Theft of government property

[sirenwerks]

Ok, that's not just a fish, that's a salmon, which is pretty representative of the Pacific NW. And the salmon in the logo is consistent with Chinook imagery. If I do a color logo it will be more toned down and would incorporate a more native pallette. Something like this:

[nkalanaga]

I think the single-color version would work better for pre-1960 cars, but the multi-color one would be very nice on mid-60s or later, when railroads started using more colorful heralds.  It would also almost require a more colorful car, not just boxcar red.

UP Armour Yellow, or a similar color, for the grain (and dry grass) of the Dry Side, to go with the blues and greens of the Wet Side?

[sirenwerks]

I think the single-color version would work better for pre-1960 cars, but the multi-color one would be very nice on mid-60s or later, when railroads started using more colorful heralds.  It would also almost require a more colorful car, not just boxcar red.

UP Armour Yellow, or a similar color, for the grain (and dry grass) of the Dry Side, to go with the blues and greens of the Wet Side?

I was thinking something like USFS green, which is kind of a slightly darker version of UP's MOW green. The color version would look great on per diem box cars but I don't plan on modeling that late into the 70s. Or maybe a darker green like on the Evergreen boxes. I just don't see the PKM as being that flashy though.

[nkalanaga]

USFS Green would make a nice car, but I was worried about the green portions of the herald blending into the sides.  It's your railroad, though, and if it looks right to you, go for it!

For my yellow suggestion, UP might be a little too flashy.  The Frisco "yellowish" would probably be better, as I was thinking of a straw, or ripe wheat, color.  Or, maybe, MILW's "Federal Yellow". 

But USFS Green would look nice on a car, and the white herald would go well with any fairly dark color.  Older cars don't have to be boxcar red!

[sirenwerks]

USFS green is pretty darn close to NYC jade green. Tamiya Cockpit Green or Khaki are other options. I think I would reserve the green for forest product boxcars and flats.

[nkalanaga]

And, some have said that NYC Jade Green and GN Glacier Green are the same.  They look different to me, but eyes vary.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

As a logo, it's too busy.

The tree and fish detail will be lost when scaled down to a business card.

[nkalanaga]

The logo may be "too busy", but apparently it used to work for the BLM...

[sirenwerks]

I don't think a white outline on a red box car will look too busy. We shall see eventually...

[jpwisc]

The logo may be "too busy", but apparently it used to work for the BLM...

It is a beautiful logo, but I agree that it is too busy. It may have worked for the BLM on truck doors, but we are talking railroads here. Less is more. Overly complex logos lack plausibility. If you could do it in 1 color it would look more plausible on a boxcar. Most logos on dark freight cars are white only. On light colored cars, they are one dark color.

[nkalanaga]

True, most logos from 1900 on were simple, but complex logos were more common in the 1800s, and there were several quite colorful ones during the IPD era.  But you're right that most were single-color, or at most three or four simple colors.  UP's red-white-blue shield, and GN's red-white-black herald come to mind.  Even there, with multiple colors, the colors themselves were simple, with good contrast.

In this case, the multi-color herald would probably look out of place on most freight cars, but could be right at home on a caboose or truck trailer. 

[sirenwerks]

Billboards are designed so the viewer can comprehend the message at 50 mph, or in less than 3 seconds, but it's clear who the viewer is - a potential customer speeding by in a car.  But remember, a picture is worth a thousand words. Advertisers place billboards appropriate to the customer they seek - an interstate will get national brands that are easily accessed and the selling of 'ideas'. Back roads will get ads for local suppliers or services and, because traffic is moving slower, phone numbers you're supposed to remember or write down while you're driving.


But look at railroad logos, wwho are railroad logos designed for? The shipping customer who might see a box car parked at a siding; or passing by in a speeding train? Probably not, considering most shippers are captive and bound to the line they're on. The passenger who views a train stopped at the platform? More likely, considering their destination may have competing trains to it. Are railroad logos kinda like NASCAR sponsorship, where it's all about repetition? Or kinda like movie product placement, where the intent is creating an impulse? Maybe railroad logos on freight cars were actually intended to sell passenger travel identity? To me, the GN goat and NP's monad are logos, Milwaukee's thing is just a nameplate. And it tried to bring the Hiawatha chief back on its freight locos, towards the end. These days locos are just decorated with a bunch of corporate letters that don't spark any sort of imagination, they're not much more than RIC codes. OK, UP uses the flag, but that seems to be spiraling down in marketing value daily.

[nkalanaga]

Many years ago, when travel by train was THE way to go, advertising on freight cars was a good way to keep your line in the public's mind.  They'd see you at the crossing, or a local business, and hopefully think of you when it came time to travel.  Plus, there were a LOT of railroads with interchange equipment, and the logos helped crews find the car they wanted faster, as they didn't have to read the reporting marks on the ones that obviously weren't the right road.

Today, most people only see freight cars at a crossing, and then seldom pay attention to them.  Passenger trains have no visible connection to the freight railroads, if the town even has passenger service, and most local businesses don't have sidings.  Everything goes to a "distribution center", and all the public sees is a delivery truck.  So, no need for logos, which is just as well, as freight cars are increasingly owned by leasing companies, just as tank cars have long been.  All the railroad supplies is the track, locomotives, and crew.  Add that the cars are all tracked electronically, and the switch crew doesn't have search the yard for a car.  Their portable computer can tell them exactly where it is, by track, and number of cars in.