• Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

Trivia - northern unit liveries

Status
Not open for further replies.

amywok

Member
Joined
7 Apr 2015
Messages
40
Today traveling on Northern I’ve seen units in at least 5 liveries:

- old northern
- new northern
- FGW
- Scotrail
- London midland (150 at Piccadilly)

Are there other instances of one TOC operating stock with so many (or even more) liveries at the same time?
 
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

TC60054

Member
Joined
3 Mar 2016
Messages
586
Location
South Sheffield
I'm sure old Northern would probably have beaten it - FNW Barbie, FNW Star, Northern Spirit, ATN, Merseyrail, their livery plus the "prototype" liveries..!
 

Andyh82

Established Member
Joined
19 May 2014
Messages
3,489
I'm sure old Northern would probably have beaten it - FNW Barbie, FNW Star, Northern Spirit, ATN, Merseyrail, their livery plus the "prototype" liveries..!
Plus at the same time the various incarnations of MetroTrain livery to add to that list.
 

Buggleskelly

Member
Joined
28 Jun 2017
Messages
93
Location
Bishops Wallop
Are there other instances of one TOC operating stock with so many (or even more) liveries at the same time?

Well Greater Anglia seems to be the biggest offender when it comes to multiple liveries across its fleet, maybe nowhere near as much as what you saw with Northern.


Their class 321s have the biggest variety of past liveries, they currently have: Nat.Ex stripe, Renatus livery, GN/FCC, plain white.
Not so long ago, their 170's still had: unbranded 'one', and unbranded Anglia Trains. It's not as bad on the 317's, just slight variations.
 

amywok

Member
Joined
7 Apr 2015
Messages
40
Just realised I left out the ex GTR unbranded white with blueish doors livery carried on a couple of northern 319s. So that’s 6 livery variants seen in one day on Northern!
 

507021

Established Member
Joined
19 Feb 2015
Messages
4,670
Location
Chester
Liveries on Northern units during this franchise:
  • Base blue - 321, 322.
  • Base white - 153305.
  • "evo" Pacer - 144012.
  • First Great Western - 150.
  • First ScotRail - 156.
  • GWR - 153.
  • London Midland - 150.
  • Northern - 150, 155, 156, 158, 170, 195, 319, 331, 333.
  • Northern Electrics - 319.
  • Northern Rail - 142, 144, 150, 153, 155, 156, 158, 323.
  • Northern Rail (WYPTE variant) - 333.
  • RAF 100th Anniversary - 156480.
  • ScotRail - 158, 170.
  • ThamesLink - 319.
I think that's all of them, unless you also include the subleased Grand Central and TransPennine Express units as well.
 

Iskra

Established Member
Joined
11 Jun 2014
Messages
7,786
Location
West Riding
I'm sure old Northern would probably have beaten it - FNW Barbie, FNW Star, Northern Spirit, ATN, Merseyrail, their livery plus the "prototype" liveries..!

I think 156's retained Regional Railways North West Express livery and some 150's stayed in Regional Railways for quite some time too.
 

61653 HTAFC

Veteran Member
Joined
18 Dec 2012
Messages
17,624
Location
Another planet...
I think 156's retained Regional Railways North West Express livery and some 150's stayed in Regional Railways for quite some time too.
I think a couple of 142s still had Tyne & Wear PTE livery at the start of the Serco/NedRail era too... though at first glance this was similar to the MerseyTravel livery. Also GMPTE (142/150/323) if that wasn't mentioned before.
 

