Rock Island's new 2007 Paint Scheme


Very nice, though is that going to be gray or silver? If its silver, its really warbonnet-ish.
 
With the nose stripes, it now looks like a UP heritage unit with wings, but thats my opinion. #3 looks the best to me.:cool:
 
Josh and ThoroughBreed, There's the point! Between your two comments, you set in retro-modern time frame. It took one of Rock island's classic passenger schemes, first seen on their E-units, (Like the UP and ATSF "wings" and "warbonnet") and adapted them for premiere modern power. you guys both set the scheme in concrete, and that's what makes it good. Don't you think?
 
Hey Miles! long time no see huh?
Anyways, why would anyone want their new paint to look like a UP unit? I know, alot of boos;) , but seriously. With as much destruction as UP has done to the RR's it sucked up, why glamorize them. Sorry for my rant:D
I thought his ideas were to get a non look-alike to anything current, but related to the ROCK, thats why I thought #3 would be the best.:cool:
 
Hello all,

As a modeler and collector of Rock Island equipment(pre-1980 shutdown) I'm thrilled to see that someone is continuing on with the Rock Island in today's world. I think it would make an interesting article for the next Rock Island Modeler magazine. I plan to send an e-mail to Phil Weibler, the editor of Remember the Rock magazine and ask him to stop by here and give his comments also. You never know, this may plant a seed for an article. By the way, I vote for scheme #3 also, but I like the red & silver AC6000 also. I know saying this may be getting too deep, but as in the late 80's, the Rock Island named alot of the GP38-2's for people, states, some lineside towns, etc... It would be neat to name some of your units the same way. Seeing as I model pre-shutdown, I couldn't do this(other than on the GP38-2's and a few other units) I mean even Chicago didn't get a named locomotive, sad isn't it? Just a thought. Thanks again to you and to all who keep the Rock Island alive!!
 
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ThoroughBreed said:
Hey Miles! long time no see huh?
Anyways, why would anyone want their new paint to look like a UP unit? I know, alot of boos;) , but seriously. With as much destruction as UP has done to the RR's it sucked up, why glamorize them. Sorry for my rant:D
I thought his ideas were to get a non look-alike to anything current, but related to the ROCK, thats why I thought #3 would be the best.:cool:
Click to expand...

I'm doing my best to not copy any other RR schemes but to incorporate the RI past with a modern flair.

Keep the comments coming. Positive and negative.
 
Railroad Joe said:
Hello all,

As a modeler and collector of Rock Island equipment(pre-1980 shutdown) I'm thrilled to see that someone is continuing on with the Rock Island in today's world. I think it would make an interesting article for the next Rock Island Modeler magazine. I plan to send an e-mail to Phil Weibler, the editor of Remember the Rock magazine and ask him to stop by here and give his comments also. You never know, this may plant a seed for an article. By the way, I vote for scheme #3 also, but I like the red & silver AC6000 also. I know saying this may be getting too deep, but as in the late 80's, the Rock Island named alot of the GP38-2's for people, states, some lineside towns, etc... It would be neat to name some of your units the same way. Seeing as I model pre-shutdown, I couldn't do this(other than on the GP38-2's and a few other units) I mean even Chicago didn't get a named locomotive, sad isn't it? Just a thought. Thanks again to you and to all who keep the Rock Island alive!!
Click to expand...

I had considered naming certain units but I assumed that that technique would have been abandoned after a successful reorganization. However, we could assume that The Rock's need for fresh capital would have brought in new partners and investors and that those capital interests could have new power named after them.

Ironically enough:

My great-uncle spent 32 years with the Rock Island, mostly in sales and management. After the shutdown he was retained as an employee in charge of shutting down various sections of the line. He started in Ft. Worth and worked his way north towards Oklahoma City and eventually ended in El Reno. During his El Reno stay he was field trained as an engineer and was tasked with picking up locomotives and rail cars from Erick, OK east back towards El Reno.

The last train to run that line into El Reno stopped in Foss, OK, to pick up some cars, pick up more in Clinton and Weatherford, and proceed to El Reno to be auctioned off. With nothing left to lose he called my mom (I was 5 at the time) and offered a "last ride" on the last RI train to run that track. We met him in Foss and boarded RI GP38-2 No. 4354, the Frank J. McGarr, and rode that last train into El Reno. I have no idea how many or what cars but I do have a cab close-up photo of us waving out the side of this engine as we prepared to leave Clinton (this is where we took the photos). I was a train nut at the time and that ride is something that I'll never forget.

Eventually I'll scan that photo and post it here if anyone is interested. 4354 in it's June 1980 state is one that I will model. Someday.
 
Not bad, but I prefer reincarnating the original red and black scheme:

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I think that your black and red scheme is a great representation of what could have been in the late 90's through today.
 
I don't know, macjet. I appreciate the effort, but I feel your AC6000 is trying to be too many different things all at once. The wings on the front, the large logo on the side, the color transition from red to black, the large Rock Island lettering... all of these contribute to a design that is very cluttered and chaotic; the aesthetics are severely hindered. There are simply way too many things going on simultaneously.

Zephyr's scheme on the other hand is simple yet powerful, bold yet elegant. Clean lines, smooth flow among all the components. A very minimalist approach, but it conveys a message of speed and efficiency. The underlying strength of the paint scheme lies in its simplicity.

I by no means intend to discourage you, but I am just offering you my opinion. Keep brainstorming, I do enjoy seeing what you can come up with. It's always great to have somebody else model a modern-day fallen flag.
 
I also feel that that may weather a bit better than the silver, and it does set it apart as unique, very good. Perhaps the removal of the Rock island logo on the side would clean up things a bit and creat a better, more powerful scheme.

Very good point mtpls!
 
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