Coming up with a Paint Scheme for my Freelance Model Railroad

Now that I've kind of come up with a name for my future freelance model railroad (Michigan Consolidated), I've been working on some ideas for the paint scheme I would like the locomotives to have. I'd like to get to the point where I can do the painting and detail work myself, but that will take time so I may end up outsourcing some of the work at first. We'll see though, this is going to be a very long term project, so who knows when I will even be at the point where I can think about painting locomotives. All I can do for now is come up with ideas of what I might want.

To do this I started by searching for drawings of locomotives that I could use as template files. That led me to an excellent resource in Trainiax.net, where there are hundreds of great drawings to choose from. Once I had one I liked, I imported it into my vector graphics program, Inkscape, and started putting some ideas down.

I decided to start with a GP50 since I happen to have one I could use as a test subject for trying out some painting and decals. To get some inspiration, I got onto RailPicutres.net and found as many photos of the prototype as possible with all types of paint schemes. I wanted to make sure I didn't design something that could not be easily painted onto an actual locomotive, more specifically a model locomotive, so I can bring it to life someday. 

After a lot of searching I decided to go for something that was very inspired by the paint scheme that Detroit & Mackinac used on their four Alco century series locomotives. Click here for an example. I didn't want to copy it completely, so I changed a few things up and created a hybrid design that looked good as a first draft. Here it is:

My first concept paint scheme for my Michigan Consolidated project

If you are familiar at all with the D&M scheme I was referring to, then you can really see the resemblance. I kept the same striping on the front and rear ends because I liked the way it stood out from the rest. Other than that the biggest similarity is the stripe running down the center, although here it runs all the way past the cab and onto the short hood.

I've got a couple more of these in the works for Michigan Consolidated including a Dash 9-44 CW and an SD40-2. Right now they are basically the same thing as the GP50 just so I could get an idea of how it would look on multiple types of locomotives. The next step though will be getting my GP50 model ready for some paint and decal trials to see if I can come up with something even close to this on my own.

Ideas for a Freelance Model Railroad

One of the things I've been thinking about lately is what type of railroad I want to build when I decide to go big and make something larger than a 3-foot shelf layout, I'm talking at least a 4' x 8' layout in my basement. The problem I have is not knowing which prototype railroad to model. My ideal layout would be based on the Detroit & Mackinac, but there is definitely some degree of limitation that comes with a railroad like that. I want to have more freedom than just trying to replicate something in the real world. That leaves me the option of coming up with a freelance model railroad.

Doing a freelance railroad opens up all kinds of possibilities, everything from custom painted locomotives and rolling stock to unique structures and scenery. I know I'm just getting started in all of this and have a lot to learn, but I think it would be a lot more fun and enjoyable to create something of my own. I already have a lot of ideas in my head for different industries and locations that could be part of a fictional freelance model railroad. Here's some basic info:

Railroad name: Michigan Consolidated (MCON)
Location: Michigan
Era: 1980's - Present Day (Diesel Only)
Possible Industries: Automotive, Consumer Goods, Manufacturing

An example of some real life industry supported by rail in Michigan (Chrysler Assembly Plant)

That's a pretty good start at setting some parameters for my future long term layout. For the short term, I'm thinking I can work this into my office shelf layout project and come up with something along those lines. I'm planning on taking my SD40-2 project and making that my first custom locomotive for my freelance railroad. Beyond that I have an old Union Pacific SW1500 and Norfolk Southern GP50 that would make for some additional locomotive customization practice.

Before I can do anything with painting these locomotives with a custom scheme, I need to come up with said custom scheme. I'm working on some ideas now, nothing too complex, and it's coming along nicely so far. I'm hoping to have some ideas ready to post here soon. Until then, I will continue researching what I want this freelance railroad to be and hopefully get a better start on my office shelf layout with this new theme in mind.