Portal:Trains/Selected article/Week 22, 2018

Amtrak has used a variety of liveries on its rolling stock since taking over intercity passenger rail service in the United States in 1971. A series of six schemes termed Phases, first introduced in 1972, have seen the widest use. Phases primarily use geometric arrangements of red, white, and blue (the national colors of the United States) - part of Amtrak's patriotic visual identity. Amtrak began operations in May 1971 with a mixture of equipment still painted in the distinct liveries of its predecessor railroads. That period was later known as the Rainbow Era. To build the brand of Amtrak as a unified passenger railroad, the rolling stock was gradually repainted into system-wide Phases starting around 1972. The three routes under the Amtrak California branch - the Capitol Corridor, Pacific Surfliner, and San Joaquin - use equipment painted in several custom schemes, as do the Cascades and Piedmont. Amtrak has repainted equipment in unique livery for special uses, including its 40th anniversary in 2011 and to promote the Operation Lifesaver safety campaign. Equipment has also been wrapped for advertising promotions. When testing equipment from other railroads, Amtrak has mostly kept existing livery, though some longer-term tests used Phase schemes.