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COLUMNISTS A RAPIDLY FADING ROCK ISLAND LOGO ADORNS THE SIDE OF THE STATION AT ATLANTIC, IOWA, IN 1993. STEVE BARRY PHOTO Bowties, diamonds, and keystones


THE RAILROAD LOGO WAS ONCE A UBIQUITOUS thing. From the late 19th century onwards, they have been painted on railcars, slapped onto the sides of bridges, and carved into the stone flanks of the great urban stations. They are also known as heralds, revealing their connection to the tradition of family crests known as “heraldry.” Many logos re- flected this heritage through form. For ex- ample, the Canadian Pacific, the Delaware & Hudson, and the Union Pacific all use shields, a shape that symbolizes strength and dates back to the weaponry of Mediae- val knights. Others took a similar but slight- ly different path: the Northern Pacific, for instance, borrowed the ancient symbol for Yin and Yang from a Korean flag seen at the 1893 World’s Columbia Exposition in Chica- go. As a railroad from the midwest to the Pa- cific Ocean, the choice was meant to associ- ate the company with trade from Asia and the exotic mystery of the Far East. At first, railroad logos were found mostly in discrete applications, such as on letter- heads, passes, stocks, and bonds. They were a kind of official seal, the railroad’s corpo- rate signature. Later, though, they became powerful tools of public branding. Logos went from inch-high ink engravings on linen paper to full color renderings splashed up on billboards. Long before the golden arches of McDonald’s or the blue and red shield of Chevron, there was the circular Navajo cross of the Santa Fe, the “bow-tie” of the Chicago & North Western, the Erie Railroad diamond, the Frisco “coonskin,” and the powerful keystone of the Pennsylvania Rail- road. Never before had a company’s graphic identification achieved such prominence in the public consciousness: the railroads had invented branding, and the logo was its most potent application. They were the rail- roads’ most potent, recognizable introduc- tion to the world at large. Today, railroads are less prolific with the application of their logos. It is rare to see the emblem of a contemporary railroad on any- thing other than a “NOTRESPASSING” sign. After


4 MAY 2013 • RAILFAN.COM


almost all passenger services were transferred to Amtrak in the 1970s, there was little need for railroads to present themselves to the gen- eral public. Billboards came down, and logos painted on the sides of buildings faded or were painted over, probably with advertisements for new cars or air travel. Sure, logos are applied to locomotives and


rolling stock, but their scale has typically been significantly reduced. On a boxcar of 2013, for example, a logo might be eighteen or twenty-four inches high; in 1963 it would have been six or eight feet. Some railroads shy away from easy recognition, as no one wants to see their logo plastered all over the latest derailment or other mishap. Railroad consolidation over the last 30 years has had an impact, too, as fewer rail- roads means fewer logos. Even the nature of the logo has changed: of the big seven rail- roads, only Kansas City Southern and Union Pacific retain historic logos, with most companies using new, simplified de- signs. The new CSX “boxcar” iconogram, for example, could be composed almost entirely from letters and punctuation marks on a keyboard! Others have become modern clas- sics, such as Canadian National’s landmark “wet noodle” design from 1961.


It is perhaps not surprising, then, that the logos of now gone railroads sometimes outnumber those of current companies. In my native west, it is not unusual to find bridges and overpasses bearing the circular “sunset” logo of the Southern Pacific. A bridge in Buffalo was repainted and relet- tered for New York Central. Both railroads have been gone for many years. It is perhaps a testament to the potency of these graphic compositions, for it is hard to imagine future generations preserving the logos of, say, the local convenience store or the grocery chain.


Alexander B. Craghead is a writer, photog- rapher,


watercolorist, and self-described “transportation geek” from Portland, Ore. You can reach out to Alex on our web site at www.railfan.com/departures.


ALEXANDER B. CRAGHEAD THOMAS KELCEC GREG MONROE GEORGE M. SMERK JEFFREY D. TERRY WES VERNON


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