Railroaders Redesign Tale

For the 2021 season the Cleburne Railroaders  are excited to update the team designs to embrace the dynamics of the City of Cleburne and its railroading heritage.  We want to show baseball fans all over the world where we’re from in our great state of Texas.  With that in mind, we’ve changed the colors of the Railroaders to the colors to those inspired by the Texas flag:  Caboose Red, Steel Rail Blue and Whistle Post White.

The new Railroaders wordmark features the beloved Spike mascot popping up as the letter ‘L.’  The font is based on the script lettering of ‘The Katy,’ the Missouri, Kansas and Texas railroad, a name that is currently emblazoned on the side of the Union Pacific Heritage locomotive. 

Our new logos include the ‘C-Texas,’ with a railroad track-shaped ‘C’, also doubling as a horseshoe, leading to the location of Cleburne, marked with a star and a railroad spike.

We also have what we call the ‘Katy-R‘ which includes the star and spike that harkens back to Cleburne’s location.  Finally there’s the ‘Cleburne Circle,’ featuring the ‘C-Texas’ in the middle with narrow-gauge railroad tracks substituting for baseball seams.  

We also want to introduce you to our new mascot, Gandy, who will join Spike in representing the Railroaders.  Gandy was part of the Santa Fe railroad track maintenance gang from the old days.  These track gangs were known as ‘Gandy Dancers,’ who sang songs while they were working.  Gandy was sad when he lost his job to machines but he is now a happy guy, thanks to his newfound friend, Spike, who helped fix his broken railroad hammer.  With all of the snarling baseball logos out there, Gandy brings the smile back to the ballpark.

One of the most important parts of the team is what we’ll be wearing on the field!  Our away uniform will feature a grey jersey, with a simple navy blue script on the front reading ‘Cleburne,’ with ‘Texas’ on its tail.  The sleeves will feature a Gandy patch on one sleeve and the logo for the American Association on the other.  The pants are grey with navy blue piping, the belt navy blue and the stirrups are also navy with three white stripes.  Topping off the look will be a navy cap with the ‘C-Texas’ logo on the front.  It’s a clean look that would not seem out of place on an old flannel uniform.

The home uniform has a white jersey with the new ‘Railroaders’ script on the front that features “Cleburne, TX” on its navy blue tail.  Note that the number font on both home and away jerseys is the same one used on the old Santa Fe steam locomotive tenders.  Gandy and the American Association patches grace the sleeves.  The pants are white with dark red and navy piping and also feature dark red numbers on the front, an homage to the team the original Railroaders would eventually become:  the Houston Astros.  Stirrups have red, white and blue stripes and a blue hat emblazoned with the ‘Katy R’ logo complete the look.

Finally, there’s the Heritage uniform starting with a navy blue top featuring red piping and the ‘C-Texas’ logo on the left breast.  Sharp, three-color McAuliffe font numbers are on the front and back with Gandy and AA on the sleeves.  The pants are grey with a dark red stripe and belt, the stirrups mimicking the ones worn by the first Railroaders team back in 1906.  A navy hat with the three-colored “Katy R” is worn with this uniform. 

Of course, this is just the beginning.  We intend to have a rousing schedule of special days and special uniforms to keep the fun going on all season long at The Depot.  We will also carry on all of the charity work that the Railroaders have done for the good people of Johnson County. 

Design by McLaughlin 

Agency: COLLiDE