Another "VANDALIZED" Heritage Locomotive? 

My grandfather designed that logo!!!! While not condoning vandalism this makes my heart happy!

I couldn't call that vandalism. Paint shop gone rogue maybe. Always good to see a fallen flag honored!

1:14 you can see air bubbles on the RF&P logo, meaning this "vandalism" is actually done with vinyl instead of spray cans. It's quite clever because it can be removed without a revisit to a paint shop if the higher ups get upset enough over it. Honestly, I love this "vandal" and their work on honoring heritage units properly and without actually damaging property!

These 'vandalized' units do look great. It looks like a very professional job.

It is interesting that someone in Georgia has done such an accurate job of painting the noses of these engines. I hope that CSX allows these engines to keep these paint schemes.

The RF&P was "a class act from the ballast up", as one of my train-watching buddies once said. I'm thrilled to see the logo adorning the nose of an actual RF&P survivor. If I were King at CSX there would be 3 locomotives painted coupler-to-coupler in every paint scheme version worn by the predecessor railroads, starting with the SAL citrus scheme.

I doubt someone broke into a yard an painted these. I would guess that a couple of employees are in cahoots with each other, secretly giving engines a repaint, and then acting like they had nothing to do with it.

True heritage, he even takes the time to find the origins of an engine before painting it.

"Boys, we're dealing with a criminal here. We're dealing with a serial painter who's hell-bent on avenging the death of his favorite railroads by repainting the locomotives which once served them."

I think it is an inside job. Who else would have access to the stickers after the paints applied but either a CSX painter or other RR painter or connected to said person. But that is just my opinion. The railroads need to hire them to do more like these.

I like the neutral stance you took in this video and spent most of the video talking about it's hertiage instead wishing a petty vandal a cruel and unusual death like some of the more extreme railbuff have called for. I also like the fact that you were able to get a good shot of it. Lighting be damned this is one of the better videos/pics I've seen of this unit.

Paint shops do a little trolling 🤪

I'd take this kind of tagging over what we see normally ANY DAY. Props to the artist, but don't get caught!

Like Banksy. But for railroads.

Whoever is doing this clearly knows railroad history. I was unaware of any RF&P units still working for CSX. I wouldn't mind this if CSX authorized it, but stuff like this shouldn't be done and you should never be on railroad property without permission. When I go to a rail yard to film trains, I usually ask for permission to be there first. If I don't get it, I'll go somewhere close by to film the action or wait for it to come out of the yard. There is a yard close to where I live that I have standing permission from the yard crew. I asked to film there so often that one of them said that I could do so without asking so long as I follow a few things. 1:park my car where it won't be in the way of work vehicles (he pointed out where). 2: don't get in the way and interfere with what they are doing. 3: always stay off the tracks, even if no trains are moving. They would get in serious trouble with the railroad if they allowed me to set even one foot on the ballast. His colleagues that were with him that day quickly backed him up on that last one. So since then I do that with that yard, making sure to follow their rules. This yard also has a metal barrier between the parking area and the tracks, so I go no further than that border line. But all other yards, I ask permission first. The railroads don't allow trespassing for safety issues and many also don't allow it so as not to have issues with insurance companies. Please do not be anywhere along railroad tracks and in rail yards without permission and if you do get permission, make sure the railroad personal know where you are at all times and stay where they tell you to. Today's trains are for the most part quieter than years ago. Many trespassers could tell you that they didn't hear the train until it was literally upon them....if they survived.

I think it’s fantastic and whoever’s doing it. Big shout out. Thank you. Keep up the good work buddy I cannot wait to see what’s next.

One thing is for sure; Not ALL Heroes wear a Cape.

No way this is vandalism in the sense of someone unconnected with CSX doing it, quality is just too good. This has to be something internal, with some tacit approval at least at the local level.

Maybe these locomotives are a covert act by CSX to see how well the heritage scheme would be received by the railfan community. Stranger things have happened.

I like it. It’s nice to recognized the past. I am tired of the regular graffiti

I guarantee that this is gonna keep happening, it’s probably the same person doing this for the heck of it. I don’t condone vandalism at all but you’ve gotta admit it looks cool!

According to a csx face page I fallow those engines had there noses painted by csx employees I think they did a good job I love them

Cool video! I prefer the way Norfolk Southern and NJ Transit (and now Metro North) have done their heritage locomotives (the whole engine is a throwback)....but ANYTHING that throws a nod to fallen flags is cool.

