BR Standards in Maroon/Blue?

[alexl92]

(Not sure if this is the correct section; apologies if not!)

I'm intrigued to know whether mocked-up images of the BR Standard Class pacifics (6/7/8) have ever been produced with the locos wearing BR Maroon or Express Blue livery? An image of two (albeit LMS) maroon Duchesses alongside 71000 got me wondering what the latter would look like in other liveries.

 

[sprinterguy]

There's the following image of a Britannia in express passenger blue that cropped up on RMWeb:
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/forum/userpix/1654_Brit_in_blue_WEB_1.jpg

Unfortunately it seems that such mocked up image are a little thin on the ground, which is a shame as I personally think that the BR maroon and express passenger blue liveries were far more interesting than the drab Brunswick green that was adopted as standard. Technically only "Duke of Gloucester" would have been deemed suitable to wear the express passenger blue livery, but it does sit very well on a Britannia.

 

[alexl92]

I'm a big fan of Express Blue, especially when paired with blood & custard coaches. I'd really love to see a good quality mock-up of 71000 in Maroon though. I can imagine it would be quite imposing.

 

[sprinterguy]

I'm a big fan of Express Blue, especially when paired with blood & custard coaches.

Agreed entirely: For a while there, British Railways seemed to have developed a bright, appealing new image for itself, before Brunswick green was adopted wholesale and the coaching stock went maroon, no doubt following some lobbying from the traditionalists, the Great Western crowd presumably foremost among them with regard to what colour locos should be painted! Though there were also issues with the longevity and suitability of the paint used in the express passenger and carmine and cream liveries.

I agree that "Duke of Gloucester" would surely look impressive in maroon. I'm likely to be pilloried by the purists but I thought that both "Olton Hall" and "Taw Valley" looked very good in their respective maroon "Hogwarts Express" liveries.

 

[Monty]

Carmine and cream used to fade terribly and the blue used on express passenger locos wasn't much better, that was the main reason that prompted the change. Also people may consider Brunswick green to be drab but it was a good shade that weathered well and suited virtually every locomotive it was applied to. If you look at some of BR's early experiments there was some absolutely hideous combinations. A jubilee in apple green sticks outs as particularly dire.

 

[sprinterguy]

You've got a point there. Some of the experimental liveries that BR tried were atrocious.

I've wondered for some time what a Gresley P2 would look like in garter blue livery and in original (as per locos 2001/2002) condition.

 

[Deepgreen]

You've got a point there. Some of the experimental liveries that BR tried were atrocious.

I've wondered for some time what a Gresley P2 would look like in garter blue livery and in original (as per locos 2001/2002) condition.

When the new P2 enters service I'd be surprised if it doesn't appear in a variety of liveries, so you may have the chance.

 

[Taunton]

A lot of the weathering/fading of the early liveries was down to the limitations of the paint pigments produced by paint manufacturers of the time. In particular blue was a real difficulty to maintain long-term until ICI paints cracked it around 1960, followed not too long afterwards by BR taking the new paint up wholesale for much of their rolling stock. There had been blue stock previously (eg the Caledonian Railway locomotives) but the problems were generally overcome by layer upon layer of paint, absorbing much cost and time. Green had long had good stable pigments, which is why 3 out of the 4 main companies pre-nationalisation used it, and why it turned up elsewhere, eg on many public buildings, council houses, etc. Darker shades wore better than lighter, hence Brunswick Green or Maroon.

 

[alexl92]

When the new P2 enters service I'd be surprised if it doesn't appear in a variety of liveries, so you may have the chance.

I hope we get to see it in a variety of LNER and hypothetical BR liveries.
Apple Green with 'B R I T I S H R A I L W A Y S' across the tender similar to Tornado could look classy.