Amtrak's Iconic Iconography
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 พ.ย. 2020
- Amtrak has had its fair share of paint schemes and logos over the course of their nearly 50 years in existence. Their look and brand has changed consistently overtime bearing mind with design trends of the time. From a very 1970s look to something a bit more streamlined and modern post-2000, Amtrak has gone through quite the evolution. But how and why did Amtrak make the creative decisions they did? Here I do my best to explain that and some of the history behind it.
Special Thanks to those who provided pictures and videos:
Mountain Ridge Films
/ @mountainridgefilms8504
SantaFe669
/ caseybnsftrains
TheTrainMiser
/ @thetrainmiser8642
ALMTrains
/ @a.l.m.trains
CoasterFan2105
/ coasterfan2105
Metro North Railfan Productions
/ @empirestaterailfan4960
Music Used:
Jazz Spastiks - Toothpaste Instrumental
Jazz Spastiks - Fresh Oranges Instrumental
Jazz Spastiks - Bananas Instrumental
Jazz Spastiks - Apples Instrumental
Jazz Spastiks - Marshmallow Instrumental
Jazz Spastiks - Vinyl Instrumental
Jazz Spastiks - Move Instrumental
Jazz Spastiks - Cannabis Instrumental
Jazz Spastiks - Bubblegum Instrumental
Jazz Spastiks - Yoga Sutra Instrumental
steezy prime - explore
Links:
Instagram: / amtrakguy365
Twitter: / amtrakguy365
Flickr: www.flickr.com/people/1424538...
My Site: amtrakguy365.weebly.com/
Sorry that this video took so long to get done, it was a bit of a bigger project and some personal circumstances prevented me from getting it done sooner. Either way, special thanks to those listed in the description who provided pictures and videos for this project! The music used is also in the description! Also I'd like to clarify a couple things, the original Amtrak Arrow logo is officially called "The Arrow" and not the "Pointless Arrow". I'm also aware I used the typeface Arial when talking about Helvetica earlier in the video. The two are similar but have minor differences in the letterforms. Back when I made this (I'm typing these corrections out in 2024) I never noticed the differences.
Lol the CDTX NPCUs use the original Caltrain Scheme from 1987.
Nah you did ok don’t worry
It's doesn't matter if it's late or not it only matters if it gets uploaded at all
Please request CENDLoveGaming to react to your videos
Great vid
Somehow I'd never quite "seen" the rails in the Amtrak logo until now, and now I'll never be able to unsee them LMAO
Same
me too
I still don't see rails in it; the thing looks far more like a flag that fell on the ground.
How about ConRail? Their logo is "wheels on rails" and once I saw it I was the same way. Can't unsee it.
Same
7:35 *Angry Dutch noises*
Itwaseas
lol
"clop, clop, clop."
The Attendant at 3:04-3:07 is Julie Byrne I worked for Amtrak and started working Onboard AutoTrain (Onboard Services) October 1995 and Julie was the Crew Chief on the Crew I was on
2020 and we’re still waiting for “Highspeed Rail” in Illinois.
Don't worry man, Biden is die-hard train enthusiast. I'm pretty sure that he'll invest so much on Bullet Train
@@lemagnifique1573 Illinois “Highspeed Rail” was part of the 2009 Stimulus that Biden had a hand in. Everything has been in place to run trains from Chicago-St Louis at 110 but Union Pacific is holding it up.
@@lemagnifique1573 lmfao
You should see us with our Highspeed Rail here in California.
@@FresnoSubber daddy!😂
You have the mark of a truly high quality TH-camr, a constantly increasing quality in your videos
Always found trains interesting but never was able to "get into" them as I rarely encountered them and it is a hard topic to learn about from the ground up, and your channel has helped with very digestible professionally made content. Thank you for these videos.
I'm so glad you posted. Tonight I've been having a very bad day as my little brother and WOTB made things hard and exhausting
as a World of Tanks Blitz player I feel you man
I assume that's what you meant by wotb?
@@trainboi777yall6 yes that is
Ah yes a fellow blitz player *flexes in 16 tier 10s*
@@buccaneerrailfanning1776 I'm not even on tier 8 I'm on TR7 which is impressive considering I got the game in like June
@@trainboi777yall6 woah i have a similar name on other social media its train_boy642 and 642 is the veterans unit on the ACS64's
I'm a CG artist and I've been a graphic artist since grade school -- fascinated with company logos and the fonts used in them along with vehicle design including trains. This channel is enthralling for me because it has so many of my interests rolled into one. The most minute details of a design capture my attention and are meaningful to me because it keeps me reminded that the smallest nuance of a design can convey it's own thought or feeling.
