Lee's Going to Kill Me

[Mark5]

When Chessie System was new I greatly disliked it. Me and my railhead friends referred to it as "Cheesie System".

Now that CS is long gone (replaced by the cryptic "CSX"), I kinda miss it.

Mark

[3rdrail]

As someone who was in his thirties in the 1970's, I can assure you there were no executives on the Chessie in their 30's, they were all WW II vets at that time. IIRC Chessie System paid some Madison Avenue firm to dream up the color scheme. Personally, I thought the use of the kitten in the letter "C" was a clever play on a very well known C&O advertising symbol. Never did like the colors, though. The original B&O Diesel colors and scheme looked regal, while Chessie reminded one of a box of detergent...

Now CSX has gone back to the pre-Chessie C&O scheme. Cheap to apply, I guess.

[Puddington]

Um...ah... it was a joke...... :-\

[wm3798]

As was the paint scheme itself! ;D

Is it true that the MultiMark is based on the smile of a Canadian hockey player?  Some white, but a lot of black in between??!!

 ;D
L

[Bob Bufkin]

Lee's on a roll today ain't he.  Considering what it probably cost to paint their locos, it does seem weird that they chose to paint them that way.  Don't think they were making that much money for frivilous things like fancy paint.  Even in those days, the N&W and Southern were using basic black just like NS today.

[Mark5]

Here's some salt for Lee's open wounds:

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[davefoxx]

Lee's on a roll today ain't he.  Considering what it probably cost to paint their locos, it does seem weird that they chose to paint them that way.  Don't think they were making that much money for frivilous things like fancy paint.  Even in those days, the N&W and Southern were using basic black just like NS today.

It was basically an advertising/marketing decision.  Look at the size of the "Santa Fe" on the side of their locomotives back in the 1960s and 1970s.  I believe that I read that the Santa Fe logo was an inspiration for the huge "Chessie System" on the side of their locomotives.  

Dave

[victor miranda]

nice gp9? Is it a heritige scheme?

ya'll know mercy does not seem to be on the options list.
poor lee....
victor

[Bob Bufkin]

Oh hell, just to be mean:








In all fairness to Lee, I also used to call it the Cheesie System just as today I call CSX - sucks!

[davefoxx]

I'll be brutally honest here.  The Chessie scheme really doesn't bother me that much.  It is what I grew up with here in Cecil County, Maryland on the former B&O Philly Subdivision.  But that steam locomotive is god-awful.  Dare I say FUGLY?

Dave

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I have no issue with Chessie, in fact, I kinda like it (I remember seeing just a brief glimpse in the Philly area before CSX repainted it all. I also kinda dig the scheme. It's bold.

But I also understand the reasons behind Lee's hatred. It KILLED his railroad, much moreso than it did the B&O or C&O, and much more so than my frame of reference, NS & CSX's takeovers of CR.

[wm3798]

Think of that broad down in Lusby with the two kids in the freezer...  That's Chessie to me...  "Sure I'll adopt you, and take care of you"  Then POW... next thing you know you're staring blankly at the Eggo's...

[sirenwerks]

I grew up with the Chessie System in Ellicott City in the mid-70s and originally had a love/hate thing with it. The dumbed down use of primary colors kinda turned me off, always reminded me of a box of Crayolas and since I was about 9 when I first moved to Maryland, I was trying desperately to outgrow the coloring schtick.

I think I would have latched onto it then had they chosen WM's circus scheme to repaint everything in. But come on Lee, the black and yellow's a snoozer. It's so Model A, so transition era. And I know the two schemes combined make up the Maryland colors but so few people make that connection...

Yet, we all grow up and now I like the black and yellow thing, on the Canton switchers. And the Chessie's rainbow keeps tugging at me. Between the colorfulness and the concentration of early 4 axle power I grew up with twisting along the Patapsco, I keep thinking I should revert to my childhood. And the cat? Who can resist a cat?

(BTW - if this seems a bit flowery, blame the pain killers. I sprained my right foot last week and it's now just coming down to the size of a watermelon. My best friends are schedule II synthetic opiates, and ice.)

[3rdrail]

With credit to Bob Bufkin:



The above is a Beethoven symphony compared to the three year old on a kazoo represented by the Chessie System scheme.

[sirenwerks]

But paint schemes are like locos. They get old, wear out in the communal mind, are subject to real economies and relegated to museums. Let's face it, at that time, the Chessie System scheme was daring and had an impact in the coal gray communities it served, a bit of cheeriness.

Personally, my favorite color scheme is the green scheme applied to Erie E units and while I have never been a fan of that shade of blue I think the B&M's McGuiness scheme graphically takes the cake.