I have seen posts that say it was post 1971, but in book I have (The History of the A,T&SF) it shows an F7 and the caption labels it as a circa 1945. Obviously the 1945 could't be correct since F7s were not produced until 1949, but still this is a long way from 1971. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks, Jim
The early SF FT's were painted dark blue. There were many SF F7's painted in the freight blue, also. Obviously before 1971. Probably right from the F7 introduction. My favorite is the blue/yellow cigar band scheme. In those early years, passenger trains were typically pulled by red/silver War Bonnets and freight trains by the blue/cream, blue/yellow units. Doug
It depended on the intended use of the F7s. When brand new the freight versions came in blue with yellow "Cat Whiskers" and later the "Cigar Band" while the passenger versions were delivered as red and silver warbonnets. Some dual service units were in the blue scheme. Cat Whisker Cigar Band
Continuing on what Russell mentioned on freight F7's, for dual service 325 class F7's, the blue-bonnet scheme was used in some 325 class units assigned for freight only for ATSF since it was introduced in the Amtrak era.
If there is a 1945 photo of what looks (vaguely) like F7s, it almost certainly would be an FT set. Santa Fe took delivery of FTs in the blue/cream Cat Whisker scheme that Russell mentions starting in late 1940. All the FTs were delivered from EMD in this scheme, except one set, which was delivered in red/silver for passenger service. As Doug notes above, Santa Fe passenger models were red/silver while the freight units were blue. Most freight F7s were also delivered in Cat Whisker, with the transition from Cat Whisker to Cigar Band occurring roughly 1951-55. Very few Fs ever received the Blue Bonnet scheme, all after 1971. The Santa Fe Historical Society used to post a great online article that went into considerable detail on the ATSF Fs. Rick
As Mr. Straw notes, the one set of FT units (number 167) delivered with passenger equipment was delivered in the blue and cream cat whisker scheme. It was 1945, and that was a special exception granted by the War Production Board. They were repainted in the War Bonnet scheme, as were nine other sets that had passenger equipment added in company shops. Most were later converted back to freight service and repainted blue. No FT sets were delivered in the War Bonnet. All their F-3 and F-7 passenger and dual service units were delivered in the War Bonnet. Many had stainless steel side panels. In 1971, the War Bonnet was phased out. At first, those with stainless sides were painted yellow and silver--their red noses became yellow. That was the first step toward the blue and yellow freight bonnet scheme. The 325 Class were geared for dual service (85 mph) and used for fast freight and held as reserve power from the beginning (1951-1953). They could often be found idling in yards so they'd be warmed up and ready to go take over a train on a moment's notice if that train's locomotive laid down. They did haul freight, sometimes even drag freight trains, and so did a number of PA-1 units assigned to Texas and used as reserve power there.
The OP referred to a date of 1971. I must assume that that refers to the bluebonnets and yellow bonnets. That then opens the biggest can of worms ever. Like most railroads, not all locomotives were painted exactly the same, and there were incremental changes in between the major ones. In the beginning, Santa Fed diesels were various forms of red yellow and silver for passenger service, and various forms of blue and yellow for freight. There are photos in post above that show the "standard" versions applied to the F's. But like many other railroads, there were different versions of each scheme, and when painting your models you need to refer to photos of a specific prototype. The change that appeared in about 1971 was a yellow bonnet scheme Where the red and yellow parts of the classic red scheme were replaced with just plain yellow but the the silver parts remained silver were apparently painted so for there use by Amtrak in the early days of the passenger rail takeover. When the ATSF repainted F' and 7's when they were demoted to freight service, there were various kinds of combinations of blue and yellow. So, there is no one right answer to your question. I suggest obtain a copy of at least the first volume of "The Santa Fe Diesel" by Dr. Cinthia Priest. It is accurate and authoritative with excellent photo reproduction.
McMillan's "Santa Fe's Diesel Fleet" book shows the first freight yellowbonnet painted in 1972, I think it was U28CG 7900-class. (Edit: McMillan page 29 "When the new paint was introduced during June 1972, 7904 became the second locomotive to model the new image, the first being SD45 5524") I saw my first one in '72 and got it on film. The U36C order was actually split with the first units arriving in standard blue and yellow and the 1972 deliveries arriving in Yellowbonnet. Edit: 5524, first yellowbonnet: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2902960 1973 shot with black trucks and the bottom 'curve' way forward. The first freight yellowbonnets were anything but consistent between individual units. Trucks were black, not silver. The GE's originally had yellow sills and steps, then just yellow steps. The yellowbonnet U36C was also featured on the cover of the 1972 annual report as the new image. McMillan also has shots of an F-unit painting in that book, and you realize just how it evolved. Yellow always came first, and warbonnet red was painted on top of the yellow, which is why warbonnets fade orange over time. That yellow is not striped on, it's a full undercoat. So if you skip the red coat entirely, you get a yellowbonnet F-unit. ATSF seemed hell-bent on disassociating themselves from the red and silver passenger image after Amtrak took over in '71. This was also the same period when "Ship and Travel Santa Fe" was replaced with the simple "Santa Fe" billboard scheme on freight cars. Some of the FP45's went through the gamut of renumbering, repainting, repainting, renumbering, repainting again.... I think as many as eleven different times from factory EMD paint to Super Fleet. See http://trainweb.org/jfuhrtrain/FP45data.htm I model '72, and it's a wonderful hot mess year for modeling, you get a little of everything from leased red and silver warbonnet F-units to squeaky-new U36C and SD45-2's and multiple paint schemes, and a few rugged survivor U30CG's and FP45's in renumbered original paint, CF7's, SD24's, freight F's, the whole era where it's 'pick a unit' to get it right. I've even seen photos of leased Amtrak F7's coming out of the Barstow shop in original red and silver, to the point I've doubted the photo dates.... it's a strange year for sure. To me the ultimate irony was that the rather ugly factory paint on the U28CG's - a red and 'silver-gray' with the big "Santa Fe" on the side that rapidly faded with no yellow or black striping, was picked up by the toy train manufacturers and turned into blazing red with chrome and put on all manner of Bachmann GP40's, Tyco C624's, and whatever else sold in the same era when ATSF was distancing themselves as fast as they could from that image. That is almost the exact scheme that re-emerged as Super Fleet, if you look at it, but BACHMANN introduced the warbonnet striping that ATSF and GE didn't bother with, only to reemerge 25+ years later. I don't know how many model foobie schemes ever became a corporate standard, but it did. Beam me back to 1966: http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=49581 and forward to 1992: http://www.trainpix.com/atsf/WHATSNEW/OCT99/102999/616B.HTM
Reviewing the Priest books, It looks like blue and yellow warbonnets came about mid 1972. I can find no mention of when the first yellow bonnets appeared. I also cannot fine any mention of which were first, the U28's or the F's. Can't fine any reference to what came first, freight or passenger. I suspect that there was more urgency to getting the silver and yellow F's painted for lease to Amtrak. but as with most railroads, the amount of time to get the entire fleet painted was not overnight.
