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Paint Schemes

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Information on the introduction of all-red loco paint scheme.

Loco Paint Schemes:

Red and Gray
(1950s-1960s)

All-Red
(1960s-1990s)

This 1969 photo has locos in both paint schemes.
The first diesel-electric switchers on the Green Bay Route were painted a Spartan black with white lettering. This gave way to the beautiful red-and-gray paint scheme when the Alco FA-1s arrived in December 1947, and the earlier locos soon followed suit.

The red-and gray paint scheme was the standard as the loco fleet grew throughout the 1950s and 1960s. In 1969 locos began getting repainted in a simpler all-red scheme with large GBW letters on the sides of the long hoods. An early version of the scheme retained the gray trucks, but after 1973 the trucks were painted black.

The first locos to get the all-red paint were #316-317and the last unit to enter the paint shop was #301 in 1973. Switchers #102, #103,and #201 were retired in June 1968 and never received an all-red paint job. Locos #316-#323 only had the all-red scheme.

Here are dates that the locos were repainted.  These dates were provided by Bob Wandel, based on information provided by Dan Luedke, a GBW switchman and brakeman in the 1960s and 1970s. Dan's list was compiled in February 1976 -- fairly close to the time of the repainting -- and matches all of the photo evidence.  Note that #316 & 317 were painted in the spring of 1968, while they were still being leased by GBW! These two locomotives were finally purchased and assigned a 300- series number in October 1968, and February 1969, respectively.

If your web browser is compatible with Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or later you can click on any column head in the table to sort the table accordingly.
Number Model Paint Dates Notes
01 GBW 301 Alco RS-2 1973.08 Last locomotive to have red and gray paint scheme.
02 GBW 302 Alco RS-2 1970.03
03 GBW 303 Alco RS-2 1968.07
04 GBW 304 Alco RS-2 1969.05
05 GBW 305 Alco RS-3 1969.09
06 GBW 306 Alco RS-3 1972.12
07 GBW 307 Alco RS-3 1969.04
08 GBW 308 Alco RS-3 1969.11
09 KGB 309 Alco RS-11 1969.04
10 GBW 310 Alco RS-27 1969.09
11 GBW 311 Alco C-424 1973.04
12 GBW 312 Alco C-424 1972.10
13 GBW 313 Alco C-424 1973.01
14 KGB 314 Alco C-424 1972.06
15 GBW 315 Alco C-430 1973.04
16 GBW 316 Alco RS-27 1968.04 First loco to get-all red paint scheme; was in C&NW green/yellow before (never had red and gray paint scheme)
17 GBW 317 Alco RS-27 1968.04 Was in C&NW green/yellow before (never had red and gray paint scheme)
 

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Updated July 11, 2015