“The Patriot” This bright paint scheme and Colorado & Wyoming Railway No. 102 have quite the history to tell. The C&W was formed in 1899 as a subsidiary of Colorado Fuel & Iron Corporation. C&W Nos. 101 and 102 began life as Colorado Fuel and Iron GP7 locomotives purchased from EMD in March 1951, replacing a couple of steam locomotives on the roster. Nos. 101 and 102 were quickly placed in service on the CF&I’s Southern Division working coal mines west of Trinidad, Colorado. In April 1975, No. 101 received red, white & blue colors and was renumbered No. 200 to celebrate the nation’s Bicentennial on July 4, 1976. “The Patriot” as the locomotive was nicknamed, got its new paint scheme from a winning entry in a contest among C&W employees. After the Bicentennial, No. 200 was repainted in standard C&W orange and white, but retained its new road number. In the early 1980s, No. 200 was sold by the C&W and sadly, was eventually scrapped.
Flashing forward to 2003, C&W GP7 Nos. 102, 103 and 104 were sold to the Pueblo Railway Foundation. As part of the sale, the locomotives would be repainted, with fresh orange and white paint sprayed on Nos. 103 and 104. It was then decided to recreate the patriotic paint scheme that No. 101 (200) once carried, on locomotive No. 102. C&W only applied the basic colors, with all of the ornate aspects of “The Patriot” paint scheme provided by some talented volunteers at the museum’s shop.
On July 4, 2007, the newly-painted No. 102, honoring its sister locomotive No. 101, was dedicated and christened as “The Patriot.” Pueblo Railway Museum’s C&W No. 102 spends most of its time inside the D Street Shop, where its special paint scheme is protected from the elements, but on August 25, 2021, it pulls two cabooses on a special run over museum trackage at Pueblo, Colorado.
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.
Displays of American pride, and spirit! Equipment painted Red, White, and Blue! With an honored salute and tribute to our veterans and troops added too! Patriots can still be found to join this gathering of Patriotic Pride!
