Liveries in the South East during the 2000s

frankmoh · 7 May 2025

Why was it that so many trains continued to sport Connex or NSE liveries in the mid-2000s even after Southeastern (well actually South Eastern) had come in by 2003?

This 465 in NSE livery in 2004, around 10 years after Network SouthEast was defunct!

Also on a side note, as someone who has grown up with the modern blue door Southeastern trains. seeing 465s with yellow doors rubs me the wrong way. My mind thinks that yellow doors are only meant for the 376s!

All these pictures are from 2004-2005.

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StephenHunter · 7 May 2025

Not a lot of point changing it for the CIGs.

frankmoh · 7 May 2025

StephenHunter said:
Not a lot of point changing it for the CIGs.

Makes sense since Connex probably wanted them gone anyway (despite painting one or two of them), but for keeping the NSE liveries on 465s into the South Eastern days??

Magdalia · 7 May 2025

I can't remember the details but I think there was some contractual reason why classes 365/465/466 retained their original Network SouthEast livery. Those that got Connex livery were vinyls with the original Network SouthEast livery underneath.

When 365501-516 moved to the GN in 2004 their Connex vinyls were removed and they went back to Network SouthEast livery.

The exile · Thursday at 07:17

wasn’t it to do with the warranty on the original paintwork?(and that it was still early days for vinyls anyway) Or am I thinking of a different set of stock?

yorksrob · Thursday at 07:36

Sadly, a lot of the CIG's and VEP's did end their days in the hideous Connex livery.

Sad Sprinter · Thursday at 13:05

Seems so pointless building up NSE only to tear it apart less than a decade later.

I remember the NSE 455s and 456s well into my chdhood.

yorksrob · Thursday at 13:06

Sad Sprinter said:
Seems so pointless building up NSE only to tear it apart less than a decade later.

I remember the NSE 455s and 456s well into my chdhood.

That's ideology for you !

frankmoh · Thursday at 18:28

Magdalia said:
I can't remember the details but I think there was some contractual reason why classes 365/465/466 retained their original Network SouthEast livery. Those that got Connex livery were vinyls with the original Network SouthEast livery underneath.

When 365501-516 moved to the GN in 2004 their Connex vinyls were removed and they went back to Network SouthEast livery.

They went back to the NSE livery... after a new company had come in with a completely different livery!?

thedbdiboy · Sunday at 23:37

The exile said:
wasn’t it to do with the warranty on the original paintwork?(and that it was still early days for vinyls anyway) Or am I thinking of a different set of stock?

Correct. The Networkers were delivered with a 12 year paint warranty, and the cost of 'unnecessary' repaints precluded any fleet-wide repaint until they were due. They'd only just started when Connex were stripped of the franchise so the majority went straight into the Southeastern branded version.

frankmoh said:
They went back to the NSE livery... after a new company had come in with a completely different livery!?

The 365s were delivered in NSE livery but unbranded. The Connex yellow was just a vinyl oversticker, so once they went over to GN off it came to reveal the underlying NSE stripes.

Recessio · Monday at 14:43

I think the last NSE paint Networker was resprayed in 2007? So over a decade after privatisation

ChiefPlanner · Monday at 17:34

Many of the North London Rlys 321 fleet received a C6 overhaul well into the privatisation era , and we turned out in NSE livery , minus their bespoke branding.

thedbdiboy · 2025-05-13T00:02:47+0100

ChiefPlanner said:
Many of the North London Rlys 321 fleet received a C6 overhaul well into the privatisation era , and we turned out in NSE livery , minus their bespoke branding.

I remember when Connex took over South Central (although they hadn't revealed their wonderful new brand then, they were plain old CGEA) and a gleaming CIG returned from overhaul in unbranded NSE. When this was queried it was pointed out that no-one had actually specified what else to paint them in. Very quickly the word went out to finish any overhauled units in ghost grey/off white, and they ran like that until the spec and vinyls for the new livery were ready.

Liveries in the South East during the 2000s

frankmoh

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StephenHunter

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Magdalia

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The exile

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Sad Sprinter

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