The new standard livery for Amtrak's Siemens ALC-42 locomotive has just been unveiled! Behold, Amtrak Phase VII!!! More info herE: https://media.amtrak.com/2022/04/amtrak-unveils-new-look-on-national-network-locomotives/
I like it. The naysayers complain about it not matching the Superliners, and the ALC-42 is a bit homely-looking already, but this looks nice.
Nice color scheme. Though a more horizontal flow of the dark and light blues showing speed and fluidity would look nicer. Think SP Daylight, PRR maroon & gold stripes, NYC lightning stripes, and B&M Minute Man stripes. Shame that Amtrak management is more interested making their locomotives pretty than making their trains more customer friendly. A "pretty" locomotive won't do a thing to encourage more riders when schedule-keeping and dining are terrible.
Seams as though these locos have a huge blind spot at the outer ends of the windshields? Between the side windows and the fronts, that's a big space in between. If this were an automobile, you'd be hitting people in crosswalks all the time!
Hmm... I rode on AMTRAP once. Five minutes out of Boston there was a power failure. We sat there for 2 hours...
I agree that trains should always have a more horizontal scheme to suggest speed and streamlining. This locomotive should have a line down the center with the dark blue on top and lighter blue on the bottom or vice-versa. I have never liked the "wave" schemes or the swoops. The nose on this is OK but that swoop thing in the middle of the side is ugly. And I still think they should stick with Platinum Mist as the primary color. Doug
Not to worry. If they hit something the crew is the first ones there. At least freight units have a nose to take the crunch. Some stuff you dont want to see, some things you can't un-see. But at first glance. I like the paint job.
Meh, there's just too much going on with the paint, with red, white, two shades of blue, gray, swoops and on a carbody which looks like an RV. Nonetheless, it's good to see some new equipment and I'll certainly take a picture when the Silver Star is re-equipped with these and runs late in daylight.
You're right about the scheme, Dan. Somebody on another forum said it looks like a modern tennis shoe and - they're right! A lot of new SUV's do too. It still doesn't look too bad compared to some of the light rail trains in the Twin Cities, though. Doug
Looks like really effective wheel chocks, though. I bet that could stop 10 of the locos lashed together. Doug
