Amtrak paint schemes

Amtrak, the national passenger train service in the United States, has colored its trains differently over the years. Amtrak has called most of their paint schemes "phases".

Most-known paint schemes

Phase I

Phase I was the first standard paint scheme of Amtrak. On locomotives, phase I consisted of a red nose and then the Amtrak "pointless arrow" logo on the side of the engine. On passenger cars, however, this was not used. Instead, Phase I used the Amtrak logo on one end of the car, and then stripes along the side of the car, much like the later Phase II scheme. The "stripe" style paint schemes would be used on Amtrak for many more years.

Phase II

Phase II was one of the first paint schemes of Amtrak to use entirely the "stripe" style. Phase II stripes consisted of a fat red stripe over a very thin white stripe and then over a fat blue stripe, with white pinstripes on the outer edges as well. This paint scheme was used on the locomotives and passenger cars, even into the early years of the Superliners. Unlike Phase I, the Amtrak logo was removed from the locomotives and cars.

Phase III

Phase III was probably the most common and widely known paint scheme of Amtrak, introduced in 1979 and still lasting to this day on some equipment. This paint scheme used similar colors to those used on Phase II stripes, except that the outer white pinstripes were deleted and the red, white and blue stripes were of approximately equal width. On some equipment, the white stripe remained the same width while the red and blue were expanded to cover a larger area. Another distinguishing feature of this paint scheme is the labeling of every passenger car with its type and number in black lettering on the white stripe. This style of Phase III was used on Amtrak locomotives, passenger cars, and Material Handling Cars. Another name for the Phase III is the "tri-stripe" paint scheme.

Phase IV

Phase IV, until recently, was the most common paint scheme on Amtrak's Superliner equipment, introduced in 1993 with the delivery of the Superliner II cars. It consisted of two thin red stripes over a white background, over a fat purplish-blue stripe. After its introduction, the paint scheme then spread to Amtrak engines, other passenger cars such as Am-Fleet and Horizon Fleet, along with some baggage cars, RoadRailers, and express boxcars. Other names for Phase IV are the "Northeast Corridor," "Northeast Direct" or "Intercity" paint schemes.

Some Phase IV equipment has recently been updated with red reflective stripes running along the skirts of the cars. This is rare, however, since most of the cars are being repainted into the newer paint scheme, Phase IVb.

Phase V

Phase V is currently the most common paint scheme on Amtrak's P42DC and P32AC-DM locomotives. However, Phase V was introduced with the arrival of the "Acela Express" high speed trainset. Then the new paint scheme was used on the "Genesis", starting with units 123-207, and eventually spreading to all units in the class. Phase V consists of a red stripe that runs down the bottom of the locomotive/car, and then a blue nose which runs up the side of the locomotive/car in a "wave" form. This is the first paint scheme to use the new Amtrak logo, which is portrayed on the side of most Phase V engines.

The Phase V scheme is used on Amtrak Genesis locomotives, "Acela Express" power cars, HHP-8 & AEM7 electrics, and some Material Handling Cars (now out of service). More recently, the scheme has started to appear on Amtrak's GE Dash 8 locomotives, new switcher locomotives, as well as "Cabbage" NPCU (non-powered control unit) cab cars. It has not appeared on any passenger cars. Apparently, Amtrak has decided to keep the Phase IV stripes with the introduction of the Phase IVb paint scheme.

Phase IVb/Phase VI

Phase IVb was the name given to Amtrak's newest paint scheme, being applied on passenger cars. It is now the most common paint scheme seen on Superliner equipment. Many people confuse Phase IVb with Phase V because they are, on passenger cars, the next livery after Phase IV. Others have called it Phase VI because it is clearly the next chronologically after Phase V. However, since it is largely based on the Phase IV design, the current name makes sense. There are a number of differences between Phase IV and Phase IVb, though. The Phase IVb stripes are the same size and arrangement as Phase IV, but the blue is lighter and resembles the color of Phase III blue. The new "wave" logo is displayed in white or blue depending on where it is located on the car. The car number and car type lettering are much smaller than on previous paint schemes. On the skirt of the car, there is usually a red reflective stripe, much like on Phase V. Although not used on any locomotives, Phase IVb has spread to just about every type of Amtrak car used today, including Superliners, Am-Fleet, Horizon, baggage cars, and even some remaining Heritage equipment.

Pacific Surfliner

The Pacific Surfliner paint scheme was created especially for Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner trains in California. The paint scheme consists of a blue-and-white stripe, running along the skirt of the locomotive and cars, and a very large blue streak, which "swooshes" up the sides of the locomotive and then runs horizontally across the cars. On the locomotives, white Amtrak lettering is in the large blue streaks on the sides, and blue Amtrak lettering is on the locomotives' nose. There is also a black mask, outlined with white stripes, which runs across the cab windows on the front & sides of the engine. On the Pacific Surfliner cars, large "Surfliner" letters, the same style letters as on Phase IV Superliners, go across the lower part of the large blue stripe, below the upper-level windows, along with the car type and number on each end of the car in white lettering.

Amtrak California

Amtrak California utilizes a color scheme and logo that is different from the standard Amtrak colors. All state owned locomotives and passenger cars, with the exception of equipment used on the Pacific Surfliner, are painted in the "California Colors" of blue and yellow (gold). In addition, this scheme is used on many of the connecting buses. All state-owned equipment is named for geographical features in California.

