Best-looking train in the UK?

[randyrippley]

<----- No-one else will agree with me

I agree with you that no-one will agree with you

 

[Harbornite]

class 43? A Warship?
Class 42 looked far better - fewer holes in the body

No, I was obviously referring to the BREL Intercity 125 power car and not that NBL junk.

I'd argue that the Warships were one of the UK's ugliest loco designs.

 

[cjmillsnun]

An 87 with a rake of Mk3s in Swallow.

 

[randyrippley]

I've only ever seen Kestrel in photographs, but it certainly looked good. I'd imagine it must have looked like something from the space age when new, compared with earlier diesel designs. .............

Kestrel was only a reworking of the class 47 body with rounded bits added

 

[Harbornite]

Kestrel was only a reworking of the class 47 body with rounded bits added

No it wasn't, it had a different engine and (initially) different bogies. Since when did a Class 47 have an engine output of 4000hp and a 110mph top speed?

 

[hexagon789]

They do, as do the 156s and 158s.

It's a shame that we won't get to see the HSTs in Barbie livery when they move to ScotRail - but this mock-up of the new livery looks fantastic...

https://www.railengineer.uk/2017/03/23/scotrails-new-hsts/

View attachment 45109

The new Inter7City livery looks amazing a very welcome change to Saltire.

Not sure how an HST would look it Barbie possibly a bit much but we'll never know.

 

[hexagon789]

<----- No-one else will agree with me

Depends what it is, a Pacer?

 

[dorsetdesiro]

Class 442 and 444 both in 1998-present South West Trains livery (though some 444s now carry SWR vinyls).

I may be biased with this choice as I saw the 442 and now the 444 most often, more than other train types including the SWT livery which was all there most of my life so I grew to appreciate both reliable trains and sight of the SWT "swooshes" especially when getting home from Waterloo or Southampton after encountering awful service/trains from other TOCs.

Now with the dreary new SWR livery, this will take some getting used to however the 442s and 444s will continue to march on as usual which is great.

I am excitedly awaiting the return of the 442s to home territory, and though I dread about seeing the poor blighters clad in funeral grey!

 

[hexagon789]

I am excitedly awaiting the return of the 442s to home territory, and though I dread about seeing the poor blighters clad in funeral grey!

The new colour scheme on 442s doesn't bear thinking about, they've never looked better than in NSE.

 

[randyrippley]

No, I was obviously referring to the BREL Intercity 125 power car and not that NBL junk.

I'd argue that the Warships were one of the UK's ugliest loco designs.

Obviously? You could have been a hydraulic fetishist

 

[Domh245]

It's a shame that we won't get to see the HSTs in Barbie livery when they move to ScotRail

All you'd need is 10 minutes in some photo editing software, and a picture of an HST in FGW Barbie livery. Swap the gold for pink, and the pink stripe for white and voilà. This image (or a better one of the same loco) is probably a good starting point as it has some extra white stripes in it compared to the norm.

 

[sprinterguy]

Not sure how an HST would look it Barbie possibly a bit much but we'll never know.

We know exactly what HSTs look like in First "Barbie" livery as the whole Great Western fleet carried it at one point. One of the worst liveries to adorn the HST fleet in my opinion.

 

[randyrippley]

No it wasn't, it had a different engine and (initially) different bogies. Since when did a Class 47 have an engine output of 4000hp and a 110mph top speed?

The engine was just an oversized Sulzer lump and the body a beefed up 47 shell to take the extra size with pretty bits added. It ended up on class 47 bogies because the whole machine was too heavy. It was a clever attempt at packaging a high horsepower engine, but it was nothing radical.

 

[E_Reeves]

Class 68/88 for me. They look stunning in the DRS livery and the plain blue livery is quite nice as well, but the yellowless ends of the TPE livery is a big no no for me.

 

[Bletchleyite]

We know exactly what HSTs look like in First "Barbie" livery as the whole Great Western fleet carried it at one point. One of the worst liveries to adorn the HST fleet in my opinion.

I agree, a nasty livery, surpassed in nastiness only by the same TOC's previous "flying fag packet" livery.

Dynamic Lines, on the other hand...possibly the best of all time. A real shame it was dropped rather than becoming the First Bus livery as well.

