323221 new livery

[Liam L]

Doesn't look like it's out today but it will almost certainly be next week.

It had a brake fault apparently meaning it wasn’t out in service on Saturday, hopefully tomorrow

 

[L+Y]

Purely out of interest, why no black light clusters?

 

[Liam L]

It had a brake fault apparently meaning it wasn’t out in service on Saturday, hopefully tomorrow

Out tomorrow - https://twitter.com/hunsletthebear/status/1604513610126225408?s=46&t=ID5bOTzNMF7eCV1UbJJlZg

 

[Ant158]

Northern should do one in the smart 1990s GMPTE livery

 

[BurtonM]

Northern can only afford rattle cans of appliance white

 

[Corn]

323221 is out and about today. Just saw it leave New Street on 2U14 at 0846.

 

[Liam L]

323221 is out and about today. Just saw it leave New Street on 2U14 at 0846.

Just so I’m prepared for when I see it later

Was it at the four oaks or Redditch end of the set? Thanks

 

[Corn]

Just so I’m prepared for when I see it later

Was it at the four oaks or Redditch end of the set? Thanks

It was at the Redditch end. It looked good from what I could see at the gloomy platform level!

 

[Liam L]

It was at the Redditch end. It looked good from what I could see at the gloomy platform level!

Caught it at Northfield, looks amazing

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Caught it at Northfield, looks amazing

Very, very 90s though. I'm glad they've moved away from such designs.

 

[Sprinter107]

Looks lovely. Looking forward to photographing it. Such good sets are the 323s.

 

[LowLevel]

Very, very 90s though. I'm glad they've moved away from such designs.

I'm not! I liked the 90s. The world was a bit more grey and boring and you knew where you were with things. I'd go back to 1998 tomorrow

 

[sprinterguy]

Very, very 90s though. I'm glad they've moved away from such designs.

I wish they hadn't, at least the linear liveries of the sectorisation era respected the architecture of the train, and there was a familial resemblance between the different PTE identities around the country as a result of adapting the Regional Railways corporate style.

There's so much dross amongst modern liveries that are either insipid white-based designs or a multi-coloured mess of vinyl vomited over the bodysides that seem to draw inspiration from WW1 dazzle camouflage more than any sort of coherent identity, and seems unintentionally indicative of the directionless nature of the passenger railway today.

The world moves on of course, but I look at some of the things that can be done with vinyl these days and consider that just because they *can*, doesn't mean they *should*.

 

[Sprinter107]

I'm not! I liked the 90s. The world was a bit more grey and boring and you knew where you were with things. I'd go back to 1998 tomorrow

Me too.

 

[prod_pep]

I'm not! I liked the 90s. The world was a bit more grey and boring and you knew where you were with things. I'd go back to 1998 tomorrow

Likewise - and the liveries were generally much better, too.

Does anyone else reckon the grey is a bit too dark? Perhaps it is just the photography.

 

[tnxrail]

Seen some nice pictures and videos around. If it's out tomorrow will it likely be same diagrams.

 

[xotGD]

Very, very 90s though. I'm glad they've moved away from such designs.

I come at it from the opposite perspective. Should never have adopted such a hotchpotch of liveries in the first place. Should have stuck with blue and grey.

Today's are even worse.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

I come at it from the opposite perspective. Should never have adopted such a hotchpotch of liveries in the first place. Should have stuck with blue and grey.

Today's are even worse.

Blue and grey is not lime green and yellow though

 

[Liam L]

Does anyone else reckon the grey is a bit too dark? Perhaps it is just the photography.

It does come across darker than the original in person, But my photography skills doesn't help

 

[prod_pep]

It does come across darker than the original in person, But my photography skills doesn't help

I was making a general comment about the various photos and videos out there so far, not a dig at your photography, by the way!

 

[Sprinter107]

I always thought the Centro livery was smart. It was a nice bright green without being gaudy, which is very different to some of the liveries we have had in recent times.

 

[LowLevel]

Likewise - and the liveries were generally much better, too.

Does anyone else reckon the grey is a bit too dark? Perhaps it is just the photography.

The grey between the blue strip and green stripe should be much lighter and it's a bit square in places but it's being picky, they've made a good try of it!

Attached are photos from an original liveried unit in 2003 at Aston courtesy of The Tfh on YouTube and the one supplied from Hunslet the Bear on Twitter.

 

[bramling]

I'm not! I liked the 90s. The world was a bit more grey and boring and you knew where you were with things. I'd go back to 1998 tomorrow

Agreed. It’s also notable that I’ve seen quite a few people impressed with LNER’s retro Intercity 225 livery. These old liveries were quite impactful without all the garish stuff we’ve had to suffer since.

 

[Liam L]

not a dig at your photography, by the way!

I know, Don't worry

 

[Alanko]

I guess in that livery someone might try and preserve it!

A bland-looking 3-car EMU has the odds stacked against it somewhat. It would take up a lot of space, not be able to run under its own power and not exactly encompass a fun day out on a heritage railway.

 

[XCTurbostar]

The grey between the blue strip and green stripe should be much lighter and it's a bit square in places but it's being picky, they've made a good try of it!

Attached are photos from an original liveried unit in 2003 at Aston courtesy of The Tfh on YouTube and the one supplied from Hunslet the Bear on Twitter.

View attachment 125494

323221 is still base grey of London Midland where as the original was white.

 

[43096]

323221 is still base grey of London Midland where as the original was white.

The original wasn't white, as photos show.

 

[william.martin]

That looks excellent! I think its a nice nod to them. They've served the area well over the last 30 odd years!

100% agreed, they were built to whizz people around Britain's second busiest city from Bromsgrove, four oaks and Redditch via Britain's busiest station outside of London.
The amount of footfall these things get everyday is utterly remarkable for a bunch of 30 year old commuter trains wich are built for one purpose; get people from A-B quickly, on time and regularly and boy did they do this well.
I think it is great to see 323221 in this beautiful livery, would anybody be able to inform me of how long I have to see this?

 

[SuperLuke2334]

100% agreed, they were built to whizz people around Britain's second busiest city from Bromsgrove, four oaks and Redditch via Britain's busiest station outside of London.
The amount of footfall these things get everyday is utterly remarkable for a bunch of 30 year old commuter trains wich are built for one purpose; get people from A-B quickly, on time and regularly and boy did they do this well.
I think it is great to see 323221 in this beautiful livery, would anybody be able to inform me of how long I have to see this?

You've got until 730s start to be introduced, so probably quite a while yet.

 

[TrainTrackJack]

100% agreed, they were built to whizz people around Britain's second busiest city from Bromsgrove, four oaks and Redditch via Britain's busiest station outside of London.

Lets not forget they did a lot of Wolverhampton - Coventry work when introduced, known to some as the second Cross City Line. And of course, Bromsgrove has only been a recent addition