GM&O Colors

Thanks for posting Sam.  Nice video, I sort of agree with you on colors.  Coincidentally, I was just now looking at the RS-1s in the new Atlas catalog and there's a GM&O.  I am thinking of ordering the GM&O version, wonder what the color will turn out like.

- Mike 

Mike I would assume that it will be similar to our F3's - nice and rich bright color

Sam:

Love the colors of the GM&O. This would make a perfect passenger train if someone would make it.

Colors may look warmer due to the age of the movie film.

An F3A and HW passenger train would be nice!

OK - GM&O colors: I'm in the GM&OHS (you should ALL join, BTW; NYCSHS, too) and

am a former employee, though the Alton scheme (the red/maroon) was almost extinct by the time I came along. 

The GM&O reds varied a bit from shop to shop, and between what are now termed

"North End" (St Louis to Chicago and KCMO) and the "South End" (St Louis to

Mobile and New Orleans), as did some frame colors. 

North End: tended to be darker and more maroon; the light stripe approached a reddish

orange early on. The maroon was almost brownish at first. Switcher frames and steps tended to be black

South End: more red, little maroon - really a two-tone red scheme. Switcher frames/steps tended to be red, also.

My MTH RS3 is dark, and correct for the North End. The Atlas RS-1 is red, and correct for the South End. The colors traveled, as a darker loco painted in Bloomington

was not re-painted just because it was re-assigned to Mobile. But when it was,

it usually got redder. The gold-outlined red stripes disappeared with time too, as plain red or maroon is cheaper to do.

But the South End Alco FA-1's NEVER lost their fancy striping.

MTH's RS-3 has a nose-problem (not a GM&O issue; for all of them): they are

improperly shaped - too flat. Bugs me. Lionel's low-end RS3 body is shaped correctly. 

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Passenger Train Collector - MTH has made a 5-car scale HW GM&O set; I have it. The

red window band is probably a little darker than it "should" be, but the set is gorgeous.

Atlas and Weaver have produced GM&O passenger sets/cars. MTH has also offered

a GM&O DL-109 and lightweight passenger set in the earlier, "pre-Alton colors" red

and silver. Very different look, but just as good-looking. Of course, Lionel offers the

Alton Limited, the cars of which are GM&O colors - because the GM&O bought the

Alton (former Chicago and Alton) after WWII and adopted the Alton maroon and red paint scheme to replace the silver and red. There were some heavy Pacifics painted in a version of the red/maroon (plus black) and used in high-speed freight (and passenger) service. The GM&O kept the paint scheme, put "GM&O" on the coal bunker, and added "The Alton Route" to the tender sides. These were North End locos.

D500, in the slide show did you see that E7 with a nose door headlight barrel? It was the 100, and it was in solid maroon with the nose wing emblem painted lower than standard.  It appeared from the photo that the upper headlight barrel was still the headlight and the lower one was blanked with paint over the glass (or a sheet metal disc).

I would assume that it was a second-hand door bought at a low price to inexpensively repair a locomotive nearing the end of its service life.  But maybe it was something else.  Do you know the story behind this?

D500:

Many thanks for the info about O-Gauge passenger trains produced for the GM&O. I will do some looking for them.

Last week I purchased (on ebay) the MTH, GM&O, ABA F3 set. This is the Scale, Rail King version 30-2629-1. It's still in transit (USPS).  Not as detailed as the Atlas version, but will fill my GM&O roster gap.

Many thanks D500 for your terrific knowledge and insight given here. Yet another great benefit of this Forum. Personally, I have been woefully ignorant of real trains until joining this forum but I'm learning!