I stumbled upon this photo online. No known photographer. Date reputed to be March 28, 1964, taken at Springfield, MO. I thought it nice and felt I ought to share it here with you other Friscophiles!
It should be no surprise that by this day during 1964 the Frisco had set aside these two EA-7’s. During the previous 6 years, the Frisco discontinued six passenger trains, i.e., the KD line local, The Black Gold, The Memphian, The Firefly, The Texas Special, and The Oklahoman. This reduction of passenger service obviated the need for ten Redbirds, and the older EA-7’s were an obvious choice for early retirement. It should be noted that by this time, the Frisco had set the wheels in motion to discontinue all of its passenger service.
I'll have to look back at the old Mike Condren "Paint Shop" columns, but for the reasons Karl's outlined, I'd guess that the EA-7s never saw the subsequent, post-cat whiskers schemes (orange with cigar band and orange/white).
I think it interesting how the red on the #2003 has faded to a putrid pink of sorts. Who's going to be first here to model that effect? (What's scary, is I think it would be interesting to model such an effect IF I had some other Frisco model E's not so faded to showcase the contrast. )
Chris, My records indicate one Frisco EMD E7A / EA7 received the red with yellow bow wake only scheme; SLSF 2001, Ranger. I have not been able to locate any evidence that any of the first six E units received Mandarin orange and white. Hope this helps. Thanks! Mark
I'm fairly certain I've seen articles on how to recreate the "chalking" effect with models, but I'll be doddurned if I can remember where I saw it.
Odds ’n’ Ends... It should be noted that Steel Dust, in spite of her chalky appearance has a freshly painted pilot. The three E-8 units, 2017, 2020, and 2022, that received the O/W livery, were painted during July 1967. This was after the demise of The Oklahoman, May 13, 1967, and at this time, The Southland was on its last legs. What was the Frisco thinking?! Discontinuances: The Oklahoman, 111/112, July 1, 1958; The Memphian, 805/806, Oct 25, 1958; The Texas Special, 1/2, January 5, 1959; (Just think about it, the KD line local out lived the Texas Special) The Black Gold, 517/518, January 9, 1960; The KD Line Local, 309/310, October 15, 1960 The Firefly, 117/118, May 22, 1960.
The Kansas Division local passenger trains ran between Monett and Wichita via Joplin. The train had connections with the Meteor at Monett.
A great photo of FRISCO's E7A 2005 "Winchester". I really like the atmosphere as if a veteran soldier who was active in passenger transport is taking a break. The faded red looks great too. It would be great if you could reproduce it with a model. I learned a lot about the details of passenger transportation. Thank you for the wonderful photos.
Thank you for your wonderful information. When I look at the picture of the 2005 "Winchester" of the E7A, I think about it deeply. In particular, the 2000 and 2003 Texas Special machines had exactly the same paint as the MKT. I really want to know why MKT and FRISCO split into different policies after only 3 years of spending the cost of beautiful decorations when they first appeared. If anyone knows how this happened, please let me know.
Both the Frisco and the MKT Texas Special units were delivered with the fluted, stainless steel side panels and were intended for assignment to a particular train. They were the only units delivered to either road with the stainless side panels. Afterward, almost certainly as a cost-saving, subsequent Frisco E7 (and later E8) units were delivered with painted sides. So then, the question became , what would the newer units look like? MKT tried to emulate the earlier look with the E8s and various other cab units, but with silver paint instead of stainless steel. Frisco went for a different look altogether, and eventually all its E7s were remodeled to look like the newer (and hence, more "modern") E8s. MKT only owned the original Texas Special units, which retained their original liveries for their entire service lives. Of course, all of the above became moot around 1960 when both roads began opting for increasingly "simplified" liveries. GS
Mr gstout Thank you for sharing the details of the Texas Special E7. Cost reduction was the main reason. Your explanation has cleared a long standing question for me. thank you very much. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. As you can see, it costs a lot to maintain and manage the beautiful decorations on the Texas Special locomotive. I understand from your explanation that MKT also removed the early stainless steel and changed to silver paint on the PA1. I understand that MKT's E8 and F are the same. I also learned how the FRISCOE7 received the same paint and modifications as the E8. I've seen the paint of E7 and E8 from various roads in America, but I think the red paint of FRISCO's E7 and E8 from 1950 is original only to FRISCO.
