Midland Metro Rolling Stock

Crossover · 17 Aug 2013

I do like the new livery. I think what sets it apart is that the unit no longer sports the faded red look :P

Amazing what a bit of paint can do!

RailUK Forums

atsf_fT · 18 Aug 2013

current state of the new tram depot and sideings being built for the new trams on order .

Peter Mugridge · 18 Aug 2013

The Christmas Tree 02 is the only one I haven't got a picture of; is there anywhere public that overlooks that siding and which does not require a zoom lens ( as I haven't got one! )?

anthony263 · 19 Aug 2013

I will keep an eye out tommorow when I am in Birmingham

atsf_fT · 19 Aug 2013

Peter Mugridge said:
The Christmas Tree 02 is the only one I haven't got a picture of; is there anywhere public that overlooks that siding and which does not require a zoom lens ( as I haven't got one! )?

no you need a zoom lens to get a photo of 01/02 and the only public place to get a photo is were i took the photos above .

MetroDriver · 23 Aug 2013

Peter Mugridge said:
The Christmas Tree 02 is the only one I haven't got a picture of; is there anywhere public that overlooks that siding and which does not require a zoom lens ( as I haven't got one! )?

The view of Tram 02 in the previous photos is as close as you're going to get without trespass I'm afraid. The site security are always watching that fence line shown above, which is about 100m from the those trams.

MetroDriver · 23 Aug 2013

Today saw the official unveiling ceremony take place at Birmingham Snow Hill of Tram 11 in it's commemorative old Birmingham City Transport (BCT) colours...

Not seen Snow Hill so busy for a naming ceremony to be honest, so it was a great event to be part of as the Tram's driver.
Theresa Stewart was given the honour of naming her own tram for the second time - and with me as the same driver both times too!
I managed to grab some photos during the morning on my decent camera which captured the true colours much better than my previous camera phone attempts, and I'm sure other forum members will have more to add to this thread as I saw how many photographers were there

Here's a few of mine anyway (unedited)

DSCF1356 by hunterxf382, on Flickr
All prepped at the depot and ready to leave!

DSCF1357 by hunterxf382, on Flickr
At Birmingham Snow Hill awaiting the VIP arrivals.

DSCF1371 by hunterxf382, on Flickr
At Wednesbury Parkway and straight into public service!

DSCF1372 by hunterxf382, on Flickr
The colours can now be seen to be much darker than my original camera phone ones - much to the relief of many I'm sure!

61653 HTAFC · 23 Aug 2013

They ought to use this livery for the new trams when they arrive. The current standard livery makes them look like oversized toys :roll:

gordonthemoron · 23 Aug 2013

it looks very old fashioned

MetroDriver · 23 Aug 2013

That's because it is?
I'm not sure whether you had realised why the new colours had been applied on this tram or not - it is a one-off to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the original closure of the last tram system in Birmingham in 1953. So yes - the colours you see here are indeed "old fashioned" because that's exactly what was intended....

gordonthemoron · 23 Aug 2013

that was a reply to 61653

Searle · 23 Aug 2013

Love the new livery, very smart! Thanks for sharing the photos

61653 HTAFC · 23 Aug 2013

gordonthemoron said:
it looks very old fashioned

It looks far classier than the current 'toybox' livery, that's for sure!

Peter Mugridge · 24 Aug 2013

That is by far the best, smartest livery on any tram in the UK at the present time.

MetroDriver · 24 Aug 2013

Wow.... Great feedback so far, thank you - I will pass them on to our management team!

Manchester77 · 24 Aug 2013

Snazzy

Makes me laugh how a livery from years and years ago suites the trams better than their standard one

atsf_fT · 24 Aug 2013

a big thanks to all the staff at the midland metro depot for making this happen and to the metro management for allowing this one off repaint and thanks also to the driver on the day thanks

tram 11 is now a head turner , wow

a couple inHDR

furgus2 · 24 Aug 2013

This retro livery looks more 'classy' that the current effort. If only senior management would admit this and have a rethink about the current pink outrage of a colour scheme.

anthony263 · 24 Aug 2013

I agree this livery looks the best on the trams.

