Kato doing new run of El Cap included PAs and F7s. Also Gold Bonnet PA.

[wcfn100]

New run of the El Capitan for early 2019 with locos.

Also this -



http://www.katousa.com/N/PA/index.html

Jason

[Point353]

Still waiting for Kato to produce their Alco PA/PB models in PRR tuscan red.

[wazzou]

It's a 2nd tier Railroad. 

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Was the ATSF trying to channel its inner Tyco?

[thomasjmdavis]

So what is the story behind the "Goldbonnet"?  50th anniversary of ????

Do I have an excuse for one of these?  (Do I need an excuse?)

Goldbonnet aside, more PAs is always a good thing.

[Jbub]

So what is the story behind the "Goldbonnet"?  50th anniversary of ????

Do I have an excuse for one of these?  (Do I need an excuse?)

Goldbonnet aside, more PAs is always a good thing.

Yes, you need an excuse.
I'm sure I'll get burned at the stake for this but that is the ugliest paint job I've seen on a loco. 

[Point353]

It's a 2nd tier Railroad. 

That must explain why there is a present day railroad called BNSF instead of SFBN.

[nscalbitz]

Yes, you need an excuse.
I'm sure I'll get burned at the stake for this but that is the ugliest paint job I've seen on a loco. 

___ was freeelancing for a part in GoldFinGer... ????

[C855B]

The gold scheme was very short lived, IIRC, for a single commemorative or promotional run. Faded memory from reading about it many years ago was the train originated in San Diego and ran to Texas, probably Dallas or Fort Worth, and return. "California Special", maybe? I might be confusing this part of the story with another commemorative train, but it was repainted back to red nearly immediately. I'm going to e-mail a Santa Fe historian buddy about it. He'll know.

[James Costello]

That must explain why there is a present day railroad called BNSF instead of SFBN.

Big New Santa Fe 

[Simon D.]

Quick search:

This was part of a promotional train painted up for General Electric. In February of 1960, one PA along with a baggage car and three lounge cars were painted gold for GEs "Golden Values" promotion campaign in Southern California. The train ran between Los Angeles, Pasadena, San Bernardino, Fullerton and San Diego. Then the locomotive and the four cars were returned to their normal paint schemes.

[thomasjmdavis]

Thanks Simon D.

As usual with my computer, when I did a search, all I got were models in different scales (Google has spent too much time tracking my purchases to show me a prototype photo or link).

[C855B]

Tom, I also searched not using Google (I use DuckDuckGo, which does not pre-load the search with affinity history), and also found no images of the prototype. That's why I had to "phone a friend".

His response: "The 53L got the Gold Finger treatment for a General Electric promotion." OK, that filled the memory gap, I recalled correctly, although I'm not remembering the year. It was a one-time thing, painted for the San Diego to Dallas "California Special" round trip in the gold scheme, and repainted immediately back to red when it returned. What I don't recall are the specifics about the train consist. Sure, the model would be fun to have, but incredibly time-specific as it was in gold for about two weeks IIRC. Maybe an interesting loco to run at a train show along with the story behind it, but not something I'd want on my layout because of the period factor.

As to the fruitless searches, historic rail images are IMO getting harder and harder to find as owners of said images understand they have value. Once the image is online, that pretty much means it's useless for book or magazine publication. Unique images are a big driver behind hard-copy sales.

[thomasjmdavis]

Mike- I also use DuckDuckGo- but honestly, I think all it really does is to give the Google results without some of the Google tracking. For that matter, I also get more or less the same results with a Yahoo search.

Thanks for the additional info.  It is out of my timeframe as well, and I have enough needs for locos and equipment as is.  Well, of course, "needs" is the wrong word. My money will be better spent on one more PB-1 in red warbonnet, or, better yet, a couple of those new Lunde buildings.

[peteski]

Simon D. provided some good info too.  I wonder where he found it and what search string he used to find that info?