Roy Hill 1022 Pinky

Roy Hill GE ES44ACi "Pinky" Locomotive Overview.

The Roy Hill GE ES44ACi "Pinky" is a custom-built, hot pink-colored diesel-electric locomotive operated by Roy Hill, an Australian iron ore mining company. It's a striking deviation from traditional locomotive colors, serving as both a functional hauler and a bold branding statement, as a tribute to breast cancer awareness and women in mining, a rolling symbol of solidarity that turns heads from Perth to Port Hedland.

Key Features are:
Model: GE Transportation ES44ACi (Evolution Series, 4,400 hp)
Color: Vibrant pink (officially "Roy Hill Pink") - unique in the rail industry
Purpose: Hauls iron ore from Roy Hill’s Pilbara mines to Port Hedland
Fleet: Part of a larger roster of similarly colored locomotives
Engine: 12-cylinder GEVO diesel
Weight: Approx 212 tonnes
(Note: The ES44ACi is an international variant of the ES44AC, optimized for Australian conditions.)

The Pinky locomotives are a rare blend of industrial grit and playful branding, making them a favorite among photographers and rail enthusiasts worldwide.

To start the process of converting the locomotive to a completely different livery, requires the shell or body to be removed from the chassis which by and large isn't that difficult but usually there will be wires running from the chassis to front and rear lights. These wires need to be disconnected so the upper body can be further disassembled. All windows, horns, lights, handrails, and any other part that can be removed from the body. Once the body is completely stripped of accessories and bling, it needs to be submerged in a tank of 99% IPA (isopropyl alcohol) for any time from a few hours to maybe 2 days. This will remove any decals and soften the existing paint allowing total removal back to its original plastic finish.

This is a good time then to make any modifications and undertake repairs if necessary, prior to applying a primer and finally the required top coat. The top coat can be a single colour or multiple colours that will require spraying the lighter colours first then masking the locomotive to protect the newly applied coat and repeating the step until the final coat is applied.

I design all my decals using Adobe Illustrator software and when completely satisfied that I have got it right upload to the decal supplier. From then on, it's a process a reverse assembly, that is, to apply the decals and all the accessories required along with the installation of LED lights as required.

All my locomotives are fitted with ESU Loksound digital sound decoders programmed with the correct sounds file to match the locomotive that is being worked on. Once the decoder and all necessary wiring is complete, the body can be reunited with the chassis and given a test run.