rainbow era

plural rainbow eras

1. USinformalrail transportA period in the early 1970s when Amtrak operated a fleet of used equipment that still carried the paint schemes of their previous owners.

   We have come a long way since that “rainbow era” of using hand-me-down equipment.

   2021, “A Brief History of Amtrak Paint Schemes and Liveries”, in Amtrak

   2 more examples

   Amtrak's Rainbow Era was the first few years where consists were multi-colored because many legacy carriers' former rolling stock was mixed together and not yet painted for Amtrak.

   2012 February 15, Tadman, “Ocean View in Rainbow Era”, in Railroad.net

   That was the rainbow era when much of Amtrak was still running in the original roads’ paint until 1974.

   2022 May 30, markm, “Amtrak in a movie”, in AZL Forum