SP 9754 (GP60) appears to have an unusual variation of the Southern Pacific's Bloody Nose paint scheme in this going away shot of the previous Espee eastbound at Smurr, AZ. Espee modelers have an excellent reference site for Espee paint schemes at espee.railfan.net and this locomotive is not listed as receive special paint there. Instead the site discusses the impact on Espee locomotives of the dropping of lead from paint during the 1990's. The early paints without lead did not adhere as well as leaded paint, as it was the lead that helped the paint stick to the underying object. The Espee roadname on these units was applied with self-adhesive Scothlite lettering. Apparently the Scotchlite adhered better to the new paint than the paint adhered to the underlying primer. The lettering was apt to peal away, leaving the roadname visible in neatly masked underlying primer. SP 9754 appears to be an excellent example of the units so affected. My reading on the website mentioned Microscale actually issue Espee loco decals with red lettering, even though the Espee never deliberately lettered a unit in red. You are apparently seeing the inspiration for that set here.

Photographed by Warren Beckwith, March, 1995.
Added to the photo archive by Warren Beckwith, July 19, 2021.
Railroad: Southern Pacific.

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