Most Beautiful Diesel Ever Made...

Right up there with the Daylight but somehow the red looks better with maroon than with the orange on the SP

Glamorous models don't do much for me. I find the cute, sweet girl next door much more attractive ….

Baby Face Baldwin.

(Fuzz's ornery ALCO unit sure is handsome.  )

Early in Life i was a big fan of  the F3's and F7's. E-8's have grown on me.

Now I love the 44 ton switchers, A lot of paint schemes done with those. 

Alco DL600b/RSD-15 low hood,aka "Gator."

#1. Milwaukee SDL-39

#2. CB&Q E units

Dick

Chicago, Burlington & Quincy RR's management cast a vote for their most beautiful diesel. 

In 1956, the Q received from the builder the last full length U.S. streamlined passenger train, the all-new stainless steel Denver Zephyr. They ran the new DZ across the major divisions of the road, to acquaint the public with this new travel option. What diesels did they use to pull the train? Not the relatively new E8's and 9's; not the 10 year old E7's. Why, they used their 16 year old shovel-nose, stainless steel E5's !!

Matt, great shot as always. Black widow was a winner. Don

Stuart, I know where a Alco RS-1 is hiding! Don

EMC's first sisters....

This is a tuff one, however:

#6

#5

Yes it the best modern diesel!

#4 

#3

#2

And

#1

Yes I am highly prejudice, The Heart wants what the Heart wants.

mark s posted:

Chicago, Burlington & Quincy RR's management cast a vote for their most beautiful diesel. 

In 1956, the Q received from the builder the last full length U.S. streamlined passenger train, the all-new stainless steel Denver Zephyr. They ran the new DZ across the major divisions of the road, to acquaint the public with this new travel option. What diesels did they use to pull the train? Not the relatively new E8's and 9's; not the 10 year old E7's. Why, they used their 16 year old shovel-nose, stainless steel E5's !!

I'm with Mark! E5's are in a league of their own!

There are a lot of good answers here.  But my favorite design still has to be the Baldwin Sharks.  They impressed me the first time I saw one, and they still do.

In my opinion any of the "Sharks" top my list due to their stylish lines.

And another diesel that I'm sure will get some hisses is the EMD BL-2's. Especially in the Chesapeake and Ohio livery. 

mackb4 posted:

And another diesel that I'm sure will get some hisses is the EMD BL-2's. Especially in the Chesapeake and Ohio livery. 

You won't get any hisses from me.  Although I don't consider them tops for looks, I've always found them appealing.  I only wish the PRR had owned a few -- it would have been interesting to see if the Pennsylvania would have tried to put their five-stripe paint scheme on the BL2's slab sides.

Two words ---- "Daylight Special"

Michael Hokkanen posted:

Two words ---- "Daylight Special"

OK but, what diesel is THAT?

AGHRMatt posted:

I have to concur that the PA (and to a lesser extent the FA) have the most beautiful design. Amazing, considering how far back the design goes. For some reason, modern diesel manufacturers seem to start out well with their passenger diesels, then find some way to ugly them up at the last minute.

Modern passenger locomotives are coyote ugly.

They don't even look decent at 3:00 AM while wearing beer goggles.

Balshis posted:

mackb4 posted:

And another diesel that I'm sure will get some hisses is the EMD BL-2's. Especially in the Chesapeake and Ohio livery. 

You won't get any hisses from me.  Although I don't consider them tops for looks, I've always found them appealing.  I only wish the PRR had owned a few -- it would have been interesting to see if the Pennsylvania would have tried to put their five-stripe paint scheme on the BL2's slab sides.

I like the BL2, myself.  They have character, and, someday, one will be wearing Razorback red.  And a discreetly placed trolley pole or two.  ;-) 

Mitch 

I liked the SDP40F with the big red nose!

NS6770Fan posted:

You guys forgot this amazing loco. UP 1943.

Let me help your picture above with mine I took from a drive-by in Seattle.

https://www.bing.com/images/se...dex=0&ajaxhist=0

John Pignatelli JR. posted:

 

 

 

 

 

 

#1

Yes I am highly prejudice, The Heart wants what the Heart wants.

Too bad those two units ended up how they did, It would be nice to have a pair of operational and clean Tuscan 5 stripe E units running around with Bennett Levin’s.

