Can anyone direct me/anyone know the timeframe on the paint schemes the Western Maryland used? I'm particularly interested in the recently released RS-2's from Walthers/LifeLike. These are in the Fireball scheme. When I searched around online, all the pictures I found of the real life units were in the Speed Lettering scheme. Does anyone know when these units would have been repainted into the Speed Lettering scheme?
An instructive, basic text on Western Maryland diesels is Western Maryland Diesel Locomotives by Patrick H. and Patrick E. Stakem. I can not find the specific dates for the RS-2s, but a closer reading of that book may reveal them. WM used the fireball scheme from the steam days to April, 1954. The first units to receive the speedlettering scheme may have been the two F-3As that came back from EMD as F-7s at that time. The FA-2s also received the speedlettering scheme in 1954. WM would not have repainted all at once, usually, railroads saved repainting for major shoppings. Less reliable power required major shoppings sooner and more frequently than did the more reliable. Thus, I would suspect that the RS-2s received the speedlettering before the F-7s and GP-7s but after the Baldwins. The first RS-2 came in July, 1947, the last four in April, 1950. I would suspect that by 1957, WM had repainted its RS-2s into speedlettering. It is often instructive to look at dated photographs.
I just looked through the book Western Maryland Diesel Locomotives and found this: Number 180 was classified DS-10, while the other RS2 units were classified DS-17. Number 180 got the Fireballs on the side of its short hoods.
