Steam locomotives Prairie locomotive, preserved at
Las Vegas, New Mexico, since 1956 The Santa Fe operated a large and varied fleet of
steam locomotives. In 1899, the company owned 1,036 locomotives. Among them was the
2-10-2 "Santa Fe", originally built for the railroad by
Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1903. The railroad would ultimately end up with the largest fleet of them, at over 300. Other types included
4-4-2 Atlantics,
2-6-0 Moguls,
2-8-0 Consolidations,
2-8-2 Mikados,
2-10-0 Decapods,
2-6-2 Prairies,
4-8-4 Heavy-Mountains,
4-6-4 Heavy-Pacifics,
4-6-2 Pacifics,
4-8-2 Mountains,
2-8-4 Berkshires, and
2-10-4 Texas. The railroad also operated a fleet of heavy articulated
Mallet locomotives, including
1158 class 2-6-6-2s,
2-8-8-0s,
2-10-10-2s,
2-8-8-2s, and the rare
4-4-6-2. The railroad retired its last steam locomotive in 1959. During the twentieth century, all but one of these was painted black, with white unit numbers on the sand domes and three sides of the tender. Cab sides were lettered "AT&SF", also in white. The subsidiary Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe often painted all or part of the smokebox (between the boiler and the headlight) white or silver. In 1940, the circle and cross emblem was applied to the tenders of a few passenger locomotives, but these were all later painted over. After World War II, "Santa Fe" appeared on tender sides of mainline road locomotives in white, above the unit number. Locomotives were delivered from Baldwin with white paint on the wheel rims, but the road did not repaint these "whitewalls" after shopping the locomotives. After World WarII, side rods and valve gear were painted chrome yellow. For a short time, Pacific types 1369 and 1376 were semi-streamlined for "
Valley Flyer" service, with a unique paint scheme in colors similar to those used on the new passenger diesels. Unique was the two-tone light blue over royal blue scheme of streamlined Hudson type
3460.
Diesel locomotives Passenger in the original
Golden Olive scheme in 1935 Santa Fe's first set of diesel-electric passenger locomotives was placed in service on the
Super Chief in 1936 and consisted of a pair of blunt-nosed units (
EMC 1800 hp B-B) designated as Nos. 1 and 1A. The upper portion of the sides and ends of the units were painted gold, while the lower section was a dark olive-green color; an olive stripe also ran along the sides and widened as it crossed the front of the locomotive. Riveted to the sides of the units were metal plaques bearing a large "Indian Head"
logo, which owed its origin to the 1926
Chief "
drumhead" logo. "
Super Chief" was emblazoned on a plaque located on the front. The rooftop was light slate gray, rimmed by a red pinstripe. This unique combination of colors was called the
Golden Olive paint scheme. Before entering service,
Sterling McDonald's
General Motors Styling Department augmented the look with the addition of red and blue striping along both the sides and ends of the units in order to enhance their appearance. in the
Warbonnet scheme in 1938 In a little over a year, the EMC E1 (a new and improved streamlined locomotive) would be pulling the
Super Chief and other passenger consists, resplendent in the now-famous
Warbonnet paint scheme devised by
Leland Knickerbocker of the GM Art and Color Section. Its design was protected under a U.S.
design patent, granted on November9, 1937. It is reminiscent of a
Native American ceremonial
head-dress. The scheme consisted of a red "bonnet" that wrapped around the front of the unit and was bordered by a yellow stripe and black pinstripe. The extent of the bonnet varied according to the locomotive model and was largely determined by the shape and length of the car body. The remainder of the unit was either painted silver or was composed of stainless-steel panels. All units wore a nose emblem consisting of an elongated yellow "Circle and Cross" emblem with integral "tabs" on the nose and the sides, outlined and accented with black pinstripes, with variances according to the locomotive model. "SANTA FE" was displayed on the horizontal limb of the cross in black,
Art Deco-style lettering. This emblem has come to be known as the "
cigar band" due to its uncanny resemblance to the same. On all but the "
Erie-built" units (which were essentially run as a demonstrator set),
GE U28CG,
GE U30CG, and
FP45 units, a three-part yellow and black stripe ran up the nose behind the band. A "Circle and Cross" motif (consisting of a yellow field, with red quadrants, outlined in black) was painted around the side windows on "as-delivered" E1 units. Similar designs were added to
E3s,
E6s, the DL109/110 locomotive set, and ATSF 1A after it was rebuilt and repainted. The sides of the units typically bore the words "SANTA FE" in black, 5"– or 9"–high extra extended Railroad Roman letters, as well as the "Indian Head" logo, with a few notable exceptions.
