Ads on Trains

[TR-Flyer]

Hi:
Here's a thought for ya. In 50 years modelers will be all nostalgic about these "billboard" cars because of a reactionary movement in the late 2030's banning all forms of publicly displayed advertising.

"And now a word from our sponsor....."
Ted

 

[Gary Pfeil]

Ted, That was my exact thought as well. I first thought of it when I read Vic's post regarding the early reefers. For pretty much the same reason that folks are complaining about now, probably.

What goes around comes around.

Gary

 

[jimmybeersa]

How do they wrap ads on trains?

David I sure would like to know how they do that,
Could you please let me know what book that article appeared
in if you have it maybe I could come over to your house to read it?

 

[60103]

Jimmy:
I just read it in the book store. It might have been The Railway Magazine or Modern Railways, but a couple of months old. (You probably get all yours 4 weeks late, like we do). I don't think I can even go back and find it now. Sorry.

 

[jimmybeersa]

Thanks David will be leaving Georgetown for England in 3 weeks,will have a look in the Library in Canterbury where I will be staying for 3 weeks on my way home . Glad I am not the only one who reads in the News agent!!!

 

[60103]

Jimmy: Are you having fun in Georgetown? Do you need any tips on where to go, there are 2 decent hobby shops not too far away--one is near to the Streetsville GO station, the other in Milton.
Look for the Goderich & Exeter trains -- they come off the single line just west of the G'town station. You can tell them because they're not lettered CN, and often not lettered at all. The Amtrack comes through at 7:32 a.m.
Take it easy in the snow; we'll be having that for months.

 

[Matthyro]

David, I have taken Jimmy to both of those great train stores but I should let Jimmy give you his own opinions of them. Jimmy has also been to the radial railway with me.

 

[jimmybeersa]

Hi David Yes I am always well looked after by my old friend Matt, he has as he says kindly taken me to both shops.
Its a mind boggling and drooling experiance for me, because of our weak money the Hobbie stores in SA. do not carry a large inventory and also markup the goods to make it almost impossible to purchase anything unless you earn big Bucks Pensioners like me have no hope. I am going to take home some code 55 track and turnouts to start a new layout and then order
on the net as and when the treasurer allows Have been to the Radial Railway a few times and enjoyed evey minute Thanks for thinking about me

 

[RailRon]

Jimmy, David and Robin,

sorry that I'm playing ol'Grumpy here - but do you realize that your private chat about magazines, hobby shops and visiting each other just killed a very interesting thread?

Please, keep your really private invitations off line - there's always the possibility to send each other personal messages...

Ok, just had to blow off some steam - feeling better now!

Ron

 

[swissjohn]

Jimmy,
For you information the British magazine that contained an article about applying vinyl ads to trains was:
RAIL, No.449, November 27 - December 10 2002.
Hope this helps.

 

[jimmybeersa]

Hi John thanks for the info. I will get the book in England.
One can always count on getting answers to queries on The Gauge. Theres a wealth of knowledge out there waiting to be passed on
Once again many thanks

 

[RailRon]

What about the locos?

There were the Billboard reefers and now there are passenger trains adorned with ads. Today we look at the reefers as interesting variations of otherwise uniformly colored freight cars, and I guess that tomorrow passenger cars like the Harry-Potter doubledecker will be looked-for objects for collectors...

I think that you just can't stop 'progress'

But what do you think about locomotives which are used as advertising posts? Here in Switzerland more and more of the beautiful 460 class engines are rolling ads for TV stations, communication companies, banks (of course, in Switzerland!), oil firms and even Märklin railroad models! This is something I haven't seen so far on American engines - ok, apart from some patriotic paint schemes, like the freedom locos in 1976.

(Märklin and other manufacturers also make models of several of these engines - as collectors items, in small numbers and sometimes even with higher prices!)

My idea is, that at least the ENGINE of a train should show the corporate image of the RR line. Compare the two Swiss locos on the added picture. What do you think?

