Wheeling Lake Erie locomotives looking like Rio Grande locomotives

[CSXfan11]

Why does the WLE's paint scheme look like the Rio grandes, I have also seen Rio grande locomotives with WLE reporting marks.

[AARR]

One of the original owners/upper management was either a fan or came from DRG&W and copied its scheme

[CSXfan11]

One of the original owners/upper management was either a fan or came from DRG&W and copied its scheme

Thing is sometimes on the way to my friends house I pass a WLE yard an I will see rio grande SD40-2's do you think th railroads are related in any way shape or form?

[AARR]

Thing is sometimes on the way to my friends house I pass a WLE yard an I will see rio grande SD40-2's do you think th railroads are related in any way shape or form?

No affiliation. Just copied the paint scheme. Personally I like it.

[Erroneous Monk]

One of the original owners/upper management was either a fan or came from DRG&W and copied its scheme

Thing is sometimes on the way to my friends house I pass a WLE yard an I will see rio grande SD40-2's do you think th railroads are related in any way shape or form?

The Rio Grande no longer exists so they cannot be related.

The Wheeling does roster a few units that have retained their original Rio Grande paint however they are fully owned by the WLE. No corporate connection.

[chapmaja]

Do a search, it isn't as simple as it may seem outwardly. Rio Grande actually did not cease to exist until well after the formation of the W&LE.

The final ending of what was originally Rio Grande Industries did not happen until 2015.

There was a long and complicated renaming and transition of businesses throughout the process, but the final blow wasn't until everything finally merged with Union Pacific in 2015.

[David Collins]

The final ending of what was originally Rio Grande Industries did not happen until 2015.

There was a long and complicated renaming and transition of businesses throughout the process, but the final blow wasn't until everything finally merged with Union Pacific in 2015.

Hold up, did UP take out a lease ob the DRGW like how CN did with BCRail and then officially took everything over?

[GTW6401]

The CEO and majority owner is Larry Parsons, who previously was with DRGW and KCS.

Rio Grande Industries bought the SP in 1988. They renamed it Southern Pacific Rail Corporation in 1993.

It was all part of the Anschutz Corporation, which owned the railroad in that era.

[AARR]

Thank you. I couldn’t remember his name.

The CEO and majority owner is Larry Parsons, who previously was with DRGW and KCS.

[SD80MAC]

The final ending of what was originally Rio Grande Industries did not happen until 2015.

There was a long and complicated renaming and transition of businesses throughout the process, but the final blow wasn't until everything finally merged with Union Pacific in 2015.

Hold up, did UP take out a lease ob the DRGW like how CN did with BCRail and then officially took everything over?

Rio Grande bought Southern Pacific, then assumed the SP name and brand. They then bought Union Pacific, and assumed the UP name and brand. Today's UP is, technically, the Denver & Rio Grande Western.

[Erroneous Monk]

Shoulda taken the Grande national smh

[GP30M4216]

Can we all agree that it’s too bad the Wheeling & Lake Erie coke trains no longer come to Rougemere? I always enjoyed seeing the eclectic mix of W&LE power in Rio Grande, Rio Grande-inspired, or various other special or lessor paint schemes. I miss it!

[TSS]

Thing is sometimes on the way to my friends house I pass a WLE yard an I will see rio grande SD40-2's do you think th railroads are related in any way shape or form?

No affiliation. Just copied the paint scheme. Personally I like it.

I wonder if they have a license agreement with UP or if it is just “different enough” to have escaped an enforcement action by UP’s lawyers, given that UP owns all DRGW assets, including logos, fonts, trade dress, and intellectual property?

The railfan in me is happy to see all the heritage units but the cynic in be believes they are motivated purely by the intellectual property lawyers telling UP/BNSF/CSX not to lose their trademarks on the heritage names, and so the railroads paint up heritage units so they can demonstrate to the US Patent and Trademark Office that the names were “used in trade” and therefore the trademarks can be renewed.

[chapmaja]

Thing is sometimes on the way to my friends house I pass a WLE yard an I will see rio grande SD40-2's do you think th railroads are related in any way shape or form?

No affiliation. Just copied the paint scheme. Personally I like it.

I wonder if they have a license agreement with UP or if it is just “different enough” to have escaped an enforcement action by UP’s lawyers, given that UP owns all DRGW assets, including logos, fonts, trade dress, and intellectual property?

The railfan in me is happy to see all the heritage units but the cynic in be believes they are motivated purely by the intellectual property lawyers telling UP/BNSF/CSX not to lose their trademarks on the heritage names, and so the railroads paint up heritage units so they can demonstrate to the US Patent and Trademark Office that the names were “used in trade” and therefore the trademarks can be renewed.

I don't think there is as much of an issue with a paint scheme likel the Wheeling and Lake Erie compared with the use of the logos and name. I think this is why a lot of times you see locomotives sold off stay in their previous paint scheme with only the name and logos painted over. As long as the entity using the locomotive isn't trying to align themselves with the previous company, or benefit from the name, image of likeness (to use the college sports term), generally I don't think the courts would have an issue. If the company using the paint scheme operated out of Denver and into Western Colorado, and was using the same paint scheme and name their company the Denver and Western you might have a different outcome.

The idea of railroad names and logos is different than the paint scheme issue in my opinion. In the case of units like #303, which still wearing Reio Grande's name, there is likely some sort of permission granted for that use, considering the unit itself was a former UP unit and UP controls the rights to the D&RGW logos and name. (Or UP really doesn't care, which seems unlikely).

[joeyuboats]

I remember years back, that when GUILFORD/SPRINGFIELD TERMINAL was getting the SD26's from SANTA FE, and they were just having small initials painted on the cabs, and leaving the ATSF paint--- that ATSF was really ticked about it-- for some reason, and told Guilford to paint the units, and re letter them REAL quick.