Amtrak Phase IV for the win! (especially the Superliner and Viewliner cars look great!)
Splendid video as always, Jared! Really liked how this turned out!
Why am I reading this like a gentleman in a movie
@@Kaithelegoguy same
Grand Forks Station still has the old pointless arrow logo sign. I just wish they fixed the blue lights on it.
So does my home station they stopped servicing it but they kept the sign
Our Vancouver Washington Amtrak station building also had a pointless arrow too
2:30 nooo you can't put “Helvetica” in Arial ;_;
Haha fonts go brrrrr
And also on 7:43, forgot to mention GP40TC and F69PHAC. They also were painted into phase 3.
Great analysis.
I first rode an Amtrak train in 1985 and developed a natural affinity for Phase III’s simplicity, but Phase V and the travel mark strikes me as stylish and in tune with the times…much like this resilient company that has stood the test of time and politics.
I like the Phase V on the P42s
8:52 you accidentally said 2408 yellow instead of 7408 or is it a typo?
That's my mistake, oops! Thanks for pointing that out but yeah it should be 7408, not sure where I got 2408 from.
@bfdi firey nice
@@AmtrakGuy365 you do awesome videos
Well done - teaching all of us about Amtrak's history.
• Cheers from the Detroit & Mackinac Railway 🚂
Amtrak certainly knows how to design their liveries. I absolutely love the bold colors on the new Avelia Liberty trainsets, I cannot wait to see them in action. Acela is begging for a modern refresh
Now that is one high class, well done, detailed, and eminently watchable video. Loved the walk through Amtrak's visual history from its inception up to the present. Outstanding job!
Phase 2 is my favorite because of how long it lasted, short but sweet.
I love this video man! The in depth nature , explanations, editing, etc is so awesome and easy to digest, and I’m so glad this video led me to your channel!!
My favorite Amtrak Paint Scheme is the original phase V because of the blue and red stripe along the bottom, as well as the new Amtrak logo being on the locomotive's cab sides.
What a great documentary showing the overall history of Amtrak.
Early amtrak:
Star Trek
Modern Amtrak:
Star Wars
Super Modern Amtrak:
Babylon 5?
About the phase 4 P42s, the dark grey face was actually meant to deviate units specifically meant for use on the Northeast Corridor while the silver faced ones were meant for the rest of the Amtrak system. The NEC P42s also had “Northeast Corridor” applied below the reflective safety stripe on each fender of the nose. Amtrak gave a similar treatment to the heritage units applying the words “Beech Grove” on the units although it was put on the reflective stripes instead of the nose fenders.
Also I never knew about that the Amtrak travel mark was designed to represent rails! Interesting fact.
These are some of the most well produced railfan videos on TH-cam. Job well done once more!
Always a great joy watching your content!
Great video. I model Amtrak from its inception thru the late 70s Phase III.
A nice compilation of Amtrak's design history and stylish corporate identity. I really like the original logo and silver base for their rolling stock, both on locos and Amfleet coaches.
I kinda suprised i'm here after watching your first vid on TH-cam.
Superb pictures and history!
Wow, your video quality has downright exploded. Excellent work!
Great video! Sorry if I wasn't able to email any footage. I was busy with work and after reviewing my clips taken from a cell phone camera a few years ago, they could have brought down the quality of the video. Keep up these projects! Interesting to see a video focusing on topics like this on the channel which gave us Engines of Amtrak.
I still can’t get over the fact that one of the cascades colors is called “Nugget”
Funni
@@West_Coast_Gang nugget
@@cadenthecadburyengine8198 *continues eating chicken nuggets*
@@ivangenov6782 Dino nuggies
This is very informative and a nice tribute to celebrate 50 years. Happy birthday Amtrak
Man this is my favorite video of yours so far
Thank you for making this video,
This will be a good reference for
making custom painted shells for some of my model trains!
I enjoyed this video alot, i took a trip on the Empire Builder last year and since then ive been studying Amtrak and its beginnings.
Once you see the rails on the Amtrak logo you can’t unsee it
Dude what an awesome video, thank you.
Great video man!
Amazing video!
Great video!
Just wanted you to know, I loved the video and I learnt a bunch of new info! :D
Phase 3 is my personal favourite Amtrak livery
Thanks for posting this. I am a huge fan of the Phase 3.
Thank you very much for this wonderfull informative video! Much appreciated
*_"IS THAT THE EFFING OLD EMTRAK LOGO?!"_*
It made me cry great vid
Great video! Sure helped me learn more about Amtrak.
Excellent informative and entertaing vide.
excellent!
That video was awesome. I wonder how much time you spend researching and editing. Looks Professional af
Thanks for the info, good video
11:07 Normies: Travelmark
Legends: *"Three Sheets to the Wind"*
Damn these videos are getting better.