Railway identity on diesel locomotives in passenger service: Source: Pelouze, Richard W. (1997).
Trademarks of the Santa Fe Railway. The Santa Fe Railway Historical and Modeling Society, Inc., Highlands Ranch, Colorado, pp. 47–50. In later years, Santa Fe adapted the scheme to its gas-electric "
doodlebug" units. The standard for all of Santa Fe's passenger locomotives, the
Warbonnet is considered by many to be the most-recognized corporate logo in the railroad industry. Early after Amtrak's inception in 1971, Santa Fe embarked on a program to repaint the red bonnet on its F units that were still engaged in hauling passenger consists with yellow (also called
Yellowbonnets) or dark blue (nicknamed
Bluebonnets), as it no longer wanted to project the image of a passenger carrier.
Freight , decorated in the "Cat Whiskers" scheme, enters service during
World War II. Diesels used as switchers between 1935 and 1960 were painted black, with just a thin white or silver horizontal accent stripe (the sills were painted similarly). The letters "A.T.& S.F." were applied in a small font centered on the sides of the unit, as was the standard blue and white "Santa Fe" box logo. After
World War II, diagonal white or silver stripes were added to the ends and cab sides to increase the visibility at grade crossings (typically referred to as the
Zebra Stripe scheme). "A.T.& S.F." was now placed along the sides of the unit just above the accent stripe, with the blue and white "Santa Fe" box logo below. Due to the lack of abundant water sources in the American desert, the Santa Fe Railway was among the first railroads to receive large numbers of streamlined diesel locomotives for use in freight service, in the form of the
EMD FT. For the first group of FTs, delivered between December 1940 and March 1943 (#100–#119), the railroad selected a color scheme consisting of dark blue accented by a pale yellow stripe up the nose, and pale yellow highlights around the cab and along the mesh and framing of openings in the sides of the engine compartment; a thin red stripe separated the blue areas from the yellow. #103 (an
Alco model
RS-2) now bears #2098 and the
Zebra Stripe scheme. The words "SANTA FE" were applied in yellow in a 5"–high extended font, and centered on the nose was the "Santa Fe" box logo (initially consisting of a blue cross, circle, and square painted on a solid
bronze sheet, but subsequently changed to baked steel sheets painted bronze with the blue identifying elements applied on top). Three thin, pale-yellow stripes (known as
Cat Whiskers) extended from the nose logo around the cab sides. In January 1951, Santa Fe revised the scheme to consist of three yellow stripes running up the nose, with the addition of a blue and yellow
Cigar Band (similar in size and shape to that applied to passenger units); the blue background and elongated yellow "SANTA FE" lettering were retained. The years 1960 to 1972 saw non-streamlined freight locomotives sporting the "Billboard" color scheme (sometimes referred to as the "Bookends" or "Pinstripe" scheme), where the units were predominantly dark blue with yellow ends and trim, with a single yellow accent pinstripe. The words "Santa Fe" were applied in yellow in large bold serif letters (logotype) to the sides of the locomotive below the accent stripe (save for
yard switchers which displayed the "SANTA FE" in small yellow letters above the accent stripe, somewhat akin to the
Zebra Stripe arrangement). In late 1975 and early 1976, on the occasion of the
United States Bicentennial, Santa Fe repainted five SD45-2s with a special Bicentennial scheme at its San Bernardino Shops. These locomotives, numbered #5700 to #5704 mainly they were placed at the front of the
Super C high priority freight trains operating between Chicago and Los Angeles, although they were also seen leading the
