I saw the new logo on some grain hoppers south of Houston today. Someone also saw some in the Dallas area.
Me, too! I'd originally thought their new logo was for motive power? Guess I was wrong! So, definitely need some pictures. Boxcab E50
Well I will have to search but I some place in my net travels I have viewed a set of well cars with the new logo. I will search and repost if I can locate them. Steve
I was on the toll road without a camera and it was getting dark. So no photos from me. There was a string of shiny new brown grain hoppers with the old BNSF Santa Fe style cross. In the middle were about seven or eight cars with the new logo, all the same colors though.
Until someone on Lou Menk Drive decides they need to waste another 8 figures worth of cash they could better use to improve the physical plant...
Here's a link to photo taken by Mike Murray on RailPictures.net http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=98106 I kind of like the new logo on the freight cars. The logo on the side of the locomotives isn't too bad... but they could do better on the nose. Just my 2 cent input.
Amazing how every time I visit that site, I'm a prize winning millionth visitor. Not much to the logo. Certainly doesn't stand out, or grab attention. Anyhow, probably won't last long, until covered up with vandalism. Boxcab E50
I guess it looks alright on those hoppers, but I still haven't grown into it yet. I still say the circle/cross logo is better.
Yick. Not horrible, but not pretty. Railroads used to be about courtesy and service. You could set your watch to their trains, and you could always find clean, well-maintained power. Back then it was the company image and public relations that mattered. Now it's the not-so-almighty dollar turning megamerger corporate giants into greedy, tightfisted scrooges that care more about the bottom line than their railroad's public relations, employees, etc.... What's next, the UP shield getting the axe? (just to save a buck, ya never know)
Some friends who crew for BNSF gave me their take on the current situation. A lot of the problem is the shortage of power that is driving things today. At ground level in the yards, when engines come off a run they receive a mechanical inspection, top off fluids and get put on another train ASAP. No time for washing, no time for painting. The railroads are competing against the trucking industry and are trying to move the freight as fast as they can. Most of the customers are only concerned with when their freight will be delivered and couldn't care less if the train looks pretty. Engines are delivered from the manufacturer with only a primer coat and some small letters stenciled on the side. There is also a lot of shabby looking power on the rails these days. Railroads are swapping engines like interchange rolling stock. At interchange locations like Chicago or New Orleans, if a set of engines is cleared from mechanical servicing it gets put on the next train no matter where it is going on which railroad. Maybe when the railroads get a breather, they may start worrying about their image again. Poor planning at higher up, an upturn in business, bean counters slashing budgets all contributed to the mess but right now, they can't keep the freight moving fast enough. And then at the top, you have the boys at BNSF doodling with their crayolas at board meetings worring about logos. Kind of makes you wonder.
I snapped a few of these hoppers this past Saturday. Interesting, the plant is churning out both logos...probably had to do with contracts already in place and BNSF not willing to pay extra to change in midstream...
I guess, when you spend 40-some-odd-million to develop a new logo, you can't afford to change a contract... I guess I could live with it, but I miss the BNSF cross logo already.
