All SP SD-50's ex DRGW? All SP SD-50's speed lettered? All SP speed lettered SD-40T-2's ex DRGW? SP SD-40T-2's roman vs speed lettering, When and where did they roam? Thanks, Loco1999
Howdy Loco1999. Some answers to your questions: 1. Yes, any SD50s in SP paint were ex DRGW. 2. Not all of them made it into SP speedlettering. Only a handful, like 5 or 6. The rest stayed in DRGW until either patched or repainted for UP. Some of the SP painted units got patches only too. Makes some cool variations in paint schemes. 3. Ohhh by no means are all the SP speedlettered SD40T-2s ex DRGW. Some are ex SP, some ex SSW and of course some are ex DRGW. The easiest way to tell the ex DRGW units are number series and the gap between the front truck and the fuel tank. Ex DRGW SD40T-2s that got SP speedlettering kept their DRGW numbers. 4. SP,SSW, and DRGW SD40T-2s all roamed system wide. You could and can catch them anywhere at anytime though I do see alot of ex units in drag freight service now between Roseville and Fresno/Bakersfield. Hope this helps. For pics of these units check out my sites. Got tons of them.
Thanks for the info. Very helpful. Your website(s) and photos are great, I have had the roster pages bookmarked for a while now. I look at DRGW, SP, and SSW rosters all the time. I was wondering why no sd-50's on the sp roster page. I am sorry if I am asking again, What year did SP speed lettering start? Thanks, Loco1999
Case in point: Jerry Debene shot: Witness SP (ex D&RGW) SD40T-2 5387. Notice the 5300-series number? All Rio Grande tunnel motors had 5340-series to 5410-series numbers. The one pictured in particular was one of a very few that had an externally-mounted gyralite in the nose. Not all speed-lettered Espee units were ex-D&RGW, it just means they were repainted AFTER the D&RGW bought SP in '88 (?). Another case in point: all SP SD50's in a 5500-series number were ex-D&RGW.
Not sure when SP started speedlettering but assume it was with the DRGW takeover. On my sites, I've endeavored to keep SP,SSW and DRGW separate until the UP takeover. Alot but not all SSW and DRGW units painted in SP speedlettering had subletters under the cab to indicate which road they were from. Keeping them separate, just made life easier when constructing my sites and understanding the rosters when I built them.
Thanks for all the info. John, your websites are great. I was just commenting on my lack of understanding. A book I have shows the SP takeover of DRGW in 1991, What happened in 1988? Thanks, Loco1999
This comprehensive photo roster should answer your questions. http://espee.railfan.net/diesel_roster_index.html Erik W
1991 was the year Speed Lettering debuted. The first SP unit to get Speed Lettered was (IIRC) SP MP15AC 2747, and the first DRGW unit to get repainted was GP40 3086.
1988 was the year the sale of Southern Pacific Transportation Co. to Rio Grande Industries was approved by the ICC. 1991 was the year the new unified DRGW-SP Speed Lettering image was unveiled.
