Rock Island red boiler engines

Apparently 4-8-4 #5040 was given a red boiler for the 1933/34 Century of Progress Exhibition in Chicago. It was short lived and she resumed engine black livery thereafter.

Two M50a 4-8-2's (#'s 4047/oil burning and 4055/coal)  received red boiler jackets at the time of the locomotives' modernization at the Silvis Shops, 1944-45,  and for trains going to a major security conference being conducted in San Francisco in April 1945. It was initially proposed that the two locomotives pull the Golden State, but it appears that never materialized. I would imagine the rapidly dieselizing Rock Island stuck with diesels for their premier passenger trains, as WWII wound down. For the conference trains, the coal burning 4-8-2 operated Chicago-Kansas City and the oil burner picked up the Tucumcari, NM leg.  Both were back in locomotive black in a few months.  

These were exceedingly handsome locomotives, as were the rock Island's two classes of 4-8-4's - - - Sunset 3rd Rail.......maybe??

"Remember the Rock" (Andover Junction Publications) documented the red locomotives nicely in Vol. 2, No. 3, Fall 2005.

Had no idea.  If it helps, the red and silver Golden State and Golden Rocket cars were seen in 1949 and 1950 behind steam, both black and Daylight colors, in Southern Arizona.

Here are some pictures of them in HO from Division point.

Thanks for the input. Mark that's gold, thank you. Gonna keep an eye out for that issue. Yeah 3rd rail is pretty much my only hope now. An R-67 in both black and red would be amazing, and a nice follow up to the TA's granted they came in right after in 1937.

Hyper rare and beautiful engines

SANTIAGOP23 posted:

 Yeah 3rd rail is pretty much my only hope now. An R-67 in both black and red would be amazing.

And that's what I thought in asking Scott to do a Santa Fe Prairie, 2-6-2...

...in either the 1000 or1050 class, or (personal preference) the 1800 class.

In fairness, Scott tried....listed it for reservations albeit without designating which class would be selected.  After a year or so of floating the possibility...without adequate reservations..., the option was taken down.

The above engine was painted up in this snazzy coloration for some GE sales campaign in southern California, as I recall.  Short lived, in that get-up, however.  Hard to imagine what the heck this perversion of a steam engine had to do with General Electric southern California sales.  

Lawdy, Lawdy....my how gawdy!!

OTOH, those white sidewalls and in-your-face cylinder covers in white?.....kinda grows on you after a while.  Hey, if Scott had done this class, and ol' number 1010 in RED  I'd have plunked down some cash.  Why not?

So, hope you have better luck in realizing your wish!

KD

Getting fuzzy - I am sure I did a RI Mountain or Northern.  I think the boiler was CLW.  Not sure about the frame.  Allan Goldsby helped with the parts, and the tender had to be scratch.  It is out there somewhere.  Sold at auction recently.

david1 posted:

Here are some pictures of them in HO from Division point.

Label seems to have added an extra axle?

Nice looking loco!

The labels were always a treat Jim, the Koreans always manage to add little fun things like “casted by OCS”.. to them it’s all Greek. 

I have one of those DVP red boiler M-50’s. They are nice. 

Anything Sae Ho makes is second to none. 

Jack is doing the K’s in HOn3 with Boo-Rim and Jimmy Booth’s masterful drawings from PBL are going to be involved. Imagine a Sn3 PBL Foreground Model Scaled down to HOn3. At $2400 a model I suppose they should be nice. I can’t wait to see the pilot samples from Sae Ho in a few months. 

Never seen those....kinda cool!!! thx

R67b 4-8-4 #5040 noted above as having it's boiler jacket painted red for the Chicago Century of Progress fair, was the only early series RI 4-8-4 outfitted entirely with boxpok drivers.

Big Jim posted:

david1 posted:

Here are some pictures of them in HO from Division point.

Label seems to have added an extra axle?

Nice looking loco!

.....added extra to the label that is.

That  is 4-8-2. and the 4055 is noted above as being a 4-8-2 coal.

Very interesting! I've always loved seeing a big steam locomotive painted in a color other than traditional engine black. Absolutely terrific and handsome looking steam engine even though it was never in regular service on the Rock Island. I would definitely be tempted to purchase one in O scale if 3rd rail or another importer decided to do one. One can always dream...........

Count me in for a Rock Island 4-8-2.  And a Rock island 5100 class 4-8-4