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Chessie Era, The by Thomas W Dixon Jr Soft Cover C&O
The Chessie Era by Thomas W Dixon Jr
Soft Cover
Copyright 1990
64 pages
For 13 years the Chessie System existed as a holding company for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and the Western Maryland Railway. During this time their locomotives and cars, though sublettered for the railroad of ownership, all wore the brilliant yellow and maroon colors and herald of the holding company, named for the C&O's longtime corporate symbol, Chessie, the sleeping kitten. This book is an album of photos taken during this decade of Chessie ascendancy when the normally drab blue of the C&O and B&O was replaced by a bright and attention-getting design for locomotives and cars. I have not tried to make this a work of reference as far as locomotives shown, rather a visually pleasing compendium of scenes depicting trains of the Chessie System in its primacy from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s - The Chessie Era.
Railfans and railroaders had come to expect many railroads to pay little attention to their image as reflected in their rolling stock, especially since their exit from the public relations-oriented passenger business over the preceding decade. The coal-hauling roads such as C&O, B&O, and N&W generally had adopted rather drab schemes for their diesels, not unlike the unattractive black steam locomotive appearance, the C&O and B&O going with blue and the N&W black. Southern also had black units as did other kindred roads such as Clinchfield and WM. There was also the factor of expense which was often cited by the Penn Central in painting its units black with the now-infamous stylized "PC" or "worm" herald. Plain units with little decoration were less expensive to paint and also needed less washing in the dirty work they were usually about. It all made good "bottom line" sense, but the locomotives and cars didn't make the impression that the brighter colors of the previous 20 years' experience had conditioned many railroaders and railfans (as well as the public at large to express.
In 1962 the C&O assumed control, by stock ownership, of the ancient B&O, since the C&O had been unable to marry its partner of choice, the New York Central. The union of these two primary coal haulers proved to be a good choice, and of course the public relations and advertising people immediately began to work on an image for the new company. But none emerged, perhaps because both roads were steeped in long and fervently held traditions. Indeed they didn't even acknowledge that it was a merger, preferring to call it the " affiliated C&O and B&O." Howard Skidmore, public relations chief for the C&O and then for the combined company, commissioned a survey in 1965 for a new name and image. After a good sampling of employees, company officials, shippers, and the public, the name of "Chessie System" was the clear preference, but for a number of reasons the new name wasn't immediately adopted. The C&O /B&O image continued with a logo that combined the heralds of the two lines without any changes, one slightly superimposed on the other, symbolizing their union. Eventually the Western Maryland was incorporated into the holding company through B&O ownership.
Since both the C&O and B&O had blue locomotive and car designs before the affiliation, they adopted simplified standard lettering and color (which happened to be C&O's enchantment blue). The lettering consisted of large C&0 or B&O lettering on the locomotive hoods, and numerals under the cab windows. The railroad's herald (either the C&O's "For Progress" emblem or the B&O's venerable capitol dome) appeared on each end. During the next seven years or so new locomotives arrived in this paint scheme and older ones were repainted as they were shopped. Locomotives and cars were traded back and forth between companies as needed, and the merging of offices, facilities, and operations continued a slow and measured pace. There was no immediate plunging into total merger which many believed helped wreck the Penn Central.
In 1971 Hays T. Watkins, who had come into the C&O's financial department in the late 1940s, became president of the company, and decided that a change of image was due. Howard Skidmore, still at the public relations post, called in Franklyn Can-, the head of his creative department, and asked him to design a logo to go with the Chessie System name which had now been decided upon based on the previous study. Skidmore was also impressed with the Santa Fe's bold lettering on its locomotives and decided that something similar would be eyecatching. The C&0/ B&O safety and casualty prevention department was also for a more visible paint scheme for grade crossing safety and generally better visibility. By this time as well, the merging of the two lines had made great headway, and the existence of the subordinate corporations was no longer as high a priority as before, so the new name was adopted for a holding company that would operate the three railroads and their subsidiaries. The Chessie System Railroads would have a single operation, but the equipment and certain of the legal obligations of the corporations would remain since the companies wouldn't be merged.
Franklyn Carr's design for the new company herald (logo) was inspired by the C&O's famous kitten, Chessie. Chessie was discovered as an etching in a New York newspaper by C&O Vice President L. C. Probert in 1933. He used the cuddly little tabby kitten sleeping contentedly with her head between bedcovers in a sleeping car ad campaign. Using the slogan "Sleep like a kitten - Wake up fresh as a daisy on the C&Os fleet of air-conditioned trains" Chessie (obviously named for the railway) became an instant success. Calendars were produced showing Chessie in many scenes, always in her restful pose with one eye partially open. Soon kittens were added as well as "Peake, Chessie's old man" on Father's Day in 1937. Over the next 30 years Chessie became the most popular railroad trademark in America and one of the greatest corporate advertising successes of all time. She had that irresistible quality that endeared her to almost everyone. Indeed, over these years Chessie was often used as shorthand for the C&O itself. Therefore it's no surprise that the choice for the new railroad name should be Chessie. Can- took the standard Chessie design in a circle and drew an outline of it creating a capital "c" that had the new familiar outline of Chessie as its opening. He presented this design to Skidmore who soon enthusiastically embraced it as did the board of directors.
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