Santa Fe had visions of a company museum, and was wise enough to hang onto a variety of locomotives with that in mind. It never happened, of course, and the collection was donated to the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento. Among those engines was an A-B set of F-units, painted in the "Yellow Warbonnet" colors they wore at retirement. In the late 1980s, the Santa Fe wanted to create some films promoting their upcoming "Superfleet" intermodal service, and the filmmakers wanted some classic Santa Fe power for some of the scenes, which would then dissolve into contemporary scenes as the train passed. The terms of the donation when the collection went to CSRM in 1986 already included a provision that the railroad could have the use of any part of the collection whenever they wanted. The restoration back to the classic red and silver Warbonnet paint scheme was funded through private donations, with the Santa Fe’s San Bernardino Shops, one of several bidders on the job, had the winning bid, with the restoration occurring in March and April 1988. (Personally, I wish they had renumbered these back to their original roadnumber, 39C and 35A … although restoring the B-unit to it’s F3B appearance might have been prohibitive) The Fs are seen here posing in front of the Pasadena, California, passenger station during some of that filming. These days, the Fs are back at the Museum in Sacramento, the Santa Fe is no more and this line through Pasadena is much more active, albeit with light rail vehicles, as the Los Angeles Metro Gold Line. And the restoration of these Fs was the seed that led to the repainting of Santa Fe's FP45 into red and silver "Superfleet" colors, which then carried over to the road's new GP60Ms, Dash 8-40BWs, GP60Bs, Dash 8-40CWs, Dash 9-44CWs and SD75Ms. The early '90s were a great time to be trackside on the Santa Fe! (Pasadena, California – February 7, 1989)
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.
The Santa Fe's warbonnet paint scheme on passenger diesel locomotives was one of the most iconic in railroading. It appealed to travelers and modellers alike, and helped brand Santa Fe all the way from Chicago to California and Texas.