61653 HTAFC

Veteran Member
Joined
18 Dec 2012
Messages
17,624
Location
Another planet...
It hadn't been yet, though now I am also wondering whether GMPTE orange overlapped with GMPTE grey/red and all the rest.
The orange was long-gone by the time the first Northern franchise started, the 305s all got the later Regional Railways inspired red/grey/blue and the 323s were delivered in that scheme. Not sure the orange even made it to privatisation except on the 504s dumped at Bury ELR!
 

sprinterguy

Established Member
Joined
4 Mar 2010
Messages
11,048
Location
Macclesfield
I think a couple of 142s still had Tyne & Wear PTE livery at the start of the Serco/NedRail era too... though at first glance this was similar to the MerseyTravel livery. Also GMPTE (142/150/323) if that wasn't mentioned before.
They didn't. All of the Tyne & Wear liveried 142s were repainted into Arriva Trains Northern livery: They were in fact the first of the class to receive the scheme (Starting with 142021 in July 2003) after Nexus withdrew their funding of Sunderland - Newcastle heavy rail services after the opening of the Metro extension.

All of the GMPTE dark grey/red/white 142s, 150s and 323s had also received North West Trains gold star livery (Or First Group 'Barbie', in the case of the 323s) before Northern came into being.
 
Last edited:

61653 HTAFC

Veteran Member
Joined
18 Dec 2012
Messages
17,624
Location
Another planet...
They didn't. All of the Tyne & Wear liveried 142s were repainted into Arriva Trains Northern livery: They were in fact the first of the class to receive the scheme (Starting with 142021 in July 2003) after Nexus withdrew their funding of Sunderland - Newcastle heavy rail services after the opening of the Metro extension.

All of the GMPTE dark grey/red/white 142s, 150s and 323s had also received North West Trains gold star livery (Or First Group 'Barbie', in the case of the 323s) before Northern came into being.
Thanks :)
 

_toommm_

Established Member
Joined
8 Jul 2017
Messages
5,844
Location
Yorkshire
Don't forget the GWR livery on some of the 153s (I think 153373??), along with WYMetro on the 333's.
 

js1000

Member
Joined
14 Jun 2014
Messages
1,011
Today traveling on Northern I’ve seen units in at least 5 liveries:

- old northern
- new northern
- FGW
- Scotrail
- London midland (150 at Piccadilly)

Are there other instances of one TOC operating stock with so many (or even more) liveries at the same time?
My day today on Northern:

Saw a Scotrail 158 on the opposite platform at my local station heading towards Manchester Airport from Windermere.

Travelled on a white body/blue doors Thameslink 319 into Manchester. IIRC, one of these units still has its first class seats in.

Witnessed a green London Midland 150 arrive into Piccadilly while on Platform 13 waiting for the train home.

Then onto a 150 First Great Western, tailed by a 156 in old Northern livery.

Yes, it really is musical liveries on Northern.

However it does point depressingly to how poor rail transport is in the north and the short-term hotchpotch approach that does absolutely nothing to attract new passengers, increased revenue and reduced subsidy in the North. You reap what you sow.
 

Parallel

Established Member
Joined
9 Dec 2013
Messages
3,927
TfW currently have three: ATW, TfW and FGW but I think Northern is the winner for operating units with different liveries.

FGW/GWR used to have some
advertising liveries, most recently ‘Visit South Devon By Train’ and ‘citizenrail.org’. in addition to their FGW and GWR liveries (a few divisions of local lines and dynamic lines but more or less the same livery).
 

hobbm013

Member
Joined
15 Apr 2019
Messages
171
TfW currently have three: ATW, TfW and FGW but I think Northern is the winner for operating units with different liveries.

FGW/GWR used to have some
advertising liveries, most recently ‘Visit South Devon By Train’ and ‘citizenrail.org’. in addition to their FGW and GWR liveries (a few divisions of local lines and dynamic lines but more or less the same livery).

Guess you could argue 4 for TfW - old ATW Teal and Cream, ATW Dark Turqouise, TFW, and FGW. 5 if you include the Ex Thameslink 769s sat in Canton. But still nothing on Northerns range of liveries
 

rebmcr

Established Member
Joined
15 Nov 2011
Messages
3,845
Location
St Neots
The orange was long-gone by the time the first Northern franchise started, the 305s all got the later Regional Railways inspired red/grey/blue and the 323s were delivered in that scheme. Not sure the orange even made it to privatisation except on the 504s dumped at Bury ELR!

