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Intercity Mainline Class 86s

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Harbornite

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Good question, the Railway mag did an article on 86s fairly recently and I can't recall if it listed liveries, I'll have to dig it out.
 

physics34

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good god, i wish these greats were still buzzing up and down the WCML (in passenger service).
 

dubscottie

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I will look at my platform 5 books but it could be tricky with dates/how long they carried the livery as some 86/2 had mainline briefly before gaining triple grey as 86/5 and then swallow a few months later when they went back to 86/2!!

Also some 86/4 became 86/6 without being repainted.
 

physics34

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Was it just an interim livery between intercity executive and intercity swallow?
 

Helvellyn

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I will look at my platform 5 books but it could be tricky with dates/how long they carried the livery as some 86/2 had mainline briefly before gaining triple grey as 86/5 and then swallow a few months later when they went back to 86/2!!

Also some 86/4 became 86/6 without being repainted.
Don't forget that the Platform 5 books initially used H to identify locos not carrying I, which was InterCity Executive colours. Confusingly this included locomotives that were in Mainline livery (like 86501 or 73138) and those in true 'Swallow' livery with the silver-grey lower bodyside (like the HST power cars, Class 90s and Class 91s). It was resolved once they used I for 'Swallow' livery, M for Mainline and IO for the old InterCity Executive livery.

The 1989 Combined volume lists the following 86s in H: -

86208 City of Chester
86214 Sans Pareil
86220 The Round Tabler
86221 B B C Look East
86225 Hardwicke
86226 Royal Mail Midlands
86231 Starlight Express
86232 Harold Macmillan
86234 J B Priestly O.M.
86235 Novelty
86236 Josiah Wedgwood MASTER POTTER 1736-1795
86248 County of Clwyd - Sir Clwyd
86249 County of Merseyside
86253 The Manchester Guardian
86255 Penrith Beacon [and later in 'Swallow' livery)
86257 Snowdon
86404
86405
86406
86410 [and by 1990 as 86610 in Railfreight Distribution livery]
86412 Elizabeth Garrett Anderson
86414 Frank Hornby
86415 Rotary International
86419 [and by 1990 in Parcels livery]
86422
86423
86424
86428 Aldaniti
86431
86434 University of London
86439
86508 Glenfiddich
 

spookywestie

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good god, i wish these greats were still buzzing up and down the WCML (in passenger service).

I think a lot of us do, much better to travel on than those ghastly Pendolinos we have to endure nowadays.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Don't forget that the Platform 5 books initially used H to identify locos not carrying I, which was InterCity Executive colours. Confusingly this included locomotives that were in Mainline livery (like 86501 or 73138) and those in true 'Swallow' livery with the silver-grey lower bodyside (like the HST power cars, Class 90s and Class 91s). It was resolved once they used I for 'Swallow' livery, M for Mainline and IO for the old InterCity Executive livery.

The 1989 Combined volume lists the following 86s in H: -

86208 City of Chester
86214 Sans Pareil
86220 The Round Tabler
86221 B B C Look East
86225 Hardwicke
86226 Royal Mail Midlands
86231 Starlight Express
86232 Harold Macmillan
86234 J B Priestly O.M.
86235 Novelty
86236 Josiah Wedgwood MASTER POTTER 1736-1795
86248 County of Clwyd - Sir Clwyd
86249 County of Merseyside
86253 The Manchester Guardian
86255 Penrith Beacon [and later in 'Swallow' livery)
86257 Snowdon
86404
86405
86406
86410 [and by 1990 as 86610 in Railfreight Distribution livery]
86412 Elizabeth Garrett Anderson
86414 Frank Hornby
86415 Rotary International
86419 [and by 1990 in Parcels livery]
86422
86423
86424
86428 Aldaniti
86431
86434 University of London
86439
86508 Glenfiddich

Thanks very much for that information, I appreciate it. :D
 

sprinterguy

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Was it just an interim livery between intercity executive and intercity swallow?
No; Intercity swallow livery was introduced in mid-1987, the Mainline livery was being applied to locos concurrently into the late eighties and potentially the start of the nineties. With class 86s, it seems to be a bit of a minefield as there appear to have been a number of different permutations between bona fide Mainline livery (with BR double arrow logos) and fully branded Intercity "swallow"; such as beige lower bodysides as per the Mainline scheme in conjunction with the italicised INTERCITY insignia, but no swallow motif.

To add to what Helvellyn says, in the 1991 Combined Volume the following class 86s were designated as carrying M, Mainline, livery:

86101
86206/207/208/209/212/214/216/219/221/225/226/227/228/229/230/233/236/237/240/241/242/249/250/251/254/256/257/259/261
86416/417/426/430
86605/606/607/609/612/620/621/628/637/639

Photographic evidence would suggest that this includes the fairly large number of locos that carried Mainline livery with the addition of the INTERCITY branding. Most of the 86/4s had been converted to 86/6s by this point, so some of the locos in the 86/6 range above can be recognised by their 86/4 numbers in Helvellyn's list. Also by this stage, as noted by Helvellyn, locos of the 86/4 and 86/6 sub classes were being repainted into the more sector specific Parcels and Railfreight Distribution liveries.
 
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Harbornite

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What exactly was "great" about them? They were too slow compared to the Pendolino's

People will argue that the windows on the mark 2 and 3 stock were better, and of course spotters will prefer 86s because they are locomotives. However, from a passenger and manager's point of view, the pendos are better for the reason stated by yourself.
 

spookywestie

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I had a feeling it wouldn't be long before the Pendolino fans came along after seeing physics34's comment. :lol: We all have a right to like which trains/locos we like so no arguing please over which is 'better' please. ;)
 

Mordac

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In 40 years, the same sort of person will be looking back wistfully at the Pendos and saying how much better they were to the HS2 stock. :lol:
 
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