Rock Island GP35's #312 & #316

Two more GP35's have joined the fleet.

I caught the Plain Jane pair sitting on the Ouachita River bridge.

While there are a few subtle differences between the two,  they both were painted in the basic Maroon and Yellow scheme of the 60's with no lettering or logos on the long hoods.  

 

#312

The #312 carries just the road number under the cab window and the handrails were painted silver down the entire length.

This one got a little darker than I wanted, I tried to lighten it a bit but it's not out of the realm of realism considering the condition of the fleet at the time of shutdown. 

I applied some chipping of the yellow paint on the cab trying not to go overboard with it.  Some units I've seen while researching were pretty much covered with chips giving them a real freckle faced appearance.

This is a Rick Morgan photo of the #311 that I used as weathering guide for the #312.

#316

The #316 is adorned with a shield under the cab window and a smaller road number just below it on the sill but is lacking a plow on the front that most other GP35's carried.   The fuel tank is also showing some Maroon paint although mainly covered in an oily residue.

I don't think this was a typical scheme but rather more of a hybrid scheme as the road transitioned from its solid maroon with pin striping to solid maroon, to the maroon and yellow scheme in the 60's.  While there's not much of a difference between the two, I felt it was enough to warrant so as to set them apart.

The #316 was more faded than filthy.

Here's a Glenn Anderson photo of #316 leading a NB freight out of the yard in Alexandria, LA.   Also note the detritus in the yard and the telephone poles that are overgrown with what I'm assuming to be Kudzu.

One more to go...