Colors and wedgies and ...

I realize change is inevitable but does anybody else dislike the BNSF paint scheme?

I'm an SF fan, so yellow and blue is near and dear to me and I even like Cascade Green and black, but legacy orange and greenish black doesn't appeal to me at all.

And what's with the wedgie (aka swoosh)? Kind of reminds me of when Lucent paid huge bucks to get the bloody bullet wound logo.

Well, maybe I'm just getting old and grumpy, so berate me as you see fit...

 

Hemi,
Where did you get the top shot with UP and BNSF? On the Moffat somewhere? At the railroad crossing East of the East Portal? Or West Tolland, maybe???

 

I would have like a cascade green & silver warbonnet paint scheme with simple BNSF in black, block letters. I think I would have kept the cigar band logo on the nose.

 

You Might Think...

You know, my being a Rio Grande fan, you might think I'm partial to Orange and Black (or reeeealy dark green), and I am, but this wedgie thing is all wrong.

The H3 Swoosh belongs on a baseball jersey. The circle herald on the H1 looked amateurish. I liked H2's cigar band because it was reminiscent of the best paint job ever on any locomotive anywhere, the red and silver warbonnet. :shade: That was a paint job that fit its railroad perfectly. Southwestern accents and sleek lines fit in the desert landscapes. This new megarailroad that encompasses everything from North Dakota to Arizona doesn't have a territory or locale to reflect in its design. As a result, it comes off like fast food or stale bread. It just doesn't have any flavor. It's a McRailroad. BNSF is trying to give a new image and I'm sure we'll get used to it, but it makes me wince a little, like the UP Shield. "We are everywhere."

 

I didn't like the swoosh / wedgie when it first appeared last year. But I have to admit that it has grown on me. I do like it now. I will admit that the H1 scheme that was noted as amateurish by someone else is indeed my favorite of the BNSF schemes. That's my two cents worth. (Sorry, no refunds )

 

I agree, the Red/Silver Warbonnet was probably the best paint job ever done. Followed a close second IMHO by the pre-70 ??? Blue/Yellow front ATSF freight colors. I think both look clean and professional, and the Warbonnet does symbolize thier history and region.

COME ON BNSF, GO BACK TO THE WARBONNET PLEASE!?!?

And call me nuts, I actually like the BN Exec colors, not the Vomit Bonnet but the regular ones.

H1 is blah, too easy, H2 I liked but weathers poorly like someone said, H3...well, jury is still out. You know, what kind of audience are you apealling to here? Teens and young adult? I would think they would would a clean, professional looking image like Missouri Valley Park RR or MRL.

 

And one of those famous flatcar bridges to boot!

 

What I don't like isn't so much the new logo, as the name. The railroad is now officially called BNSF, not Burlington Northern Santa Fe. It doesn't sound like a railroad anymore.

I did like H1 best - specifically, H1 with dark green fuel tank and trucks, as applied to standard-nose units: http://railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=144957

 

You're right, it sounds like CSX. And their company line is that CSX doesn't stand for anything.

You have to admit that Burlington Northern Santa Fe was a mouthful, as well as confusing. It's a painful truth that we Americans have trouble with geography. "Wait, I thought Santa Fe was in the south...near--what's that country's name?--Mexico!" This, incidentally, is why NM has to put "New Mexico USA" on their license plates, because we Americans sometimes don't realize New Mexico is our own. :embarassed:

If there is another round of mergers, I figure BNSF will become BNSFCSX, CSXBNSF, BCNSSXF, BNSFNS or CNNSBNSF...which stands for absolutely nothing at all.

...don't get me started on potential paint schemes.

 

I think it looks pretty sharp in Orange on there vehciles.

 

ANd definitely an improvement over Grimestain Green & cream, a la the BN SD70MACs.

My fav paint scheme since the merger.The new scheme is alright,but I agree it's red and silver warbonnet.

 

Wasn't BNSF/CN going to be The Great American Railway Company. Or sometime.
Adam

 

Have to say I liked the H1, but not the later attempts. I think it's because the H1 scheme is less 'fiddly' - simpler lining and striping - that it worked better IMHO.

Nothing wrong with it being based on GN either

Maybe the wedgie will grow on me.

Got to agree with Triplex's comment on the name as well though, sad to lose the heritage that "Burlington Northern Santa Fe" conveyed.

 

The new scheme is H3. There is no H4. Though, actually, there are two versions of H3. It's a bit confusing. After a couple experimental engines http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=28391 and http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=99037 BNSF standardized on H1. On standard-nose engines, H1 has dark green trucks and fuel tank http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=157735 but on widenose engines, it has silver trucks and fuel tank http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=99695 H2 replaced H1, but only for widenose engines http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=90430 There are two versions of H3, replacing H1 and H2 respectively. The first is only applied to standard-nose engines http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=158083 and the second, sometimes called H3 Premium, to widenose engines http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=157985