Description
The Half-Bay Window was a design championed by the New York Central and their successors and was adopted by a handful of other roads. When researching railroads, the "what" happened is often easy to find. The "why" it happened is more often then not an educated guess that is repeated until it becomes common wisdom. The guess for the existence of the Half-Bay Window design was to give the railroad the visibility of the bay window while still clearing low and tight obstructions such as through girder bridges and depot platforms.
New York Central first applied this New York CentrALERT paint scheme to selected bay window cabooses in 1956. The special logo included an image of the GM Aerotrain which was in service that year on the NYC along with the motto “Safety Wherever.” The cars were painted “safety green” not to be confused with Century green that would be adopted by NYC three years later.
