Source of "Omaha" Orange

[Missaberoad]

Over in the Rapido/Centralia prototype thread @nkalanaga wondered why Great Northern's orange was refered to as Omaha orange. It got me wondering and digging and I found a reference that claims Allied Van Lines is the source of the moniker.

Allied’s distinctive orange color was the product of necessity rather than design. Legend has it that when the company was formed in the late ’20s, there was a lengthy discussion on how their trucks would be identified. Charter agent Ray Ford, of Ford Brothers Van & Storage, had a solution: orange. Prior to joining Allied, Ford had been painting his own trucks bright orange, simply because it was the least expensive paint he could find in his native Omaha. The other charter agents could find no fault with this selection, and Omaha orange became the rage…and Allied vans have stood out proudly from all others ever since.

From: http://www.tonkaclub.nl/TonkaClub/allied_van_lines.htm

Great Northern's Omaha Orange is a much different shade from the Safety orange Allied uses however, seems only the name was borrowed...

[nkalanaga]

Interesting, and possible.  Maybe "Omaha" orange was a type of paint, rather than a specific color, and multiple companies originally used it, before the big manufacturers dominated the market.  Too bad it's a different color, though, as vehicle model paints might have been another source for GN modelers.

[Missaberoad]

Interesting, and possible.  Maybe "Omaha" orange was a type of paint, rather than a specific color, and multiple companies originally used it, before the big manufacturers dominated the market.  Too bad it's a different color, though, as vehicle model paints might have been another source for GN modelers.

I got excited originally because Omaha orange is another name for safety orange found on your nearest construction sign, or 1970s muscle car. But comparing the rgb numbers to the one on the GNHS it is a very different colour.

It is pretty likely that General Motors picked up the name tho. Since I imagine they designed the scheme rather then Great Northern.

[nkalanaga]

The GM connection makes sense.  The first use of the green and orange I can find is on the first order of FTs, with GN diesels being black before then, so it sounds like GM designed it.  I know they designed a lot of the early diesel schemes, which also explains why so many striping patterns look similar, with only the colors changing.