Visitor Comments about this Photo:

It's interesting that what I believe to be EL's first new diesel power, 15 C424s delivered in the first 6 months of 1963, wore a modified Erie freight power livery of black and yellow for only 2-3 years when all EL locomotives, new and old, were re-painted into a variant of DL&W passenger livery of maroon, gray, and yellow. I would have thought the C424s would have worn their as delivered black and yellow scheme for much longer. Was that Pres William White's doing?

Posted by John Barlow on 2020-04-07 08:30:03

As a lowly extra board tower operator I was hardly privy to the workings in William White's office, but I suspect he made the decision to repaint the C424's into the former DL&W colors. They were being mixed with the newer orders of 2nd generation 4-axle power seen here, and the hotshots looked better when all the units pulling were in the same colors. A lot of commuter RS3's received the new paint rather quickly as well; it made them much more attractive, especially fresh out of the shop. Of course, being Alco's, they did not stay that clean for too long.

Posted by Warren Beckwith on 2020-04-07 13:44:25

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