News & Reviews News Wire New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway paints diesel in heritage colors

New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway paints diesel in heritage colors

By Steve Glischinski | April 18, 2023

Locomotive harkens back to scheme worn by Alcos

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Silver, maroon, and black diesel locomotive
The Susie-Q — New York, Susquehanna & Western — has released SD40-2 No. 3024 in a heritage paint scheme reminiscent of the silver, maroon, and black design worn by its Alco fleet. Michael Tierney

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — The New York, Susquehanna & Western has revived the silver color once worn by its fleet of Alco RS1s and S2s. SD40-2 No. 3024, built in 1979 as Burlington Northern No. 7200, has been repainted silver with a narrow maroon stripe.

Yellow and black diesel locomotive leading freight train with three other locomotives
New York, Susquehanna & Western SD40T-2 No. 3016 wears the road’s “yellow jacket” paint scheme as it passes through Oak Ridge, N.J., on 29 July 2011. David T. Horree

The scheme was first applied to the NYS&W’s Alco diesels in the 1940s. Susquehanna was one of the first railroads to completely dieselize, in early June 1945. As the railroad’s financial fortunes declined, it economized by eliminating the maroon stripe going to an all-silver scheme for a time. Later NYS&W adopted a black and yellow scheme, termed the “yellow jacket” worn by its diesels today.

New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway, also known as the Susie-Q, was established in 1881 and today operates over 400 miles of track in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

3 thoughts on “New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway paints diesel in heritage colors

  1. Sorry, it was the all silver paint scheme. If I remember correctly, Lionel offered this scheme for a short time on an RS1.

  2. I like this. Having lived near this RR, I remember seeing a RS1 in this scheme. Kudos to the Susie Q.

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