John,
You guys are always looking for a way to make good PR, why not think about having a contest that you riders, the media and focus groups could be involved with in the choosing of a design. Maybe not a whole set of cars, but say one for start. If you look at the various other transportation forms, they are always doing something special with say a bus, an aircraft, a vehicle, to bring attention to themselves. Being that it is paint, and the attention it could draw. (Example, look at the web pages for airliners.net. They have hundreds of folks who spend time just looking for those different paint schemes. Frontiers different tails.) Again, another tool and one that serves multiple audiences. Museums all across the country right now want that "little blue engine" on their property. It's not historical, but they are going to the bank with it. And for this, the greatest living museum, it couldn't hurt. With that kinds of interest and attention, other more historical items could be completed.
Art