Bill Welch wrote:

A Will Whittaker photo of NP double sheathed boxcar 12855 photographed in March 1954, with a reweigh date of 10-52, shows the car with the larger Monad or yin/yang symbol and "Main Street of the Northwest" stenciled below it.

My question relates to the application of the monad to the NP's doubled sheathed reefers. Would these reefers, or at least some of them, also had the larger monad by the early fifties. Would they also have received the "Main Street of the Northwest" slogan?

Hi Bill,

What you described above with the 8' Monad and the "Main Street of the Northwest" is actually the boxcar paint scheme introduced by the NP in 1959. Prior to that time, the 4' Monad was used starting in 1953 and the 3' Monad before that time. "The "Main Street of
the Northwest" was first added to boxcars in 1948.

The NP's wood reefers never (you can bet there was at least on exception now that I've said never) carried the "Main Street" logo. Ice reefers were yellow-orange with mineral brown roof and ends. The curved "NORTHERN PACIFIC" lettering, the three foot Monad and,
if they carried a written logo at all it was the "Yellowstone Park Line" logo under the Monad. From 1940, the Monad was simplified to read "Northern Pacific" when the word "railway was dropped off. The red, black and white Monad invariably faded badly until it
was black only. No written logo was used after this time on wooden reefers.

Hope this helps.

David Lenehan

Bill - I have a list of the NP scheme changes at:
http://www.union.rpi.edu/railroad/images/rolling-stock/Paint/Paint-N.html
as best I can find the information (mostly from Todd Sullivan's NP Color
Guide) and I would assume the reefer schemes followed the same chronology.
(And if not, I'd be glad to note that in that section.) - John

A Will Whittaker photo of NP double sheathed boxcar 12855 photographed in March 1954, with a reweigh date of 10-52, shows the car with the larger Monad or yin/yang symbol and "Main Street of the Northwest" stenciled below it.

My question relates to the application of the monad to the NP's doubled sheathed reefers. Would these reefers, or at least some of them, also had the larger monad by the early fifties. Would they also have received the "Main Street of the Northwest" slogan?

I am getting ready to start painting two "Norwest" reefer models and I am wanting to think about how to decal them using the Microscale set, which includes both sizes but provides no historical information regarding dates of application of the various schemes.


Bill 'Welch <bwelch@...>
Associate Minister, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax
P.O. Box 130 Oakton VA 22124 www.uucf.org
Telephone 703 281-4230 Fax 703 281-5399