221101 Voyager
Established Member
How about this for branding on the InterCity trains?
Based on the 5 regions outlined for GBR
Based on the 5 regions outlined for GBR
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Great British Railways: Livery, branding and appearance?
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py_megapixel
Established Member
In principle they're nice... but the nature of an inter-city service is that it's probably going to pass through multiple of those regions, so I'm not sure branding the trains like that is a good idea!
YorksLad12
Established Member
I never said it was a *good* idea... It was more a case of if you walk up to the train and can make out the stripe then you know that it will lead to a door if you follow it.
221101 Voyager
Established Member
But if those 5 regions are what they want to split them up into, then that's their problem isn't it?
If it was me who divided up the InterCity services I'd do this...
I think the double arrows on these may be a bit too big, but it's just a bit of fun!
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irish_rail
Established Member
Hate to be bearer of bad news but apparently they are going tonstick with region specific colours, so no doubt the western will be stuck with dark green on all services for all eternity.Having read about the proposals, I'm excited to see the new identity being gradually rolled out.
It will be nice to have a consistant brand and appearance. Especially seeing the double arrows on trains again!
Hopefully the simplified ticketing will make travel easier. Pity it won't be cheaper though!
I shall make up some more livery proposals and see what you guys think!
A big shame, I personally favour a livery that would be as uniform in Newcastle as it is in Plymouth.
221101 Voyager
Established Member
Well, here you go!
1st is a long term one ie once the trains are due for their first repaint, the 2nd one is simply the current livery with the new logo on it!
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I'm fine with it, something slightly more interesting to look at while waiting for the right train. NSE at Exeter never stopped being amusing though.
Just be glad GWR didn't try some brown&cream variation, it looks abominable on modern stuff. Maybe go super retro & dig out some sort of crimson lake, that might look ok. FGW were variations of blue for quite a while, this current green patch is pretty new.
They'll never please everyone.
I quite like the idea of different liveries in different parts of the country, as part of an overall scheme.
I can't think off-hand though of another country that has regional liveries for long distance services. (I expect someone will point one out now).
reddragon
Established Member
Southern in Green
Rick1984
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Not only is the double arrow logo iconic, the white on orange sign is the defacto sign for a railway station. If you were looking for a station that's what you'd be looking for.
I think each region having a variation of the same livery makes sense. Then I'd have a standard Intercity livery with maybe a small regional variation.
Also silver looks better than white if applied over a large area
I think each region having a variation of the same livery makes sense. Then I'd have a standard Intercity livery with maybe a small regional variation.
Also silver looks better than white if applied over a large area
Malachite? Brunswick? Hither Green? Green 354?
reddragon
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Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Rick1984
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Another point. Liveries for the HST, Intercity 225 and Pendilino were designed around the train not the other way round. And looked better for it.
So I'd start with the class 80x as the most prominent Intercity train and go from there
So I'd start with the class 80x as the most prominent Intercity train and go from there
TT-ONR-NRN
Established Member
I can't help but think all of these designs look a little bit 80s, and not really suitable for modern stock line 390s and 800s. Here's my attempt at a simplistic and modern livery based on the arrow logo. Yes, it's white - but white is smart, and that's the reality of it. It doesn't look like ICE so doesn't look like a knock off. Anyway, I hope you like it.
I don't know why I put Southeastern on a 390, but it's an example of how they could brand the trains. Perhaps pretend it says West Coast.
I don't know why I put Southeastern on a 390, but it's an example of how they could brand the trains. Perhaps pretend it says West Coast.
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221101 Voyager
Established Member
I get what you're saying, but as we all know, something that looks trendy now will look dated in a few years, but if you pick something simple, it can age better.
Prime example, us re-adopting signage based on 1965 designs! It’s not because it’s trendy, it’s because it works and looks smart!
That's very similar to what I knocked up, albeit with the colours reversed.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
I think that's a bit overdoing it to be honest. But it isn't far off the LNER livery, which if you swapped the grey stripe (not the doors) for blue and "LNER" for a double arrow would be a tasteful GBR livery. You'd need a few versions to make the "swoop" suit the nose of whatever it was going on. Easy to vinyl onto white, too, as it's not a full-body livery.
