Designing a Logo for the W&N

[2-8-2]

I'm trying to come up with an "image" for my freelanced road. Below are a couple samples I've done so far. I'm modeling the 1950s, so both steam and diesel will be on my layout. While I haven't completed a full backstory for how/why my road exists, it does have ties to and shares trackage with, the Nickel Plate Road.

My layout will probably be able to support 4 locos, at least one of which will be (of course) a 2-8-2. I will letter steam locos in the old style yellow Roman lettering. Diesels will also need some kind of logo or "brand". The first example is obviously taken from the fallen flag Norfolk & Western. The letters have been switched and "RY" for railway has been replaced with "RR". The second example is of my own design. I like it better, but I wonder if it appears to modern for the 1950s.

 

[zedob]

Both look good to me. Actually, very nice. I'd say use both.

Modernize. The top one for older rolling stock and the lower one for more modern equipment.

Also, reverse the w and the N in the first logo.


This is too good to pass up.

Ok, if you get rid of the Western and "rail" out of railroad, then it ends up like this: Norfork & Way RR

I thought about using it for my railroad's name, but then decided not to use it because I haven't found a town around New England by the name of Way, or Whey, or Whay, etc.,...yet.

 

[MilesWestern]

No way!? There's got to be a whey to make that your Railroad's name, do it any Whay you want! sign1sign1

 

[MilesWestern]

I really like both logos, how did you come up with the more modern one?

 

[doctorwayne]

I like the first one a lot: very "railroady" looking and very plausible. The second one looks too modern to me: more like a '70s or '80s style. I could see the first one by itself on a diesel hood, or on a steam locomotive tender, in place of a simple ampersand, between the two spelled-out roadnames. It'd also look good on freight cars: fairly small on older cars, and a bit larger on newer stuff. Put the logo towards the right end of the car. On the left end, on older cars, spell out the name, perhaps stacked, above the reporting marks and number. On newer cars, use just the reporting marks and number. Of course, that's just my thoughts on it: it's your railroad.

Wayne

 

[2-8-2]

I really like both logos, how did you come up with the more modern one?

I can do just about anything in PhotoShop, it's another hobby of mine. The modern logo is the letter "W" that has been edited using a line as a seperator. I've been making all kinds of stationary, old newspaper ads, forms, etc. for my railroad. Here's the preliminary workings of my e-pass:

 

[RailRon]

I second Wayne - for the '50s the second logo is much too modern. The N&W... oops! W&N logo hits exactly the graphic style of the fifties. :thumb:

However, the modern logo is very well designed! If you should change your modeling area to more modern times - say starting in the '80s - I would use it on modern rolling stock. For a very modern prototype I would cut off the serifs (the little horizontal bars at the top and bottom).

Ron

 

[CharlesH.]

I'll have to second Wayne and Ron on this one - The first logo is the one that fits the 1950's period better. And I'll agree that the modern logo is cleverly designed.

And I really like that pass too, looks very real... which reminds me I haven't designed mine - gotta go!

 

[2-8-2]

And another....

This more simplified version might be the way to go. It would probably show up better on locos and rolling stock. I like the safety yellow color.
:thumb:

 

[Sir_Prize]

All are sweet!
Agree with the others on the "age" of the styles.

 

[zedob]

Oops, disregard my statement about switching the W and the N. I was thinking Norfolk and Western.

The more I look at the secon logo the more I have to agree with the rest on it being too modern. It's still a real nice logo.

And that pass, that is so cool! Good work.

 

[2-8-2]

What do you think of this paint scheme?

 

[doctorwayne]

I like the paint scheme, both the colours and the layout. However, I think that it would look even better if you used the stripe on the short hood too. Labour and paint were still pretty cheap in the '50s. I'm not sure what you plan for the ends: you could just continue the stripes around the ends, or you could terminate them at the corners and paint the entire end yellow. You could also split the stripe at its vertical mid-point as it goes around the corners, then turn the lower half down and taper it down to a point (from each side) where it meets the walkway. (Sort of like the "bow-wave effect that you see on some F-units - I think maybe NKP used it on the ends of their geeps too. Do the same thing to the upper half of the stripe, curving and tapering it up to a point near the top of the hood. You'll end up with a vertical "diamond" shape, with curved sides, in black, on the end of the hood. Put a suitably-sized version of your logo there. This would be the most work of the three options that I've suggested, and the all-yellow end the easiest. With your obvious skill on the computer, you should be able to do a mock-up to see if any of these suggestions appeal to you.

Wayne

 

[2-8-2]

Thanks for the input, Wayne! :thumb:

I think I posted my picture a little prematurely. I'd been researching what motive power to use for the W & N, when I came across the GP7. It seemed to fit the criteria for what I wanted so well, I was excited to put down what I had in my head for a paint scheme. Since posting this pic, I've come up with no less than a dozen more designs!

One thing I've noticed about the Geeps I've seen, is the wraparound design that tapers at the nose. The NKP used diagonal stripes on the end of their Geeps. I've seen others with solid colored noses. They all look good. My original intent was to stick with black, but there are a few roads who have really nice looking paint schemes that I may try to put my own spin on as well. Thanks for the suggestions, I'll get busy on mocking them up.

:thumb:

 

[60103]

Consider what the scheme looks like on an F unit as well, unless your road stayed with steam long enough to miss the Fs.
A long while back one of the mags (Trains? R&R?) did an article on the paint schemes devided by EMD for their diesel customers. There was a sort of house feel to a lot of them.
A lot of them used the various seams and rivet lines as boundaries for colours. This helps with painting models. (It's the reason that the paint schemes for PCC streetxars seem repetitive -- they used the same little rain strips and belt rails as boundaries.)

 

[2-8-2]

Here's the newest paint scheme I've been working on:

[EDIT] Revised design. The image above is the final revision for the GP-7 paint scheme.

 

[zedob]

:thumb: I love it! That is really a nice paint scheme:thumb: .

I'd like to see it on a model.

 

[doctorwayne]

The paint scheme is evolving nicely. I think, however, if you really like the extra colour and striping on the roof, that if you extend it to whichever end you wish to designate as the front, or alternately, extend it to both ends, it would tie in better with the rest of the design. Also, if you intend to have a logo, a locomotive would be the most likely place to use it, even if it's never used on the majority of your rolling stock. On the design shown, you could use a small logo on the end, within the stripe, if the stripe carries straight around the end, or even a larger logo centred on the stripe, but extending above and below it. If the stripe on the end becomes a "bow wave" terminating at the walkway, a suitably-sized logo, centred both horizontally and vertically would look good.

Wayne

 

[2-8-2]

Wayne -

The stripe tapers upward at the ends of the locomotive, forming a point. This way, the logo will be centered. This will follow the lines of the design on the roof. The W & N will opt to run their Geeps backwards, IE: long nose forward. This end will have the company logo on it.

I'm not 100% happy with the colors yet, though this design is my favorite. I thought I had something original using Pullman Green/Safety Yellow...but I stumbled across some Reading Railroad pics and saw something very similar.

 

[doctorwayne]

Long hood forward will look good. As a kid, our house faced the coach yard of the TH&B in Hamilton Ontario. I remember rushing outside when we first heard one of their new diesels coming, and was perplexed to see a GP-7 running short hood forward. Having seen only steam prior to that, it look to me like it was going backwards. They also ran 3 boiler-equipped GP-9s in passenger service, and these were set up to run long hood forward.
If you want a slighly different green, try CNR Green #11. This is more of an olive green, and is readily available from several manufacturers: I like Accupaint, but it's also made by Scalecoat, Badger, and Pollyscale.

Wayne