Amazing
So cool
Wow, so many logos ! The Pennsy had pretty much one logo up to it's demise in 1968. It solidified in the mid thirties with Raymond Lowey's iconic pinstriped GG1s. After that the only change was a solid stripe and larger keystone.
Growing up in Philly, me and my father used to sit and watch trains from the upper level SEPTA platform at 30th street station. Mind you this was before they built the Cira center and you could see the whole yard. Not sure if I'm being obtuse but honestly I'm a bit tired/bored of the Acela and Am fleet passenger cars and it would be a really nice change up if they swapped them for "horizon fleet" on the keystone service/NEC... Do you think that would ever happen?? Thanks, awesome video! Very informative!
Awesome
The Coast Starlight used to have its own logo as well and I bought several mugs in the Parlor Car with the train logo. Crews on other trains told me that a long time ago, (I'm guessing 20 or more years ) the snack cars used to sell train-specific mugs.
awesome
I hope the acela doesn't get replaced
This is a very good information
I love this video
This is cool
Great vid
When I was at Michigan Technical University’s Railcamp, one of the rail fans joked the Amtrak is indestructible. I too hope it has many more years of operation ahead
I’ve been a fan of Amtrak since I saw a video of a Surfliner racing against a Talgo, and I recently knew that Amtrak hasn’t changed it’s logo since 1971 before the year 2000. Pretty surprising for me.
I like the arrow the best but my heart remains on the Rock Island Comet from Mpls, Mn to Kansas City & then the Santa Fe El Capitan from there to San Bernardino, Ca. ☺ ...That shows my age!😆
I’ve always loved the pointless Arrow over the tracks. I miss the old designs and I wasn’t around for them
About a year ago I saw one of the Illinois High Speed rail Amfleets in Maine
The pointless arrow logo my favourite amtrak logo
The pointless arrow is still used for the Amtrak America and the prototype paint scheme on the alc-42 is actually phase 6 the first 5 will use the CURRENT phase 5b paint scheme. Anyway good video lots of good info as always.
wow i never knew so much went into a design.
Will you do a face reveal??
Also great video! I liked the Pointless Arror
Cool man
14:28 I have been in on this train and it was a good experience 👌
I don't know if anyone else mentioned it in the comments below, but Amtrak is not the official corporate name. That would be the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, what was printed on my paychecks for the 14 years I worked there. If you look at any official company document or form, it's ID number starts with "NRPC".
i love Amtrak & your video 👍🛤️👍 , I'm a Model Railroder i have the Amtrak Big Game Locomotive & the Amtrak Vet's Locomotive 😊🇱🇷🇱🇷
our train station still has the phase one paint scheme sign (except for the time table) and the parking lot still sign still has phase one as well
I like this video
It’s seems crazy that this video is almost two years old
I never noticed the new logo was supposed to be rails and now I can't unsee it
In my opinion Amtrak’s best paint scheme was the phase 3 paint. I wish they would bring it back more.
Interesting! Something I’d otherwise have never known about.
My coworkers call the new amtrak logo "the pushup bra" lol.
I've also heard someone say it reminds them of a woman's breast. Kind of like a Rorschach inkblot, you can imagine your own meaning. The most common nickname I've heard is "clam shell". I still think the pointless arrow and Phase III striping were the best.
Amtrak is my favorite
Well it’s nice to know what font Amtrak used in the 70s
Good to know phase 6 brings back the old colors
It's a good thing that they changed the name because "All Aboard Railpax" sounds really off.
I'm a sucker for clean minimalist design, so I vibe with the arrow a lot more tbh
UPDATE: Since then Amtrak now intoduced the Phase VI & Phase VII Livery.
Phase 6 would be used for the ALC-42 for Units 300-308 (except for 301 as the unit is a HU)
Phase 7 is the now current Paint Scheme for Amtrak for Amtrak's ALC-42 Chargers and as of 2024 some P42 Units will be given the Phase VII. Units 174, 82 138 and 167 now carry the new Colors.
WoW
I love Amtraks Phase V paint And Phase lll Especially On the F40PH
They really need to bring back the pointless arrow. Burger King just brought back it's old logo.
Wow...amazing detail. Interesting video. Thx. By the way, you included a picture of NY Penn Station from the 70's. I'm trying really hard to find a photo of Washington's Union Station temporary terminal that existed from about 1981 until 1990 while the main station was being refurbished. I remember this crappy area really well since all my college travels started and ended there...but I can't find any photo of it. If anyone can find one, please let me know!
10/10 my wooden Amtrak toy enjoyed it
I’m not an American but I just realised this year will mark 50 years since Amtrak was founded