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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>All the pictures I have located over the past
couple of days of ex VGN TMs have been in the black with the old script herald
or the so called "hamburger" herald. Apparentally they were all repainted before
the blue became standard and lasted in their black colors into the large white
NW era before they were up for repaint. Your guess is as good as mine on the ex
WAB units but would imagine they did get some done in blue.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>As for the "redbird" "bluebird" moniker on the
passenger GP9s, the origin of the nickname is probably lost to antiquity.
Remember the original passenger geeps were painted in the black steam era scheme
and then repainted in red when the second order of passenger geeps arrived
factory painted red. All other locomotives on the railroad were painted black at
the time so the passenger units would certainly stand out and likely were given
their nickname by employees. N&W/NS employees are prone to using colorful
nicknames and sticking with them. For instance today in 2010 the track adjacent
to mains 1 and 2, which is used as a departure track for many westbounds is
still called the "Motor Car" track in spite of the electrification being many
years in the past. Diesel locomotives are still called "motors" as a matter of
course. Similarly the track adjacent to the Virginia Div "pull in" is still
called the "engine" track; engine referring of course to a steam locomotive. I
remember when the first GE units with comfort cabs arrived, long after they were
standard on other railroads, the crews referred to them as "Cadillacs". There
are many other colorful nicknames and sayings which were coined by the
railroaders themselves. At our annual train show (Pocahontas Chapter NRHS) in
Bluefield every November one of my favorite activities is just hanging around
the N&W "old heads" listening to colorful stories of railroading. As to the
"bluebird" moniker, since the passenger geeps had priority for repainting,
seemingly for publicity purposes, when the Pevler blue became standard; it
probably just grew naturally out of the old "redbird" nickname. Dan Mulhearn,
modeling "The Poky"</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>