Oh, I'm sorry, I thought they did?

And Farmer Bill... Don't forget to "Eat Fresh"!

We have heritage units, does that count? The Acela has also been wrapped a few times. It's hard to do all of the fun stuff that other countries with better rail systems than us do, since it comes down to how the US is laid out and what makes financial sense for Amtrak and the government.

prrhorseshoecurve posted:

Oh, I'm sorry, I thought they did?

And Farmer Bill... Don't forget to "Eat Fresh"!

 

This is the first time that I have seen any of these Amtrak paint schemes.  I have mixed feelings about advertising on the side of trains other than railroad logos.  NH Joe

The LT car makes me ask:  Is it duck or wabbit season?

Missed those Amtrak wraps somehow. But those commercials aren’t quite the same as cartoons. 

I get the reasoning behind decorating the rolling stock and locos with ads, they bring in money.  It's being done in Europe also.  But being the purist that I am about things like architecture, trains and buses, I am not impressed.  I like the old days of railroading where pure design was celebrated.  Much hard work goes into the designing of transportation vehicles.  Then someone decides to slather them with advertisement.  

Just think of GG1s, F3s, Dreyfus Hudsons, etc., with garish artwork all over them.  Why go through the effort of designing locomotives and buses if you're going to hide the design behind ads.  Simply build a box if you want to use it as a billboard.  

Dan Padova posted:

I get the reasoning behind decorating the rolling stock and locos with ads, they bring in money.  It's being done in Europe also.  But being the purist that I am about things like architecture, trains and buses, I am not impressed.  I like the old days of railroading where pure design was celebrated.  Much hard work goes into the designing of transportation vehicles.  Then someone decides to slather them with advertisement.  

Just think of GG1s, F3s, Dreyfus Hudsons, etc., with garish artwork all over them.  Why go through the effort of designing locomotives and buses if you're going to hide the design behind ads.  Simply build a box if you want to use it as a billboard.  

The difference IMO is that the design isn't really ruined by the ads. The design isn't anything special, and all that's really being replaced is the branding. 

How about the Rexall steam locomotive?  Timken Four Aces?  Not many, but they were out there.

From billboard reefers to Amtrak billboard passenger cars... I like it. WB cartoons were the best! 

Good point about the old billboard reefers and the like, trains did have advertising in the day, albeit in different ways.  Given that trains are there to do something, like get people or merchandise from point A to Point B, and especially with passenger service every amount of revenue counts, having ads on trains makes a lot of sense, that extra revenue can help make a difference to keep them viable.

I'm a 76 year-old purist. I wish the Amtrak trains looked like PRR Fleet of Modernism.

We've got quite a bit of it here in the NY metro area, NYCTA, NJ Transit and etc all have done it. Would seem to make more sense with the higher passenger density and the ability to target ads based on the geography of the train/bus route.

That Hello Kitty Shinkansen is priceless, not to mention cute!  

Joe Hohmann posted:

I'm a 76 year-old purist. I wish the Amtrak trains looked like PRR Fleet of Modernism.

Right on Joe.  Has anyone ever thought about the distraction ads make ?   Not only do we have texting drivers, but roadside billboards that change ads !!!!!   Just one more thing to make you look three times because you didn't finish reading the previous ad !!!!!   But we also have buses and trains that want to tell us stores while we drive.  I wonder how many of us, on the road, are really paying attention to the task at hand.

My apologies to any thread drift.  

Listen, I love humor and fantasy as much as the next bloke.  But like Joe, I am a purist when it comes to my trains and for that matter Amtrak's trains as well.  The Looney Tunes LGB ICE trains don't appeal to me.  Neither do replicas of graffiti on our toy/model trains.  Just my opinions.  And you know what they say about opinions.....LOL

Really, there are so many wrapped items no one pays attention.  If companies took that money and lowered their prices a bit, I might buy more. Maybe if CEO's, BOD members and marketing staff actually got out of there air conditioned offices and went and observed how people do NOT react to their marketing, things might change.

Lighten up guys - you are showing your age! I am 75 but try not to act like it! LOL!

Tinplate Art posted:

Lighten up guys - you are showing your age! I am 75 but try not to act like it! LOL!

I'm not sure what this has to do with transportation hardware being wrapped in advertisements. How about TV advertising with brief program breaks?

Joe Hohmann posted:

Tinplate Art posted:

Lighten up guys - you are showing your age! I am 75 but try not to act like it! LOL!

I'm not sure what this has to do with transportation hardware being wrapped in advertisements. How about TV advertising with brief program breaks?

I timed an episode of "Smallville" on the WB once.  35 minutes of program surrounded by 25 minutes of commercials.

Rusty

Amtrak should concentrate on running a safe railroad and not painting cars.

eddie g posted:

Amtrak should concentrate on running a safe railroad and not painting cars.

It's not paint, it's a "wrap."  Basically a big decal.

And it's revenue that can possibly help with the costs of safety upgrades.

Rusty

prrhorseshoecurve posted:

Oh, I'm sorry, I thought they did?

And Farmer Bill... Don't forget to "Eat Fresh"!

 

We need an Acela veterans unit not a Cake boss heritage unit. 

It won't be long now before the graffiti artist do away with their rattle cans and start advertising their nicknames with a wrap. I wonder how long, how many cans of paint, and the cost, for HAMEK, to paint this refer.

@T1Titan_ZachF posted:

prrhorseshoecurve posted:

Oh, I'm sorry, I thought they did?

And Farmer Bill... Don't forget to "Eat Fresh"!

 

We need an Acela veterans unit not a Cake boss heritage unit. 

Why do they need an Acela Veterans unit? There's already 4 Veterans units, and a Cake boss wrap makes them extra money.

My opinion, take it or leave it that is your choice. All the major railroads advertise, yes it is their own company, but it is still a type of advertisement. They don't really need to put the company name on their locomotives. Why else would they put the logo on the engines. If one really thinks about it we are bombarded with advertisements with branding and such.

Why do you think companies put so much money in branding. It is a way to advertise the company.  

I thought railroads had to put the CURRENT Reporting Marks, on the cab sides and front of the locomotive.   Gave rise to many patch units.  The UP Heritage locomotives have UP on the cab front and sides, even though it is painted for the MKT/Katy.  The NS unis have simular markings.

At one time before these rules, SP had units so covered with dirt and soot that you could not tell who owned it, much less its number.  Made Pig Pen look like Mr. Clean!

tcochran posted:

They don't really need to put the company name on their locomotives. Why else would they put the logo on the engines.

Pride in their company? Or is that concept dead?