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Amtrak paint schemes
Amtrak has used a variety of paint schemes (liveries) on its rolling stock since taking over intercity passenger rail service in the United States in 1971. A series of seven schemes termed Phases, first introduced in 1972, have seen the widest use. Phases primarily use geometric arrangements of red, white, and blue—the national colors of the United States—part of Amtrak's patriotic visual identity.
Amtrak began operations in May 1971 with a mixture of equipment still painted in the distinct colored liveries of the freight railroads that relinquished their passenger service to Amtrak. The company retained the equipment that it determined to be in the best condition, and elected not to keep the same rolling stock on the same routes. Since this resulted in trains with mismatched liveries, which contrasted with the previous coordinated liveries, that period was later known as the Rainbow Era.
To build the brand of Amtrak as a unified passenger railroad, the rolling stock was gradually repainted into a new system-wide livery starting around 1972. Successive liveries are known as Phases and are sequentially numbered using Roman numerals – a nomenclature that began with model railroaders and was later officially adopted by Amtrak. Most current locomotives use the 2000-introduced Phase V, while passenger cars use the 2002-introduced Phase VI (or Phase IVb). A modified Phase III scheme was introduced for some equipment in 2013. Non-revenue equipment uses bright lime green or a variation of Phase V.
Some routes financially supported by individual states use service-specific liveries to provide a more regionalized distinction. These include the three Amtrak California routes, eight Amtrak Midwest services, the Cascades, and the Piedmont. Amtrak has repainted equipment in unique livery for special uses, including its 40th anniversary in 2011 and to promote the Operation Lifesaver safety campaign. Equipment has also been wrapped for advertising promotions. When testing equipment from other railroads, Amtrak has mostly kept existing livery, though some longer-term tests used Phase schemes.
When Amtrak took over intercity passenger rail service on May 1, 1971, it inherited a collection of rolling stock from twenty different railroads, each with its own distinct colors and logos. Operating only 184 of the 366 privately operated trains, Amtrak was able to pick the 1,200 best passenger cars to lease from the 3,000 that the private railroads owned. Equipment was used nationwide and did not always stay on predecessor routes, resulting in trains with the mismatched colors of several predecessor railroads. This "Rainbow Era" was short-lived; Amtrak began purchasing some of the leased equipment in mid-1971, setting the stage for wholesale repainting from 1972 to 1974 as the equipment was refurbished.
The Phase paint schemes have been used on most passengers equipment – locomotives, passenger cars, and trainsets – as well as some non-passenger cars and non-revenue equipment. Phase schemes generally have red, white, and blue on the sides of equipment, with black or gray sections around the wheels and roof to hide grime.
Introduced in 1972, Phase I was the first paint scheme to be implemented system-wide on Amtrak's trains. It was the first new paint for most equipment under Amtrak, except for a small number of locomotives that had been painted into experimental and promotional paint schemes. The scheme was part of Amtrak's larger move to a visual identity featuring the national colors of red, white, and blue. Amtrak did not initially assign nomenclature for its livery; model railroaders began referring to this first paint scheme as Phase I and numbering all subsequent phases sequentially using Roman numerals. Amtrak later made the Phase numbering scheme the official terminology.
Locomotives in Phase I were painted light gray ("Platinum Mist") with a black roof, the Amtrak "Pointless Arrow" chevron logo on the side, and a red nose (which led to a "Bloody Nose" nickname). Passenger cars were silver (or left bare stainless steel), with a red and bright blue stripe (bracketed by thin white stripes) at window level and the chevron logo at one or both ends. A number of variants were made for non-revenue locomotives, GG1 locomotives, Turbotrain and Turboliner trainsets, and self-propelled RDC and Metroliner railcars.
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Amtrak paint schemes
Amtrak has used a variety of paint schemes (liveries) on its rolling stock since taking over intercity passenger rail service in the United States in 1971. A series of seven schemes termed Phases, first introduced in 1972, have seen the widest use. Phases primarily use geometric arrangements of red, white, and blue—the national colors of the United States—part of Amtrak's patriotic visual identity.
Amtrak began operations in May 1971 with a mixture of equipment still painted in the distinct colored liveries of the freight railroads that relinquished their passenger service to Amtrak. The company retained the equipment that it determined to be in the best condition, and elected not to keep the same rolling stock on the same routes. Since this resulted in trains with mismatched liveries, which contrasted with the previous coordinated liveries, that period was later known as the Rainbow Era.
To build the brand of Amtrak as a unified passenger railroad, the rolling stock was gradually repainted into a new system-wide livery starting around 1972. Successive liveries are known as Phases and are sequentially numbered using Roman numerals – a nomenclature that began with model railroaders and was later officially adopted by Amtrak. Most current locomotives use the 2000-introduced Phase V, while passenger cars use the 2002-introduced Phase VI (or Phase IVb). A modified Phase III scheme was introduced for some equipment in 2013. Non-revenue equipment uses bright lime green or a variation of Phase V.
Some routes financially supported by individual states use service-specific liveries to provide a more regionalized distinction. These include the three Amtrak California routes, eight Amtrak Midwest services, the Cascades, and the Piedmont. Amtrak has repainted equipment in unique livery for special uses, including its 40th anniversary in 2011 and to promote the Operation Lifesaver safety campaign. Equipment has also been wrapped for advertising promotions. When testing equipment from other railroads, Amtrak has mostly kept existing livery, though some longer-term tests used Phase schemes.
When Amtrak took over intercity passenger rail service on May 1, 1971, it inherited a collection of rolling stock from twenty different railroads, each with its own distinct colors and logos. Operating only 184 of the 366 privately operated trains, Amtrak was able to pick the 1,200 best passenger cars to lease from the 3,000 that the private railroads owned. Equipment was used nationwide and did not always stay on predecessor routes, resulting in trains with the mismatched colors of several predecessor railroads. This "Rainbow Era" was short-lived; Amtrak began purchasing some of the leased equipment in mid-1971, setting the stage for wholesale repainting from 1972 to 1974 as the equipment was refurbished.
The Phase paint schemes have been used on most passengers equipment – locomotives, passenger cars, and trainsets – as well as some non-passenger cars and non-revenue equipment. Phase schemes generally have red, white, and blue on the sides of equipment, with black or gray sections around the wheels and roof to hide grime.
Introduced in 1972, Phase I was the first paint scheme to be implemented system-wide on Amtrak's trains. It was the first new paint for most equipment under Amtrak, except for a small number of locomotives that had been painted into experimental and promotional paint schemes. The scheme was part of Amtrak's larger move to a visual identity featuring the national colors of red, white, and blue. Amtrak did not initially assign nomenclature for its livery; model railroaders began referring to this first paint scheme as Phase I and numbering all subsequent phases sequentially using Roman numerals. Amtrak later made the Phase numbering scheme the official terminology.
Locomotives in Phase I were painted light gray ("Platinum Mist") with a black roof, the Amtrak "Pointless Arrow" chevron logo on the side, and a red nose (which led to a "Bloody Nose" nickname). Passenger cars were silver (or left bare stainless steel), with a red and bright blue stripe (bracketed by thin white stripes) at window level and the chevron logo at one or both ends. A number of variants were made for non-revenue locomotives, GG1 locomotives, Turbotrain and Turboliner trainsets, and self-propelled RDC and Metroliner railcars.
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