| Posted by Kyle on December 16, 2016 | |
Why is it that anytime a freight railroad allows a passenger carrier to use their power, they end up giving them one of their worse looking ones? You would think the railroad would want a freshly painted locomotive on the passenger train because a lot more people are going to see that locomotive. It would be good advertising and create a positive impression of the company, versus the old rundown look.
I understand why freight railroads hate the passenger carriers and hope they go away, but it probably is not going to happen. Instead, the railroads should try and promote the train so more people ride it so the passenger carrier can make some money that can be reinvested in equipment so that the locomotives don't break down. This would also eliminate the need for the freight railroad to have to lend equipment.
My favorite photo is still an old Norfolk Southern SD40-2 Highhood pulling three Amtrak P42s up a grade in Virginia. The Highhood was showing its age, and the paint was horrible, but it was still running great (yes, paint doesn't make a locomotive run better). Now if only that Highhood had been freshly repainted and kept its high short hood, then it would have been great NS advertisement.
Maybe, the freight railroads should just give Amtrak some rebuilt GP40-2s and SD40-2s so Amtrak can maybe run on time, plus good PR.
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