Creating a


Bicentennial Scheme Reworking an Atlas GP38 in HO Scale


GP38 2000 A pair of CWE GP38 posed for their public relations photographs shortly after the 2000 was released for service. Creating a bicentennial locomotive really adds a touch of class to any fleet.


While most railroads have standardized paint schemes for their fleets, over the years we’ve also been treated to the occasional “one-off” — a specialized scheme usually honoring a specific group or event. Never was the one-off as popular as during the mid-1970s when the United States entered its bicentennial year. Patriotism abounded; the railroads were no exception. Roads big and small from Industrial to Class Is proud- ly adorned locomotives, caboos- es, and even freight cars in the red, white, and blue colors of the celebration.


During a recent operating ses- sion on Tom Patterson’s freelance Chesapeake, Wheeling & Erie — a 1976-era Appalachian coal road — the lack of any bicenten- nial equipment became apparent. Because this was something Tom


64 RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN


CRAFTSMAN/Matt Snell, photographs by author artwork.


hadn’t time to complete, I was soon tasked with correcting this deficiency, creating CWE’s one- off — a bicentennial unit — us- ing nothing more than creativity, paint, and readily available decal


Studying era-specific equip- ment, one thing soon became clear. Apart from the obvious choice of colors, many of the bright and flashy schemes fea-


BICENTENNIAL SCHEME


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