In 1990, Santa Fe set out to purge the SPSF image from its rails. All SPSF-painted locomotives the railroad owned were to be repainted blue and yellow by the end of the year. The goal was almost certainly met, but the story of Santa Fe's Kodachromes doesn't end there. A number of SPSF-painted units managed to escape the great purge by leaving the roster before they could be repainted. These units continue to roam the rails in tattered SPSF paint, their numbers dwindling as they are repainted or retired by their new owners. The "SPSF escapees" fall into the following categories:

GP7's
retired before the end of 1990

GP20's
sold to TP&W in 1989

B36-7's
turned back to GE in 1989

C30-7's
turned back to GE in 1989