[RITSlist] Fw: Rock blue paint

[Carrie and Patrick Lenahan]

Okay, so I haven't checked my email for the past week and missed this whole
exchange, but I have a couple of thoughts to add.
 
Bankrupt blue (bled white) = THE ROCK.  (In barely legible typeface, another
one of those design disasters of the '70's).  
Maroon and red and silver and yellow = The Rock Island Railroad.
 
I remember my Dad being at least academically interested in the blue scheme
when it was first introduced - enough to go take a couple of pictures of the
first loco painted in the scheme - but in the end he always preferred the
red and maroon colors...and really, the black and red colors of the '40's
and '50's.  I remember him using the aforementioned "bankrupt blue bled
white" reference many times.  I also remember him telling a story that the
blue scheme came about becuase Mr. Ingram's wife saw the colors on
somebody's tie one night and liked it.  I have no idea if it's true.
 
Dad spent 14 years with the Rock Island, and HIS dad spent around 40 years
with them.  My copy of "Iron Road To Empire" includes my Dad's handwritten
epitaph for the railroad penned in at the end, briefly noting the railroad's
"zombie existence" as THE ROCK and its inglorious end.  The technical fact
that THE ROCK came into being just prior to formal declaration of bankruptcy
can't erase the new identity's association with the failure and shutdown.
Consider that the railroad had lost money for about 9 years before the
bankruptcy.  Mr. Ingram has been quoted as saying that the new identity was
explicitly a rejection of the old way of doing things, and it's most likely
because it didn't work out in the end that the image has such a bad taste
for most.  Of course, if it had succeeded, no doubt at some point the
'heritage scheme' would have been adopted....just prior to being absorbed by
the UP.
 
I personally thought (and still think) the scheme, when applied fresh, was
crisp and bold, notwithstanding its horrible typeface - but totally
impersonal.  And the blue did not hold up well, fading horribly and showing
every bit of dirt - you could always tell the engines that had been to
Oklahoma by the red earth stain.  My personal preference is for the black
and red, with the maroon and yellow a close second.
 
I remember also the quote that appeared in the Trains Magazine "Sic Transit
Gloria" issue:  "The Rock is an insurance company.  THIS is the Rock Island
Railroad!"
 
Regards,
 
Patrick Lenahan
Prairie Village, KS

  _____  

From: ritslist-bounces at thunder.simpson.edu
[mailto:ritslist-bounces at thunder.simpson.edu] On Behalf Of David Engle
Sent: Thursday, February 21, 2008 7:14 PM
To: RITSLIST
Subject: [RITSlist] Fw: Rock blue paint


 
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Kent  <mailto:trainut at iowatelecom.net> Schneider 
To: RIRocket at kc.rr.com 
Sent: Thursday, February 21, 2008 6:13 PM
Subject: Rock blue paint

Dave,
I have a question that should be posted on RITSlist.  Why do RI fans call
the 'RI blue' used towards the end of operations 'Bankruptcy Blue?'  The
Rock Island first announced the new paint scheme on February 12, 1975, and
the Rock Island didn't file for bankruptcy for just over a month later.
This paint scheme just happened to be the standard used at the time.  If it
hadn't been put in use, I wonder if we'd be hearing all this 'Bankruptcy
Red' complaints.
Kent Schneider
 


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