 

[gordonthemoron]

Class 374

 

[hexagon789]

We know exactly what HSTs look like in First "Barbie" livery as the whole Great Western fleet carried it at one point. One of the worst liveries to adorn the HST fleet in my opinion.

I thought that was different to the ScotRail version, no?

 

[JordyWM]

A few nominations from me;

Pendolino (Virgin Colours)
Class 170 (London Midland Colours)
Virgin Voyager (I know, it’s dated but looks a beast in Virgin Colours)
Class 800 in GWR and any train really in the GWR Livery.
Also Class 800 in just plain white.

I had to include liveries with it, because liveries can make or break how a train looks for me.

 

[sprinterguy]

I thought that was different to the ScotRail version, no?

The difference seems minimal to me and the livery was commonly referred to as "Barbie".

 

[hexagon789]

The difference seems minimal to me and the livery was commonly referred to as "Barbie".

Maybe it's just the difference in the actual train then as they seemed different to me somehow

 

[backontrack]

All you'd need is 10 minutes in some photo editing software, and a picture of an HST in FGW Barbie livery. Swap the gold for pink, and the pink stripe for white and voilà. This image (or a better one of the same loco) is probably a good starting point as it has some extra white stripes in it compared to the norm.

*assumes John Finnemore voice*

WELL, since you ask me for an abominable mockup of a Scotrail InterCity 125 unit, I think I have something that you may find - abhorrent.


(based on this photo by Tom Curtis)

I rather like that.

 

[hexagon789]

*assumes John Finnemore voice*

WELL, since you ask me for an abominable mockup of a Scotrail InterCity 125 unit, I think I have something that you may find - abhorrent.

View attachment 45112
(based on this photo by Tom Curtis)

I rather like that.

That's not half bad tbh

 

[delt1c]

Best looking Top 3
Deltic in Blue ( with 55.13 on side)
Western In Maroon
HST in original Flying Banana livery

 

[43096]

Not sure how an HST would look it Barbie possibly a bit much but we'll never know.

You mean like this? (not my photo)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/lasta...L7L-cw44LW-siTmgz-rtiAzv-o8wqp6-eFXv4v-f8hQFw

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Units/locos no longer in regular use:

• Class 124: lesson one in how to do regional units.
• Class 55: not many diesel locos of 1950s vintage that look fast even when they're parked up!
• Class 85: for me, the 86/87s were fairly generic boxes, whilst 82-84s took the slanted fronts a bit too far. The 85s struck a happy medium on that front and they'd have really suited Swallow livery if they'd lasted long enough.

Everyday stuff:

• Class 158: They're pretty ubiquitous almost everywhere so get neglected on the appearance front, but to me they manage to look pretty modern whilst still screaming "early 1990s"... which isn't easy to pull off!
• Class 333: They don't have to share this spot with the 332s because of the horrid HEx livery... but there's something about the rounded front ends that makes them look fantastic to me.
• Class 37: Just a classic, timeless design. Plus most of the runners are back in the best livery for them, that being large-logo of course.

Things for the future:

• Only one contender for this: the 68s plus Mk5a sets for TPE. My only caveat being that personally I think locos with coaching stock look better if the loco isn't in exactly the same livery as the coaches (such as in the blue era when the coaches were blue/grey with the locos being just blue). I'd have gone for the 68s being in just the base silver/grey with TPE logo, rather than with the blue/purple embellishments.

 

[43096]

*assumes John Finnemore voice*

WELL, since you ask me for an abominable mockup of a Scotrail InterCity 125 unit, I think I have something that you may find - abhorrent.

View attachment 45112
(based on this photo by Tom Curtis)

I rather like that.

Not sure why you're bothering mocking them up, when FGW went through several iterations of Barbie on their fleet......... Mostly had proper engines, too.

 

[Wivenswold]

Deltics as delivered win by a country mile for me.

 

[td97]

The 390 before Virgin started repainting them

 

[swaldman]

90s or 91s, in Swallow livery.
HSTs are a close runner-up.

 

[eastwestdivide]

Deltics as delivered win by a country mile for me.
...

"as delivered" being the key phrase. The later rail blue livery didn't complement them at all.
A lesson in how a paint job can either add to, or detract from, the same underlying shape