This actually happened recently on a short line in my area. Somebody took one of the old ex-conrail b32-7r locomotives, (which was all patched up) and painted the old Conrail quality logo back on one side, and the nose of the

If it’s one person with some rattle cans, CSX needs to hire them. If it’s the paint shop, CSX needs to get them some more paint. And a raise.

I find it hard to believe that it’s not some “inside job” being done. It’s not like those paint jobs can be done in half an hour. It would take close to half an hour just to tape it all off. How would anyone else know whaat the schedule of the loco is and when it would be put into service.

I really can't think of it as vandalism. Who ever is doing this is talented and I'm pretty sure the railroads aren't up in arms. It's one thing when some idiot with a can of Krylon goes out and tags something stupid on an engine but this is different. This is artistic nostalgia. I like when these stories pop up and hope to see more. Nice vid btw.

That's too professional to be done by railfans overnight. Look how clean and crisp it is. No overspray. All reflectors and warning placards visible. This must have taken some time and in the necessary facility to do so.

Both locomotives LOOK SO GOOD!

So many Karen foamers here cry "vandalism", but its definitely more of a tribute to the past - even if not sanctioned. Art for art's sake, nothing more.

UPDATE: CSX 2526 was vandilized too this was vandilized into L&N

You can rest assured it wasn’t me, as I can’t paint, draw, or do anything art related that doesn’t involve putting Lego bricks together. Plus, I don’t live anywhere near CSX territory, at least, that I’m aware of. Question, does CSX run through Missouri? I don’t think it does. I know the AT&SF, BNSF, LRTS, and SNCF all run through Missouri, right through my basement in fact. Yay!

I do not give a shite WHO did ,this but simply applaud the effort . The result is a far cry better than the repaints coming out of the Waycross shops. This is the way a Heritage locomotive should look , those fools at CSX have NO clue what they are doing. The side and end paint job with that stupid "FADE " , not even worth a photo . I saw the B&O unit in Georgia this fall and did not even realize it was a "Heritage " unit until it passed me. Imagine this ; All CSX Heritage units parked on turntable tracks at a roundhouse , THEY ALL LOOK ALIKE from the front !! GREAT JOB CSX !!??

im honestly excited to see what this mystery artist will do next.

As I say "It's not vandalism if your making it look better"

Curious how that NH locmotive at the 0:25 mark. ended up on the RF&P.

Honestly I think CSX is testing to see if people like this better but don't want to admit it. For the record yes, it looks better.

Another interesting note, CSX 4419, one of the last 4 remaining YN2 painted Geeps on CSX, recently got some of its YN2 paint touched up while it was in Georgia. It looks cleaner and less faded now, and you can tell. The interesting thing about this is it happened in Georgia, the same place these other two have happened. It is widely believed its the same person or group doing this, and I wonder what will happen next

I wouldn't be surprised if CSX is doing this and pretending to have no idea

So are we taking bets on whether these were an inside job?

Something similar happened here in Canada. One of the new all-grey grain hoppers got spray painted into a blue and yellow Alberta Heritage scheme. Great work in all of these cases in the era of souless railroading.

Amazing! Love to see the new 'Heritage Locomotives'! This might be an act of rebellion in spite of the new formal CSX heritage Locomotives! Good videos as always and amazing shots V12!

That's cool spray paint although its vandalism. What's next a Northfolk Southern nose? Because CSX GPs kinda look like Northfolk Southern locomotives because they have them distinctive ditch lights!

That’s not an act of vandalism… that’s a liberation

Whoever is doing it I say keep it up.

With the legit CSX heritage units appearing now I wonder if this will keep up, if so can you please work on some Canadian National units lol.

I vote YES on the CSX hybrid heritage paint schemes. Very cool.

I kinda like the 75% legacy look fading to 25% CSX. It certainly isn't "period" correct, but it still looks better than full CSX livery because it stands out. It provides a bit of consistency since CSX is the amalgamation of loads of smaller lines. As a kid I used to watch the L&N trains roll by until they became part of CSX.

I'm Sick of CSX heritage units with only HALF of a paint job and the cab still where's the CSX paint. This is someone who want CSX to paint the whole engine in Heritage Paint NOT half and half. In short paint the engines all the way like NS.

bad news, another locomotive was vandalized, this one is GP38-2 2625, her front was painted into the Louisville and Nashville colors

Vandalism or not I don’t care I think it looks good. I do agree with most people out there on the color schemes should be different for each heritage unit. But in the long run doesn’t matter to me it’s what the company wants to do.