No right answer when you ask anyone what the most beautiful anything is. The miles you've walked and the things you've done influence all you do and think.  My Father was in the Air Force and we lived in Biloxi,  MS. from 1957 ~1963. Dad and I would often fish on the bay side of the L&N RR's bridge over Biloxi bay and many a time the Hummingbird would come by with us sitting in our boat 50-60 foot from the bridge near the same place this Robert West painting is centered. Though I love many modern locomotives they are designed with function first and formost.  I find it hard to call any of them beautiful even with striking paint and graphics to me they never rise above the old saying "Lipstick on a pig".  The first generation passenger diesels were specifically designed to look sleek and modern. No amount of eye catching livery can bring the modern US locomotive to the level of beauty these first generation passenger diesels attained.  j

JohnActon posted:

No right answer when you ask anyone what the most beautiful anything is. The miles you've walked and the things you've done influence all you do and think.  My Father was in the Air Force and we lived in Biloxi,  MS. from 1957 ~1963. Dad and I would often fish on the bay side of the L&N RR's bridge over Biloxi bay and many a time the Hummingbird would come by with us sitting in our boat 50-60 foot from the bridge near the same place this Robert West painting is centered. Though I love many modern locomotives they are designed with function first and formost.  I find it hard to call any of them beautiful even with striking paint and graphics to me they never rise above the old saying "Lipstick on a pig".  The first generation passenger diesels were specifically designed to look sleek and modern. No amount of eye catching livery can bring the modern US locomotive to the level of beauty these first generation passenger diesels attained.  j

Agreed!

I'm gonna throw FM C-Liners in as a runner up to my first choice:

Rusty

This thread needs a companion piece for the UGLIest DIESELS EVER to "grace" American rails. Trouble is, there would be too many entries. One thing I DO NOT understand is the supposed "BIG SAVINGS" from not putting nice paint jobs on modern locos. Really? It saves that much money for Norfolk Southern to paint their locomotives to match an inner city tenement housing project? All black with that white horse? Ugh. And that's ALL ewe ever see around Pittsburgh. It's sad.

Don Merz

A side bar to JohnActon's post, that Robert West has done some really nice train paintings.

After 1st generation hood units, the styling of diesel bodies died. One exception is  the ugliest diesel ever, the BL type.

Bobby Ogage posted:

After 1st generation hood units, the styling of diesel bodies died. One exception is  the ugliest diesel ever, the BL type.

Of course, that is just your opinion!

EBT Jim posted:

Glamorous models don't do much for me. I find the cute, sweet girl next door much more attractive ….

Baby Face Baldwin.

(Fuzz's ornery ALCO unit sure is handsome.  )

Despite having a face only a mother could love, I'm still looking for these to be made in 2 rail.  Probably would need two A-B-B-A sets, one in deep sea green and yellow as shown, and one in delivery scheme of orange and blue.  Remember them fondly.

Don Merz 070317 posted:

This thread needs a companion piece for the UGLIest DIESELS EVER to "grace" American rails. Trouble is, there would be too many entries. One thing I DO NOT understand is the supposed "BIG SAVINGS" from not putting nice paint jobs on modern locos. Really? It saves that much money for Norfolk Southern to paint their locomotives to match an inner city tenement housing project? All black with that white horse? Ugh. And that's ALL ewe ever see around Pittsburgh. It's sad.

Don Merz

 

As NS has more than one ore two locomotives, the cost of painting (preparation, paint, masking material, labor, disposal) quickly adds up...

Rusty

Here at Train Mountain we tried to decide and just couldn't make up our minds!    Russ

EMD GP60...............

EBT Jim posted:

Glamorous models don't do much for me. I find the cute, sweet girl next door much more attractive ….

 

There is sommat to be said for that... 

Mitch 

Lest we forget some of the smaller roads with F units... The maroon and gold scheme of the Soo Line is hard to beat in my opinion. All pictures taken by me this fall on the National Narrow gauge convention charter on the NSSR.

M. Mitchell Marmel posted:

Let's not be limited to American prototypes...  

Mitch 

While we're in double-cab mode, there's always the DP-1 prototype British Deltic (1955). I think this paint scheme and headlight was for a non-starter attempt at export sales. Kinda purty.

Bandomnjr posted:

Lest we forget some of the smaller roads with F units... The maroon and gold scheme of the Soo Line is hard to beat in my opinion. All pictures taken by me this fall on the National Narrow gauge convention charter on the NSSR.

Nice looking engine

Two of the paint schemes to ever grace an F-unit...