything I said to him, and I was asked to put all of the info down in writing for further consideration. The mechanical people still balked at yet another paint scheme due to the cost involved (there had been 4 or 5 different variations of the basic blue and gray), but I countered that our CSXT locomotive livery was poorly designed from the outset with little thought for grade crossing safety. What made 'em cringe was my statement, "We were the first railroad in the U.S., and, today, 165 years later, we still do not know how to paint a locomotive." In any event, CSXT put a yellow nose onto its existing blue and gray locomotives (and even black Seaboard units!) as a test for visibility, and eventually redesigned the blue and gray livery into the attractive blue/gray/black/yellow paint scheme that you see today, thus eliminating any trace of its former "stealth" locomotives. So as you SPORRS members go out into the rain and fog to photograph trains, remember that certain colors of locos (red, yellow, orange) will be more visible in your photos than others (gray, black, blue). The same can be said for early morning or late evening photography when the light level is really low. This way you can better plan your photo bad weather shoot and get a better idea as to how the results will appear even before you leave home in the morning, or leave for home in the evening. John B. Corns _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] -> SPORRS: Serious Photographers of Railroad Related Subjects -> Web Site: http://www.anet-stl.com/acphotog/sporrs -> Message © SPORRS® 1998 - All Rights Reserved