I personally think both of the “vandalized” locomotives are great, albeit illegal. Isnt the Chessie vandal unit an ex Chessie locomotive? If so, someones doing some research. I wonder whats next?

Okay how do you as a railroad manage to let TWO of your locos be graffitied so professionally that it can't even really be considered graffiti anymore?

hmmmm graffiti I can approve of!

Whoever is doing this worked in a paint shop or has a amazing gift. They also are a hard-core foamer researching the exact locomotive and painting its nose to what it once wore. Really impressive tbh sucks that yes it is illegal but still cool to see.

About those new heritage units, I would like to see it painted in the FULL Railroad paint scheme that it represents, because Union Pacific does that too

Hartwell railroad has a unit from this railroad that's still running it's number is 136

CSX wanted to keep it that way and if someone did this, they might be doing a great job.

Maybe this paint shop can put a B&O capital dome on the front, and a WM fireball on another. Someone did their proper homework to do an engine that originally would've had same paint scheme under csx paint

Here's to hoping the "vandals" don't decide to paint an Atlanta & West Point, Western Railway of Alabama, Georgia Rail Road, Clinchfield, or Seaboard System unit. 'cuz that would be wrong, y'all--wrong. Don't.

what if CSX is doing it themselves, just to add more publicity and more to the heritage fleet?

The ‘graffiti’ artist understands true art. Art as beauty, commentary and criticism as it should be. The artist is likely as disappointed with CSX’s graphically horrific blends on their ill-conceived, semi-heritage units. The CSX paint shop can’t be blamed for whoever mandated the blend. It’s high quality craftsmanship; they were just given lousy designs. The awkward two-faced units are insults to the original designers, their designs, and the heritage brands themselves - mainly in just how bad the blends and transitions appear. The UP hired talented folks to reinterpret and modernize heritage schemes, the NS went for straight history - both successful programs - CSX, I suppose, in a need to differentiate itself went for the air-bushed boardwalk t-shirt approach in order to force a marriage of the past and the future. By remotely completing each work the ‘graffiti’ artist clearly articulated what CSX failed to execute with any dignity - that a locomotive with two paint schemes could work with simple,distinct terminations and most importantly, by celebrating the front versus the ass end of each unit with its heritage. Hopefully ‘graffiti’ artist(s) gets their antecedent project complete before the corporate boys do.

This gotta be someone who knows someone or an inside job an old paint shop guy if something, I ain’t a conspiracy person but a chessie a fresh yn2 and now this RF&P. They look so good I wonder who or what this is.

If CSX has the front standard scheme while the rest is heritage scheme then this tagger is doing the front of the emds as a joke supposing CSX heritage fleet

I can't believe ̶t̶h̶e̶y̶ ̶f̶o̶u̶n̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶e̶x̶t̶r̶a̶ ̶p̶a̶i̶n̶t̶ ̶c̶a̶n̶s̶ ̶I̶ ̶l̶e̶f̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶m̶ this happened again

Well it's better than that graffiti that shows up on railcars (well most of it anyway) It'd be hillarious if CSX was playing with us because we wanted them to paint the noses

Anyone who doesn't think this is a blatant stab at CSX's attempt at heritage units needs to open their eyes. It's not a freaking coincidence these two popped up after CSX started their heritage unit program. The two geeps both have nearly reverse paint jobs that the official heritage units have, and they look so much better. If CSX would start that style on the hertiage units, a lot of railfans would be a lot happier. I get that CSX doesn't care about pleasing railfans with the heritage schemes, but these vandalized units are meant to show CSX how much better this style would look on heritage units, and hopefully catch the eye of someone who would suggest a change. Still obviously very very unlikely that would ever happen lol. But they're showing CSX up with these paint jobs. The "CSX" in the bottom corner tops it off

Thanks RF&P and C&O you ruined CSX 6394 and 6914.😡😡😡😡😡

"The shop Forman said the nose of 3694 is looking a little beat up. Send it to the paint shop after its regular maintenance." Paint shop, "We got it covered!" And this is how these engines get on the road. Sure! We can paint it the standard colors, but it takes us exactly the same time to make something fun.

"Unsanctioned" ... really? The company has to be doing this on purpose.