American Freedom Train's national tour on the Santa Fe lines and also participated in special events such as the grand opening, that same year 1976, of the new Railroad's Barstow Classification Yard. In the early 1980s these units were repainted in the company's standard blue and yellow scheme. From 1972 to 1996, and even on into the BNSF era, the company adopted a new paint scheme often known among railfans as the "Freightbonnet" or "Yellowbonnet", which placed more yellow on the locomotives (reminiscent of the company's retired
Warbonnet scheme); the goal again was to ensure higher visibility at grade crossings. The truck assemblies, previously colored black, now received silver paint. switcher in the
Billboard scheme in 1966 In 1965, the road took delivery of ten
GE U28CG dual service
road switcher locomotives equally suited to passenger or fast freight service. These wore a variation of the "Warbonnet" scheme in which the black and yellow separating stripes disappeared. The "Santa Fe" name was emblazoned on the sides in large black letters, using the same stencils used on freight engines; these were soon repainted in red. In 1989, Santa Fe resurrected this version of the "Warbonnet" scheme and applied it to two SDFP45 units, #5992 and #5998. The units were re-designated as #101 and #102 and reentered service on July4, 1989, as part of the new "Super Fleet" campaign (the first Santa Fe units to be so decorated for freight service). The six remaining FP45 units were thereafter similarly repainted and renumbered. From that point forward, most new locomotives wore red and silver, and many retained this scheme after the
Burlington Northern Santa Fe merger, some with "BNSF" displayed across their sides. For the initial deliveries of factory-new "Super Fleet" equipment, Santa Fe took delivery of the
EMD GP60M and
General Electric B40-8W which made the Santa Fe the only US
Class I railroad to operate new 4-axle (B-B) freight locomotives equipped with the
North American Safety Cab intended for high-speed intermodal service. Several experimental and commemorative paint schemes emerged during the Santa Fe's diesel era. One combination was developed and partially implemented in anticipation of a merger between the parent companies of the Santa Fe and
Southern Pacific (SP) railroads in 1984. The red, yellow, and black paint scheme with large yellow block letters on the sides and ends of the units of the proposed
Southern Pacific Santa Fe Railroad (SPSF) has come to be somewhat derisively known among
railfans as the
Kodachrome livery, due to the similarity in colors to the boxes containing slide film sold by the
Eastman Kodak Company under the same name. Santa Fe units repainted in this scheme were labeled "SF", Southern Pacific units "SP", and some (presumably new) units wore the letters "SPSF". After the ICC's denial of the merger, railfans joked that SPSF really stood for "Shouldn't Paint So Fast." File:42Richmond yd - Flickr - drewj1946.jpg|
Warbonnet roof details on top of an EMD F7 File:43C at San Diego 04 06 68 sm - Flickr - drewj1946.jpg|ATSF EMD F7 in 1968, displaying the "SANTA FE" in black Railroad Roman letters along each side File:Santa Fe 98.jpg|Santa Fe #98 (originally #108), an
EMD FP45 decked out in
Warbonnet colors, including the traditional "cigar band" nose emblem File:ATSF 108 at Southern California Railway Museum.jpg|ATSF 108 at
Southern California Railway Museum, repainted into its original colors File:ATSF 681.jpg|Santa Fe #681 in Sealy Texas in June 2001 File:Santa Fe Super Chief.jpg|The L.A.-bound
Super Chief gets its 5-minute pit-stop service in Albuquerque in 1943 File:ATSF Downhhill Caliente Aug 90xRP (7701632638).jpg|ATSF 9542 in
Kodachrome leads other locomotives in the
Freightbonnet livery in 1990 == Preserved locomotives ==