News & Reviews News Wire Great Lakes Central introduces a new look

Great Lakes Central introduces a new look

By David Lassen | October 18, 2024

| Last updated on October 25, 2024


NYC-inspired design debuts on Michigan’s largest regional line

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Freshly painted blue diesel next to tree in full fall colors
Great Lakes Central Railroad SD40-2 No. 329, displaying the railroad’s new paint scheme, crosses South Chipman and Mack streets in Owosso, Mich., as the southbound turn to Ithaca, Mich., arrives in the railroad’s headquarters town on Oct. 15, 2024. Steve Smedley

CADILLAC, Mich. — Great Lakes Central Railroad painter Dave Leonard is a perfectionist. He and car shop worker Steve Smith have just spent 30 minutes measuring, remeasuring, and placing masking tape on Great Lakes Central Railroad’s new logo, on the repainted nose of former Montana Rail Link SD35 No. 384. It’s one of three such MRL units bought in summer 2020.

“My dad had a spray gun in my hand at 10 years old,” says Leonard. “I’ve been painting things ever since.

“I don’t like being rushed,’’ he says, as he uses a razor knife to pop small air bubbles on the company’s New York Central-style logo, adding, “That’s what you call hillbilly engineering. It works every time.” While Leonard finishes tweaking his work, Smith is using a heat gun to remove the railroad’s old logo under each cab window.

Man working on logo on nose of blue locomotive
Great Lakes Central painter Dave Leonard uses a razor knife to pop air bubbles after applying the railroad’s new nose herald to repainted SD35 No. 384 in the company’s paint booth at the former engine house in Cadillac, Mich., on Oct. 16, 2024. Steve Smedley

The paint scheme being applied to No. 384 is a new look, first applied to a former SD45-carbody SD40-2, No. 329, previously Santa Fe No. 5348. The NYC-inspired design uses solid blue instead of black. (No. 329 will be sidelined for a short period after it hit a farm trailer on Friday, Oct. 18. The crew was not injured, but the locomotive will require repairs to its handrails.).

Well south of Cadillac, in a second-floor boardroom at the company headquarters in Owosso, Mich., Josh Lynch, vice president and general manager for Great Lakes Central, explains the new image.

“We’re rebranding our fleet and redirecting the company, part of the reason for the new scheme,” Lynch says, between checking urgent emails and discussing rate changes with Erin “Bubba” Springsdorf, a former GLC dispatcher who is now the railroad’s customer service supervisor. “Our units are well maintained; the paint on most of them is still good.

“We might try to squeeze another one (through the paint booth in Cadillac) before the grain rush. I do not want to sacrifice customer service to painting another locomotive.’’

He said it was exciting to look at mockups of paint schemes as the company rolled out new core values this year.

Lynch, a fourth generation railroader, said the naming of No. 329 as the Louis P. Ferris Jr. was done in remembrance and in honor of the founder of GLC by his daughter, Jennifer Ferris, president and CEO of the Great Lakes Central.
The care exercised by Leonard and Smith in the paint shop reflects the kind of values Lynch has in mind.

“We are a team,” Lynch says. “We are family oriented and our major goal [is] we want to value our employees.

“Every worker here, from a painter to the guy that drives spikes, turning wrenches, and switching cars, I just give them the tools they need to be successful.’’

The appearance of the railroad’s locomotives is important, Lynch says.

“We wash our engines; we have been keeping the horses running,” he says. “Our employees take a lot of pride.”

— Updated at 8:15 a.m. with additional details; updated Oct. 19 at 8:35 p.m. with information on accident involving locomotive No. 329; updated Oct. 25 to clarify details on naming of locomotive.

Great Lakes Central Railroad SD40-2 No. 329 — built as an SD45 — rolls South of Cohoctah, Mich., on Oct. 14, 2024. Steve Smedley

14 thoughts on “Great Lakes Central introduces a new look

  1. What’s funny is that, at the time of the merger, PRR had the big six-axle power (SD40/45, C628, U30C) and NYC was all four-axle.

  2. I wonder if it’s just coincidence they rebranded themselves to this image so soon as to when the Fort Wayne group was getting ready to make their announcement regarding a certain 4-8-2.

  3. Congrats on the new logo. While I get the desire to link to legacy railroading, it does tend to remove a chance for originality. I remember when the Rock Island reorganized and hired a commercial artist to come up with the angular R and a whole new font design, it set a new standard in original commercial art design in railroads.

    It got a lot of attention, not because of the teal railcars, but because it was not your typical railroad crest. I guess that is the difference between art driven by rail nostalgia vs art driven by commercial recognition.

    1. I disliked “The Rock” design intensely. Was at the main yard in Silvis (Illinois) in 1979. Both colors, the awful cream and the awful blue (or whatever it was) looked terrible with the least amount of dirt. And the crashing clash with previous Rock liveries in the same lashup was monumental.

      I’m likely the only one to have noticed … the new “Rock” in Mississippi, NEITHER color, neither the blue nor the white, fortunately, exactly matches the Rock Island’s 1970’s re-do.

  4. I totally agree with Laurence, image is very important in any business. I always believe in putting your best foot forward. You can be a very successful business, but if your facilities look in disarray or dirty, customer will believe you are not very successful. One can look back at the old Southern Pacific. Their units looked awful unless they were just out of the paint shop.
    Great job Great Lakes Central on a great color chosen and keeping them clean.

  5. Beautiful locomotive. Couldn’t help but notice that the scheme is NYC-inspired despite the GLC running almost entirely on ex-PRR territory. Made me chuckle.

    1. I’ve been looking for a map, but if I had to guess there’s some Michigan Central (New York Central System) somewhere in the mix. Seems to be a mosh-up of whatever lines in northern lower Michigan no one else could make a go of.

    2. Looking at maps the only trackage that’s former NYC or its affiliates is a line from Owosso to Fergus (under the NYC this line went from Jackson to Saginaw,) rather ironically I don’t think they even use that line often.

      Most of the GLC trackage is composed of the former Ann Arbor railroad, followed by former Pennsylvania tracks in the northern reaches, and a Grand Truck branch for good measure.

    3. Most of the former NYC trackage that remains in Central and Northern Michigan is operated by Lake State RR. Lines running around Midland, Saginaw, Bay City, north to Standish/West Branch/Gaylord is operated by Lake State Railway. No rails past Gaylord exists any more.

  6. I know that a clean, nicely painted locomotive pulls no more freight than a dirty, rusty one. I do think it makes a difference for the employees and customers.

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