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Horrible liveries
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Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Indeed. You also had the odd one on Merseyrail, which was green for 2+2 seating, as they'd removed the third seat from all rows in the middle coach for some reason (I think easier access for prams).
90019
Established Member
There was also a Regional Railways thing of a small green stripe above the guards compartment, IIRC, though I can't remember if they applied it to anything other than at least some Mk1s.
Tommy1581
Member
Ah, but you should now by now that GREY is fashionable again. Yes, that delightful Grey. Grey interiors, Grey Cars, Grey Phones. Or White. And pointless bands (GTR / GWR) too. Lovely Lovely Grey... Needs a Red stripe or something...
Can't be as bad as the Nexus bus contract livery, mind. One would think that someone was playing with charcoal and an orange crayon to design this.
View it here: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r3kiipI2nIY/UdNQKMP0D6I/AAAAAAAADqI/UbGr2HRBrwo/s575/gnexus2.jpg
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
I actually like that, but requiring a livery for contracts must increase costs somewhat.
transmanche
Established Member
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Not all Nexus contract services use that livery - the 33 doesn't.
It's expected that if/when Nexus introduces Quality Bus Contracts, they will have a standard livery requirement (like TfL). In fact, they've even published some draft designs. Here's one example:
When exactly was this? I've had a look at some photos of the 507/8s in the Blue & Grey livery but none shows any green stripe.
It is true that they did remove some (but not all) of the third seats from the trailer car of the 507/8s but I don't remember a green stripe. As I remember it, this reduced the three car seating capacity from 234 to 230, but these third seats were reinstated in the 1990s as the Regional Railways 'refresh' was carried out. This saw the removal of a complete row of seats from the front carriage sections of each motor car for pram/wheelchair/bike access.
Although on suburban stock, red meant a non-corridor compartment carriage.
backontrack
Established Member
This livery:
I do like that. It's a bit (a lot) like the Belgian IC livery:
Especially good to see the correct colours of cantrail stripe for First, and even more rarely for the buffet!
Here we can see the miricmiracle of birth... this is how baby trains are born.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
If I recall correctly it was after smoking was abolished (which was shortly after the Kings Cross fire) but before the yellow livery appeared,. so probably late 1980s/early 1990s. I can't see many photos of Merseyrail units in blue and grey online, sadly, in order to confirm it, but I definitely remember it being the case.
I've had a look at quite a few B&G 507/8 photos on Flickr and Zenfolio but still haven't found one with the green stipe. Presumably, it would have covered only the central section of the trailer carriages as these were where the third seats were taken out.
From the photos, I can only assume the green stripe was very short-lived. As a kid, I do vaguely remember travelling on B&G Merseyrail trains in the 1990s and can't say I ever spotted it then either.
From the photos, I can only assume the green stripe was very short-lived. As a kid, I do vaguely remember travelling on B&G Merseyrail trains in the 1990s and can't say I ever spotted it then either.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Yes it was.
Possibly so. I'd guess fewer than 5 years - smoking was permitted until after Kings Cross in late 1987, and the seats were removed post smoking being banned, while the yellow livery started to be rolled out in about 1993.
I was a daily traveller on them from 1990 and probably weekly at least before that, so I have plenty of Merseyrail memories!
I do remember it being added and there being some advertising as to what it meant (go here with prams etc) but I don't recall when it was removed if indeed it was.
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Thanks for that info - I'll keep an eye out for a photo with the stripe showing then. It definitely wasn't present on the 507/8s into the 1990s when the yellow livery appeared going by photos, so presumably it was removed.
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Just had a look at some footage of Merseyrail trains from 1994 and you're absolutely right - there is a thin green stripe on the Blue & Grey units. It's actually very hard to see but it's there, just above the grey band in the middle of the trailers.
It was probably a lot more conspicuous when introduced, but obviously it had faded (like the orange warning stripes did) by the time 1994 came along.
The question is when were the third seats in the trailers (and the green stripes) actually introduced?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Just had a look at some footage of Merseyrail trains from 1994 and you're absolutely right - there is a thin green stripe on the Blue & Grey units. It's actually very hard to see but it's there, just above the grey band in the middle of the trailers.
It was probably a lot more conspicuous when introduced, but obviously it had faded (like the orange warning stripes did) by the time 1994 came along.
The question is when were the third seats in the trailers (and the green stripes) actually introduced?
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
After the Kings Cross fire, as prior to that it was the smoking coach; even by 1980s standards it wouldn't have been seen as sensible to have the default location for prams as the smoking coach!
Perhaps it just faded after that rather than being removed? I really can't remember, and I don't have many photos of 507s and 508s in that form, as the modern-day idea of a camera always in your pocket didn't apply to a schoolchild in the 1980s and early 1990s!
I do remember some publicity about it, though, possibly in the form of station posters.
Tim R-T-C
Established Member
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I think it is just too busy.
Here is the real thing,
My suggestion, without the light stripe:
Here is the real thing,
My suggestion, without the light stripe:
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
I think it's a horrible cheap-looking livery in any situation. Silver would have worked far better than mucky off-white, and as the trains were already silver might have been cheaper too.
GRALISTAIR
Established Member
I lived and photographed in the 1970s and early 1980s. A huge number of locos and units were standard boring BR blue. Any -and I truly mean ANY livery is better than that. I loved Chris Green's Network Southeast livery introduced mid-late 80s and all since then.
It reminded me of that purple TellyTubby called Tinky Winky! Thankfully, it is in a different livery now!
Not having really experienced the BR Blue era, I have to say, I think it's quite a nice shade. I can imagine it would have been a bit tiresome on every single unit though !
I'm too young to remember it and don't mind it in small amounts but would have hated it at the time.
61653 HTAFC
Veteran Member
For my generation (around 10 years older than yourself, going by your username), BR Blue represents the old ('proper' loco hauled trains, and units that don't shake one's teeth out quite so much) whereas the provincial liveries represent pacers and sprinterisation. As a result, the blue era tends to be viewed through rose tinted glasses!
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I can understand that actually. I can still just about remember some units in provincial/RR livery when I was a kid - would be around the late 90s. I suppose in that respect, the RR livery represents more or less all I remember of BR.
RichJF
Member
backontrack
Established Member
Disgusting green. Shows the dirt too.
Now prepared for the abuse from Midland Mainline fans!
I can see the point you're coming from (I prefer their other livery) but I still like this one.
CockneySparrow
Member
Well yeah, after all its just UNDERCOAT!!!!
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Disgusting green. Shows the dirt too.
Now prepared for the abuse from Midland Mainline fans!
Green looks ok, especially two tone green with Silver/Grey making the third colour
Pity no one told Connex!
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