The fact they added the bottom yellow 9as opposed to the RFP blue that should be there) as a safety against a solid grey nose (Which CSX learned the hard way about solid light grey) says this is an unsanctioned shop job. On bothe jobs, the lines are crips, and clean, and no dirt underneath or paint running. The unit was clearly washed before painting and allowed to dry between layers, then allowed more time to dry to apply decals. Even still, all safety decals, many of which would not have been there in the original paint, are applied. Thi sisnt something some railfan did with stencils and some cans of spray paint, this is a shop job.

Well, at least it ain't graffiti !!

I'm starting to think this isn't just done by some railfan or graffiti artist but instead by a CSX painter (or painters) secretly doing this off work hours.

I will say this about whoever '"vandalized" that locomotive: they're not railfans, but wanted to give other railfans something interesting to watch.

Whoever is doing it is doing an awesome job and it celebrates rail history. Although CSX is probably not appreciating the work and one has to keep in mind what would you do if someone painted a mural on your house, tastefully celebrating the original occupants. It is an interesting idea though... but still an illicit un sanctioned celebration of rail history.

This is one of the reasons I am happy to livr where Union Pacific is, because when it comes to their heritage units, they don't half-ass them like CSX.

Hope to see them at the N.C. Transportation Museum in Spencer, N.C. during their next railfan days.

Speaking with someone who works in the CSX main offices in Jacksonville, they aren't entirely sure what to do with the 'vandals' as they call these locomotives. The work is being done at a local maintenance depot, and while unsanctioned, CSX is recognizing the popularity of these locomotives. There's some serious talks going on in the background about keeping the three vandals looking the way they are now with their noses. According to my friend, there's a third one with an ACL purple and silver nose already down at Waycross. Some details: The Chessie nose "vandal" started out that way after that engine needed a repair on its short hood. The repair depot performed this job, and instead of painting the engine in the typical CSX yellow nose, had a bit of harmless 'fun' with it. The "Chessie" logo is a vinyl wrap/sticker, and meant to be easily removed. Same goes for the RFP locomotive, and ACL locomotive. They were all in the repair shop around the same time, for similar issues. (I believe the RFP locomotive had peeling paint on her nose and parts of her body, while the ACL was present for something internal needing maintenance). My friend notes that these locos may have also been painted by "accident". Specifically, he notes that CSX corporate had a number of plans for the heritage locomotives, and they seem to recall that this specific 'minimalist' paint was one of the proposed paint schemes. He stated that while he believes it was a CSX shop that did the paint work for the above listed issues, that it may have happened that the maintenance depot responsible were of the impression that these were an official paint scheme. Hence the small CSX logo on the nose.

It looks nice! Even thought it is "vandalism". It would be cool to see them in a yard set.

I think the railroad is doing it, its to perfect and plus both units are in Georgia where the painting is done.

I love it

I agree with the complaints of others. I don't like the fact that the entire locomotive isn't painted in the full colors of the predecessor railroad and that needs to change IMO.

Another great video!

I bet it's some retired RR guys having a little juvenile delinquency surge.

“It has been moved down to Waycross” is a bad sign because that could mean the art could be taken off the hood of the locomotive! :(

Whomever did it did a good job. I wouldn't waste the money to "fix l" it.

I think they look good. Whom ever is doing this, is doing it tastefully and selects the locomotives that have the correct heritage. Keep it up... Plate C

I used to see RF&P running bare engines through Philadelphia up to Trenton, NJ in the late 80's. I forget the time exactly, but it was something late, like 9 PM to 11 PM that they would head up. There was even one day I was thinking they had some sort of electric hybrid engine running on battery, but I've never seen so much as a web page claiming such a thing was ever built. A group of 2 or 3 units came through so quietly one day that I was certain the diesels weren't running.

Oh the humanity...the only graffiti I approve of 👍

I am curious, is the 6914 still sporting the Chessie nose?

Since the two locomotives have been older ones, I wonder if a decision was made secretly by a few higher ups to paint/vinyl wrap the front of only the locomotives that actually served with the heritage companies.

my goodness now I wanna see a Conrail and seaboard system unit.

Who??? That would be the CSX Paint shop!

This is awesome! I live down the street from a very busy small yailyard, ill have to keep my eye out for some of these.

More like unauthorized artistic liberty

i like that locomotive it looks cool for a hermitage?

It’s obvious that whoever is doing this is a professional. No amateurs painting the engines! I love the heritage designs. I believe an in-house job!!👍👍

Let's be honest. Do we really want the artist to be caught

I wonder what this artist is going to do next, but i would honestly like to see if the person who did this paints an entire locomotive in a different paint scheme, like a seaboard system GP38-2.

if only ge Locomotives could last that long