Maybe you could reverse it for local trains - blue window surrounds and red stripe - very similar to Chiltern colours.
What I would like to see is standard "service" icons as most European railways use.
Maybe you could reverse it for local trains - blue window surrounds and red stripe - very similar to Chiltern colours.
What I would like to see is standard "service" icons as most European railways use.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
It's overbranded, like many FirstGroup brands or LNR. You only want the logo to be on the vehicle once.
Also way too much red and no blue, and I doubt those doors are compliant.
221101 Voyager
Established Member
I think GBR are going to struggle to come up with a good livery, as anything that's good has already been done.
Hence why we ended up with yucky rubbish like LNWR and Avanti. Boring highly forgettable colour schemes!
Hence why we ended up with yucky rubbish like LNWR and Avanti. Boring highly forgettable colour schemes!
I find it amusing that people keep harking back to things like InterCity Swallow or Network SouthEast toothpaste or similar. Don't get me wrong Swallow is an excellent livery (don't think the 225s have ever worn anything better!) and LNER better paint one of the 225s into it before they're finally withdrawn (whenever that is) but it amuses me that people bring up these liveries now (even in slightly re-imagined forms) as if BR wouldn't have moved on from them many years ago itself. Swallow was introduced in what? 1987ish? And Swallow itself of course was basically a slightly revamped version of Executive which dates form the late 70s or early 80s? Does anyone honestly think that in 2021, if BR still existed, it would still be using a livery that is over thirty years old? InterCity itself would probably still be a thing but I'd be stunned if the trains were still in Swallow!
Purple Orange
On Moderation
I don’t think we will see train liveries being changed for a while. Just like when a new TOC has taken on a franchise, the old TOC name gets removed and the new TOC name gets badged in top, like a big rectangular sticker. So we might see a new simple logo and font (let’s say the BR arrows alongside “Great British Railways”, in dark blue on a white background), then regardless of the current train livery, the logo gets pasted on and that will be that until new fleets are procured or a slow change of the livery designs.
Perhaps the new logo and font will be produced in a small number of different colours, e.g. black, white, dark blue, dark green, dark red, light blue, light green, light red, which are then applied to an appropriate train livery.
Perhaps the new logo and font will be produced in a small number of different colours, e.g. black, white, dark blue, dark green, dark red, light blue, light green, light red, which are then applied to an appropriate train livery.
221101 Voyager
Established Member
Yes probably!
DB have had the same livery on their ICE intercity trains since 1985!
So what's to say we would not have kept the swallow since 1987 too?
Purple Orange
On Moderation
Spot on
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Yes probably!
DB have had the same livery on their ICE intercity trains since 1985!
So what's to say we would not have kept the swallow since 1987 too?
This isn't true, there have been subtle changes. As built it was a sort of purplish-red stripe with a lighter red shadow, then this changed to solid red in the late 90s/early 2000s. There have also been subtle font changes. OK, it's not a big change, but Germany tends to do rebrandings very infrequently.
Edit: here's an example of the original livery, though I suspect the old Bundesbahn logo was also applied at some point:
Model of ICE coach in old livery - Hattons
Purple Orange
On Moderation
Yes probably!
DB have had the same livery on their ICE intercity trains since 1985!
So what's to say we would not have kept the swallow since 1987 too?
BR’s own history says otherwise. Within a period of 10 years, HSTs had three different liveries.
Absolutely. Interestingly, the TOC which came in for probably the most stick for over-branding had possibly the most subtly branded livery of recent times - Virgin's original Pendolino/Voyager livery. Just a Virgin logo on each driving car, and that was it.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Frosted ones on Pendolino windows too. But I agree - it was FirstGroup who were worst at overbranding, with the "F-in-circle" stuck everywhere they could think of - Virgin was quite subtle, and all the better for it, too.
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