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Last night I came up with the perfect parther for the V&AL: the Texas and Gulf Coast Railroad; also known as the Dixie Road. The Dixie Road started in Texas in the 1880's and built East and West out of Houston. By the 1980's it had grown via buildign and buying, to cover most of the South Eastern US. With crack passenger trains such as the Texas Limited (yes I know there's a real one, it was the 1st train I ever road), and hot-shot scheduled freights, the TX&GC is the perfect partner to the V&AL. Together the railroads serve all of the Eastern US, with seamless transfers and run-through freight and passenger trains.
Here's a Dixie Road SD-60 in the typical TX&GC scheme:
Great story. However, why not have a blue and grey scheme, maybe a variant of the early CSX scheme? A road that labels itself "The Dixie Road" would almost certainly have some combination of gray and blue.
Nothing hateful about the concept of Dixie. Alabama is still called the Heart of Dixie. Even our highway patrol cars are blue and gray. Just a suggestion, the color scheme looks good anyway.
I know there's nothing hateful about it... there's just those who think there is, and I'm trying to think how a modern day corperation would like to have itself portrayed. You got any pictures of a patrol car? I might just have an "older" paint scheme I could whip up.
I'm a Texas boy, born and raised in Houston. I did my first tour in the Coast Guard in Mobile, and I cant wait for the chance to "get back to Dixie". I'm stationed up in North Carolina... folks arround here thought I was off my rocker when I thought they were "up north". but then again, when one is raised in the deep south, anything more that 100 miles north of the coast tends to seem "up north"
Try going north of VA and asking for a glass of sweet tea, see what kind of looks you get. LOL
Go to California, into the cattle ranch areas, and go to a steak house and see what they consider the best steak. One I went to thought Flank was the best, I thought theyd lost their mind to serve such a tough cut of meat at top prices.
You can see the blue hood and gray car in this photo. The trunk is also blue. The color scheme is carried through to the uniforms, with blue shirts and gray pants with a blue stripe. They look pretty sharp.
I'm a Yankee, born in Ohio and then lived in California until I moved to Alabama a little over two years ago. I think I'm probably about as sensitive to some of the issues in the South as anyone and the name "Dixie" doesn't bother me at all. It's a part of the history of the South that goes back to the early 19th century. The funny part is that the song "Dixie" was written by a guy from Ohio, who had never even been to the South.
Thoroughbred, I had one gulp of sweet tea and gagged for about five minutes. I've never had that much of a sugar rush in my like. No wonder the dentists in the South do such good business. We actually had some pretty decent steaks in California, especially Harris Ranch beef. You must not have gone to the right retaurant. Even in California, we knew that flank steak was best used in burritos.
I really like the paint scheme. My only suggestion would be to add a narrow white stripe to the top and bottom of the blue band to separate the blue and red, but then again, that might be too close to the "stars & bars" look.
I really like the scheme you have; maybe a little more blue or blue/white in the cab area.
BTW: If you stay away from the stars and bars you will be safe .
That was a quick job on a cheap Lifelike unit... rattle can maroon, and rattlecan white. paintbrushed on the blue. Youre right, the fuel tank sticks out in a bad way. When my SD-60 arrives I'll ahve to make sure to paint the trucks and underframe...
Yeeeehaw!
No wonder the dentists in the South do such good business. We actually had some pretty decent steaks in California, especially Harris Ranch beef. You must not have gone to the right retaurant. Even in California, we knew that flank steak was best used in burritos.
