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Hi everyone,
Halloween just would not be Halloween without some pumpkins, and I have some fresh from Montana, taken earlier this month. I'm not proud of the fact that GP60B #343 is both coupled and shot in overcast conditions, but these cabless units are not easy to catch front uncoupled. I suppose had we chased this train to Browning or Cut Bank, I may have had some sun but there were other trains to catch such as BNSF #7315 which could be considered either an SD40 if you note the carbody or an SD40-2 if you consider rebuilding done to make it "equivalent" to a SD40-2. BNSF calls it an SD40-2, but if you intend to model it, note the carbody and trucks as well as some details indicating its Canadian heritage. Earlier that day I caught SD40-2 #8002 which coincidentally has worn orange and green of a different sort in the past. It saddens me to see it in BNSF colors since it was quite a distinctive unit while in BN paint. 8002 was the first BN "tiger stripe" painted unit, and at first it had the orange and black stripes on both the cab front and the side and front of the nose. Later it was modified to the scheme with green nose sides much like the tiger stripe GP50's. Whiteface paint was later applied to the nose. Note that in all of these variations BN 8002 sports a large BN logo on the long hood. The only other SD40-2 or non-GP50 for that matter to get the large BN logo and lettering on the long hood was SD40-2 #7812 which is distinctive in its own way, being the last BN unit painted. I did not exactly intend to spend so much time discussing something other than BNSF pumpkins, but I cannot resist pointing out unique paint variations like these when opportunities present themselves! Enjoy! |
