Surely the second most beautiful thing in Daylight colors after the road’s celebrated 4-8-4’s, a matched set of Alco PA’s and PB’s basks outside Southern Pacific’s West Oakland Diesel Shop on a gorgeous September day in 1958. Lead unit 6005 was the first PA on the road, acquired from Alco in 1948. Within five years, 39 more would follow plus 13 PB’s, all assigned to Oakland or to Los Angeles’ Taylor Yard. Beauty does little for the bottom line, and a year from now, an austerity-minded SP will start repainting the big Alcos in its scarlet and grey “bloody nose” scheme. Speaking of classics, note the classic 1951 Buick Rivera parked to the left.
Not
just heritage schemes, not just commemorative schemes - this album is devoted to some of the world's most interesting paint schemes, past or present.
