Wow! That is a great piece of detective work Mark. I suppose the BN may not have been as concerned as to which unit it once was compared to what they were getting after the rebuilding. But as you say the true answer will be what the frame number of the 2883 actually is. Brian Ambrose Renton, WA
Here she is, from the top, in her more dignified assignment - taken in the early 70's from the Helm, MO overpass about ten miles west of Dixon - trailing of three units.
Going through my slide collection I came up with this shot of Frisco GP35 715 on the BN at Skykomish, WA on 7-31-79. http://www.locophotos.com/PhotoDetails.php?PhotoID=109794 Of course at the time I had no idea that the SLSF 715 would eventually be painted in the same colors as the other BN power on the train! One thing about that Frisco paint scheme, it sure stood out in Washington state forests! Brian Ambrose Renton, WA
Brian, You mentioned how the Frisco paint "sure stood out in Washington state forests!" Too bad that other railroad wasted so much time, effort and expense in a vain attempt to come up with a high visibility paint scheme. The "white face" and "tiger stripe" on a basic black and forest green unit missed the target objective. They had the high visibility scheme right in front of their noses! Hard to beat good old Mandarin orange and white, even during a snowy winter, for a truly high visibility scheme. Hope this helps. Thanks! Mark
Brian, Just a couple of more thoughts while I'm on a roll. Now the name is even geographically correct and historically significant, the St. Louis San Francisco Railway (Frisco for short)! It has a very nice ring to it. Sounds a whole lot better to me than either two or four initials that cannot be pronounced or understood as a name. And what the heck is the deal with corporate symbol named after a sound, "swoosh", or a tool for breaking things apart, "wedge", anyway? How do you market your firm or sell your company's services by identifying yourself as a sound or a "wedge" between your service and customers? Give me a coonskin herald any day! Hope this helps. Thanks! Mark
Mark opined: "They had the high visibility scheme right in front of their noses! Hard to beat good old Mandarin orange and white, even during a snowy winter, for a truly high visibility scheme." The lousy lighting (sorry about that) on the attachment, from around December 1977, helps illustrate his point.
I have to admit it would have been interesting if the Frisco colors had been used rather than green. Trying to imagine an F45 or C30-7 in orange and white! Brian Ambrose Renton, WA
Ethan, Good idea - why not do it? Some day I'm going to do a Frisco Racehorse Alco PA1 ..... SLSF 2050. (That's if I ever get my Frisco E8B done! - been six-seven years now on that one. ) Ken
