07/30/2026
When the Morris County Central Railroad opened at its new location at Newfoundland, NJ on July 4, 1974, passengers were handed flyers announcing the MCC's "COLOR-A-COACH" contest. The idea was to encourage the public to involve themselves in the Railroad by asking them to suggest a new color scheme for the MCC's coaches. Entries had to be sent in by August 1, 1974. On October 1, 1974, a local-area winner had been announced with a scheme chosen by the MCC's Board of Directors consisting of an orange car body, with a red band running along the windows, offset by black lettering, steps and trucks. When the repainting project was set to finally begin in 1976, the original winning scheme was put to the side after much dissatisfaction had been made by the MCC's employees and volunteers. New colors were chosen with input from everyone at the MCC, and it became the "classic" MCC scheme that was admired by many - a photo from Oct. 23, 1977 is attached showing the new paintwork as seen on MCC (ex-CNJ) No. 1001 - which today is being restored to service at the Whippany Railway Museum. An additional image shows the work in progress on October 16, 1976.
The MCC also planned to paint one of its coaches in a "1776" red, white & blue Bicentennial scheme submitted by MCC conductor Steve Hepler. Today, Hepler says: "Back in 1974 I had colored up about a dozen or so "COLOR-A-COACH" entries, two of which were specifically for the proposed Bicentennial coach scheme. It wasn't long before I was told that one of my "1776" entries was chosen to be used on a coach. To this day, I still don't know which scheme was chosen for the Bicentennial coach, and In the end, the MCC never got around to painting one of its coaches in a red, white & blue scheme."
While the choice of coach colors was being debated, Hepler eventually colored up a crude, but useful concept image depicting the Bicentennial scheme that would eventually turn up on former Delaware & Hudson caboose No. 35886. The artwork was made on April 29, 1975, and when painting began in July 1975, the plan was pinned to the side of the car each working day over the course of two months to act as a guide. Still surviving to this day, this bit of paper is clearly showing its age and is quite fragile. The caboose re-entered service as MCC No. 1776 on September 6, 1975, and wore the Bicentennial scheme until June 1977 when it was returned to its proper D&H color scheme.
www.WhippanyRailwayMuseum.net
