recently I have been going through different photos on rrpicturearchives.com. Something I noticed is that not all the number boards are black with white lettering. I noticed in a picture of B30-7 #866, the number boards were white with small black letters. Also I have notices that the back of some of the loco's number boards were just primer with no lettering. Why is this?
Ethan, somewhere I think I remember reading that there was at least on locomotive that was repaired, after having been involved in a derailment that required some '"facial" work, which ended up with the negative version of its original number boards (which were damaged/destroyed in the wreck). Otherwise, I could see that there would be no need for number boards on a locomotive that is always going to have its tail backed up by another locomotive (always part of a consist). That may have been a reason for blank boards at the rear.
Ethan- In regard to the black numerals on white background: I believe Frisco in Color cites these as repairs that were subcontracted out to the Illinois Central Gulf's Paducah, KY shops. I believe I've also seen a picture of an E8 unit at Springfield MO with similar number boards. Keith's explanation for the blanked out number boards sounds as plausible as any that I can think of! Best Regards,