Ron

 

[Vic]

Hi Ron, I think it "stinks" to deface such beautiful locos with advertising...

 

[Mike R]

I'm being both stubborn and redundant here [not the first time ], but I find no analogy between billboard reefers / boxcars of the early days, or even "X" type tank/reefer cars, and these wretchedly defaced locomotives and cars of today.
Once again...these 'owner' cars advertised what they CONTAINED.
A Schlitz reefer contained Schlitz beer,
A Texaco tank car contained Texaco oil product...etc.

Think about it folks....A locomotive with Harry Potter on it doesn't CONTAIN Harry Potter...it's a movie advertisement. The only way you'd have a comparative analogy is if you showed me a photo of a steam-era locomotive with "The Wizard of Oz" graphics painted on it, in regular railroad service....didn't happen, but would have been just as revolting as this latest stuff, if it had.

regards / Mike

BTW a lot of the 'billboard' type cars on the model market for the last 40 years never existed in real life.

 

[swissjohn]

"My idea is, that at least the ENGINE of a train should show the corporate image of the RR line"

Ron,
Generally speaking I agree. An SBB Re460 in standard red livery looks far better than most of those weird and wonderful advertising liveries. However, for some strange reason, I immediately fell in love with the "Zugkraft Aargau" livery when it appeared.

 

[TR-Flyer]

Ahhh, Help us poor mono-language Americans out a bit SwissJohn and tell us what "Zugkraft Aargau" means and represents.

Thanks,
Ted

 

[RailRon]

Zugkraft: Pulling power
Aargau: This is a Canton of Switzerland - about the same thing like a State in the U.S.A.

This not really an 'ad'. The Canton of Aargau is celebrating its 200. year in the Swiss Federation (they joined in 1803). This loco was painted to commemorate this event.

Ron

 

[swissjohn]

Thanks for that Ron.
The Re460 received it's Zugkraft Aargau livery in 1996/97 as part of the Swiss Railways 150 year celebrations and I was originally told that it was in recognition of Kanton Aargau being a major sponsor of the celebrations. The canton was happy to be a sponsor because they saw the railways as contributing to their economic success.
I notice that an Re4/4 has more recently been painted in a similar livery.

 

[jimmybeersa]

RON ,
I see you have managed to get the thread back on "Track" ( pardon the pun ) Thanks.

John,
I too like like the Commerative painting of Loco's Your one looks superb.
At home we have had a travel progamm running on our Tv called "Swiss Railway Journeys" it dealt with all the different lines and was really well done with shots taken from inside the trains ,track side and from the air. what impressed was the cleanliness of the right of way

 

[TR-Flyer]

Thanks RR and SJ for the explanation. This is similar to the “’76” scheme used during our bicentennial. Both are well done in my opinion. Seems totally appropriate to me. Although, I don’t have a problem with the “billboard” cars that are being talked about in this thread. It’s just another way to use a “surface”. I don’t find them as “beautiful” as a scheme used to glorify the engine itself, think NYC Empire State J3A Hudson. BTW, American models have just produced a gorgeous version of this in “S”, check out the website. But I don’t find them “repulsive” either. Actually, I’m waiting for someone to figure out how to put video “movies” onto busses and trains like they do on billboards and buildings in Tokyo and New York.

Then….i can’t wait to see how us modelers reproduce THAT on our layouts. Little N gauge trains with little moving ads on their sides. Using flexible LED screens laminated to the sides of the passenger cars? I’m gonna need stronger glasses!

This discussion is a little like comparing postmodern architecture with the “real thing”; i.e. a REAL colonial house or a REAL modern structure like the “Seagram building”. I like Philip Johnson’s ATT tower just fine, I think it adds to the skyline. BUT, I LOVE Dulles airport, Mies’ high-rises, and Christopher Wrens’ work. Have no use for 95% of the homes built in this country that all look alike from the rear.

Have fun guys,
Ted