The Capitol Corridor and the San Joaquins are the two rail routes that are most identified with the Amtrak California image since they use "California Colored" equipment most of the time. The other state supported rail route, the Pacific Surfliner, uses a unique blue and silver paint scheme that is different from the other Amtrak California-branded trains, since the state only provides about half of its operating and equipment costs.

Amtrak "Cascades"

The "Cascades" paint scheme was created especially for Amtrak's "Cascades" trains, operated in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. On the locomotives, the "Cascades" scheme is very similar to the Pacific Surfliner paint scheme except the colors are changed. Instead of the large blue streaks on the side of the engine, it is colored green. The black mask across the cab windows is colored brown. On the "Cascades" Talgo equipment, the green streak slides down the baggage car, and then runs down the bottom of the rest of the cars. Then the middle part of the cars are brown.
* [http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/rail/plans/cascades/download/AmtrakCascadesDesignManual.pdf Amtrak "Cascades" design manual] (PDF) Retrieved September 20, 2005 - "See Page 11"

Unusual paint schemes

"Pepsi-Can"

The "Pepsi Can" paint scheme was used on a series of Amtrak diesel locomotives called Dash 8-32BWHs. The Pepsi Can paint scheme is a spin-off from the standard Phase III. On the front of the engine, the red, white, and blue stripes run across the side of the locomotive much like phase III, except they are much more spread apart. Close to the rear of the engine, the red and blue stripes make a "turn" and go up the side of the engine after crossing over each other. Because of the Dash 8-32BWH's shape and the paint scheme, the nickname "Pepsi-Can" was given to the engines. Even though the engines have been converted over to Phase IV and V paint, the nickname is still used by many in different variations, such as Diet Pepsi for Phase IV and Crystal Pepsi for Phase V.

Acela "Splotch"

This paint scheme was introduced alongside Phase V with the debut of the Acela Express service in 2000. While the standard Phase V was used on the Acela Express locomotives, an unusual scheme was used on the passenger cars. A red reflective stripe was placed on the skirt of the car, and the rest of the car's sides were covered with a random combination of color "splotches". Depending on the type of car, the splotches differed in size and color.

The "Splotch" scheme was also applied to Am-Fleet cars during a rebuild project, in an effort to create a new image to the trains when the Amtrak name was almost replaced with Acela on the entire system. This variaton of the paint scheme featured many different splotch patterns. On the coach cars, dark turquoise splotches were covered on a light turquoise background. On business class cars, light turquoise splotches were covered on a navy blue background. Cafe cars were painted the same as business coaches, except a large green splotch was placed in the center of the car where there were no windows. The "Splotch" scheme was short lived, and was not applied to any other cars due to the rebuild project being cancelled.

"Celebrate the Century Express"

This paint scheme was a very elaborate collection of enlarged stamps and postmarks that adorned the sides of Amtrak's P42DC locomotive #100, during the United States Postal Service's "Celebrate the Century Express" tour. This paint scheme was only used on engine 100 and today has been removed.

Monopoly National Tournament

This paint scheme was used on a special Monopoly National Tournament Amtrak train which operated in October, 2003. The paint scheme, featuring huge Monopoly game pieces and money, was applied on Amtrak Genesis locomotive #203 as well as some Am-Fleet cars. On the locomotive, the Monopoly game pieces were pasted right over the engine's Phase V livery, but the Am-Fleet coaches in the paint scheme were completely wrapped, with the game pieces and cards being over a light blue background. After the tournament was over, the Monopoly paint scheme was removed and the locomotive & cars returned to regular Amtrak colors.

"Believe in America" Tour

This paint scheme was used on the John Kerry/John Edwards campaign train of 2004. The nose of the engine was standard Phase V but the sides of the locomotive were completely blue with campaign slogans and large "BELIEVE IN AMERICA TOUR" letters. The Believe in America paint was only used on one P42DC locomotive, and have thus been removed.

Toyota Tundra

Amtrak and Toyota began an advertising campaign in October 2004, with two P42 locomotives, #84 and #115, painted in a special paint scheme. The nose of the engine was standard Phase V but the sides of the locomotive had a giant photograph of a Toyota Tundra pickup truck on it, on a light blue background. On the corner of the side black letters spelled out, "THE POWERFUL TOYOTA TUNDRA". Both locomotives were repainted by March 2005, into standard Amtrak livery.

The History Channel

Amtrak and The History Channel teamed up in November, 2007 to produce the first all-train "wrap" of an Acela Express trainset. The purpose of this wrap was to promote The History Channel's "1968 With Tom Brokaw". The wrap remained on the train from November 12th through December 9th. The revenue brought in from this advertisement has not been disclosed. Though wraps are often used on busses, this is the first time that all-train wraps have been used on the Acela Express. The scheme was criticized by passengers because the wrap acted as a sort of window tinting, thus deteriorating the view from inside, despite claims by Amtrak [cite web | url=http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Copy/News_Release_Page&cid=1178294067659&c=am2Copy&ssid=180 | accessdate=2008-01-18 | title=Amtrak Acela Wrap Press Release] . This was particularly unwanted by Acela Express passengers, who are either business class or first class passengers.

External links

* [http://hebners.net/amtrak/ Amtrak Photo Archives]
* [http://gobytrain.us/ GoByTrain - For paint scheme roster]

References