Looking for color photos, large prints, slides or negatives of this ALCO RS3 as delivered or in a cleaned state. Have seen several photos of this unit but all show a heavy road grime. Thank you.

Hey Piker...I checked all my available resources and couldn't find any pics of 447 in its clean and as delivered appearance.However,in Paul K. Withers' book (Diesels of the Reading Company)on page 178 there is a b/w photo of 448 in its clean and as delivered state.Don't know if your looking for a clean picture for modeling purposes.Although the picture of 448 is in b/w it appears to me that the side frames,pilots,stanchions and railings are painted black.Maybe someone with more knowledge can confirm or deny my assumptions on the paint scheme.Anyway, hope this info helps.

Chris,

Many thanks for your efforts. 447 is special in that at the age of 10, I was privileged to have run this locomotive from one end of Ephrata, PA to the other, under the tutelage of fireman Elwood
"Woody" Farr. As my grandfather was the station agent there, I occasionally enjoyed cab rides during the R&C local's switching chores. On one occasion after the Reading turn finished switching town at Kurtz Bros. cement plant, Woody asked me if I wanted to run the train back through town to pick up the caboose. Three ALCO RS-3 engines and a dozen or so cars -- "Sure!" At the breakneck speed of Run 4, the end of the siding at the Pine St. bridge, by the town's power plant was reached all too soon. Woody took over to back into the siding for the caboose. I was King of the Hill, at least until that evening when I told my dad, then RDG Div. Agent & Operator. Oops! To the dog house with a well tanned you-know-what for violating his rule of no cab rides. Thus my fondness for 447. Woody and my dad were friends from their early railroad days as clerk-telegraphers.

Yes you are right. In their just delivered scheme. The RS-3's were painted that way. The railings and everything else below the walkway were black. I have actually seen a color photo of one.

Out on the road the units got dirty fast and during the timeframe. Most people were using black and white film. So I can't really know for sure how long they stayed painted like that. I do know by the 1960's. They were painted all green.

John Caples

2771-chris wrote:

Thank you John, but it is 447 I am looking for. As to the color scheme when delivered, Vol.1 of Dale Woodland's two volume Reading Diesels work shows an RS1b with black walkways, step wells, frame rails, pilot and underbody. Also seen is the shade of green that is lighter and richer than Pullman's brown-green. Wonder if the "as delivered" paint scheme was retained when these units were repainted as the locomotive shop was still acid stripping when the first generation units required repainting.

PM me you e-mail and I'll forward what I have. As far as I can tell, the frame would have been repainted green or faded to look like green anyway. Spotting feature wise, 444, 446-448 and 450 would be identical.