I visited Wolverhampton on tuesday and spent the afternoon traveling the route. I confess I am not a fan of the pink and silver livery.

MetroDriver · 24 Aug 2013

furgus2 said:
This retro livery looks more 'classy' that the current effort. If only senior management would admit this and have a rethink about the current pink outrage of a colour scheme.

I must clarify that the choice of pink is NOT a Metro management decision, it came from the branded "Network West Midlands" which is basically the public face of Centro. Some years ago the colours for each mode of transport were decided upon to distinguish each one on signage and literature.

http://www.networkwestmidlands.com/web/MultimediaFiles/3MODES-NETWORK.PNG

The bus network gets orange, trains got green, and we got pink.... :oops:

No idea why or on what basis, but if you've seen the signage you'll see how it works to clearly indicate directions and what stops where, and was a major rebranding exercise coupled with the blue "Network" part which brings them all together as an integrated transport system...

(Sounds good in theory but we still got pink...lol)

Maybe other integrated systems around the country got it right - I can't answer that; but personally I think the new CAF trams colours look rather better than our existing ones that were changed to pink & silver, so maybe it's just the tram shape that grates against the colours?

I have really taken to Tram 11's 'old style' colours myself, but wouldn't want to see an entire fleet done like that, as this was a one-off commemorative example and hopefully will act as a fitting reminder of the heritage values rather than becoming the colour scheme of choice?

Hope that makes some sense from my personal perspective anyway

Another 'edited' photo from me which covers all three colour schemes we now have in use - for comparison purposes:

[/url]
Colour Transitions by hunterxf382, on Flickr[/IMG]

Tomonthetrain · 24 Aug 2013

My brother, stupidly, likes the pink livery...yet I like the livery on tram 14!

Crossover · 24 Aug 2013

As an aside, is Tram 11 the only one to have LED light clusters and an LED screen?

You could be forgiven for thinking that 11 was a new tram when you compare those three variants in the picture!

MetroDriver · 24 Aug 2013

The entire running fleet have the LED light clusters, well actually almost all of them have the same design as seen on Tram 11, but we're now seeing another version of an LED cluster being fitted to our trams too - all it seems as part of the trial process for various bits and bobs. The destination blinds were all converted a while back which are mush more reliable than the old roller blind versions which wore out.

Crossover · 24 Aug 2013

It is amazing what a new set of the light clusters and such like can do for a unit. I mean, not just on trams, look at the likes of Class 144's and Class 323's etc on the mainline!

MetroDriver · 24 Aug 2013

atsf_fT said:
a big thanks to all the staff at the midland metro depot for making this happen and to the metro management for allowing this one off repaint and thanks also to the driver on the day thanks

tram 11 is now a head turner , wow

Great shots Andy, especially that brilliant one of Theresa with her name plate in shot too! It was a pleasure being the driver on this event

trainspotter · 26 Aug 2013

MetroDriver said:
Great shots Andy, especially that brilliant one of Theresa with her name plate in shot too! It was a pleasure being the driver on this event

After listening to his brother for many years he now takes better pics than me sometimes!!!!

LOL

Good work bro!!

MetroDriver · 27 Aug 2013

For a change, our local press actually told a positive story about this livery for a change

http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2013/08/27/midland-metro-tram-gets-traditional-look-to-mark-60-years-since-birmingham-trams/

GazUk · 29 Aug 2013

I am heading on over to brum this weekend for job assessment for nxbus, and i am going to have a little venture on the midland metro as i've never done it before,hopefully i'll see the said painted tram doing it's run

furgus2 · 30 Aug 2013

Yes, MetroDriver, and on the issue of being positive, I noticed the Express and Star actually printed 2 pro-HS2 letters this week amidst its usual rabid anti-HS2 headlines.

Back on topic, you mentioned that pink is part of the Network West Midlands colour coding scheme. However, orange appears to be the bus colour yet I can't think of any operators who paint their buses that colour. A real shame that those in power think pink is a suitable colour

Muzer · 30 Aug 2013

Although I don't like the pink one, I must say that the cream on the trams makes them look like they're made of white ABS plastic that's been left out in the sun too long

As they say, you can't win 'em all - that livery does nothing for me.

However, still nice to see a company celebrating their heritage.

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