142s wore GMPTE orange too. Those were the possible overlappers I had in mind.
 

Strathclyder

Established Member
Joined
12 Jun 2013
Messages
3,178
Location
Clydebank
can I go as far back as the late 90's and early noughties. The were the class 101's in SPT orange or the green British railways versions operating from Man Picc to Rosehill or Sheffield.

Related to the bolded point, 101692 (with it's experimental blue with red/yellow stripes livery, which came to be during the search for a replacement for the then-extant 'Orange/Black' livery) was among the ScotRail -> F.N.W 101 transfers that took place in the summer of 2000. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it managed to hold onto it's SPT 'flash' & 'swoosh' logos right to the end.
 

61653 HTAFC

Veteran Member
Joined
18 Dec 2012
Messages
17,624
Location
Another planet...
142s wore GMPTE orange too. Those were the possible overlappers I had in mind.
The first 142s were delivered in orange I believe. When that scheme was dropped the red/grey seemed rather drab in comparison! Some 304s and 504s had orange/brown (not quite as brash as the Pacer version) but I can't recall if anything else did. Possibly the 303s that were borrowed from Glasgow for a while but that may have been Strathclyde's colours with GMPTE logos stuck on.
 

Neptune

Established Member
Joined
29 May 2018
Messages
2,445
Location
Yorkshire
I think the old Northern franchise would win most liveries hands down.

Wracking my brains:-

Northern liveries
Northern blue with purple/white sweeps (most fleets)
Northern red with blue/white sweeps (333’s)
Northern electrics (319’s)
Northern blue with white doors (322’s and 142’s returned from FGW)
Northern 144e (144012)
Tour de Yorkshire yellow (158849)
Experimental Northern blue with lilac instead of purple and angular sweeps (exATN 150’s, 3 x 156’s & all 155’s)
Experimental northern red with silver instead of white and angular sweeps (321’s)
Experimental northern white with lilac/light blue angular sweeps (a handful of 156’s)
Experimental northern lilac with white/light blue angular sweeps (156451)

Other liveries
Regional railways (ex ATN 150’s)
Regional railways north west express (ex FNW 156’s)
Regional railways WY metro (155 & 321)
North west trains blue with gold stars (142, 150, 153 & 158 plus 322484 when on loan)
North west trains plain blue (150133)
First Barbie (156 & 323)
Merseytravel (142)
Arriva blue (142 & 153)
Arriva metrotrain red (144 & 158)
Northern spirit blue (142 & 156)
Northern Spirit red (333)
First plain blue with white doors (some 156’s at start of franchise, 322’s on permanent transfer)
Central Trains (158)
Wessex silver with maroon doors (158)
W&B silver with blue doors (158)
Silverlink (2 loaned in 321’s)
First Great Eastern (321347 loaned in but never entered service)
London Midland (153366 loaned in)

I make that 28 and believe I worked units in all liveries except Northern electrics and FGE (although that is tenuous as it was sent back south from Neville Hill before entering service as it only had CSR and no NRN).

There may be some more I forgot about.

With reference to the above comment Tyne & Wear livery was wiped out in the last years of ATN as they painted the 142’s into Arriva livery except 4 which retained NS livery.
 
Last edited:

61653 HTAFC

Veteran Member
Joined
18 Dec 2012
Messages
17,624
Location
Another planet...
One I think you've missed above, 158910 (iirc) carried a variant of Northern Spirit that was a crimson base with silver full height "N" swooshes and MetroTrain decals. I think it still wore this at the start of the Serco/NS era.
 

sprinterguy

Established Member
Joined
4 Mar 2010
Messages
11,048
Location
Macclesfield
One I think you've missed above, 158910 (iirc) carried a variant of Northern Spirit that was a crimson base with silver full height "N" swooshes and MetroTrain decals. I think it still wore this at the start of the Serco/NS era.
That was 158909. It was repainted into the Arriva Trains Northern WYPTE red/silver 'circles' scheme at the same time as the rest of the 158/9s, before the Northern franchise started.
No bother, just fancied an opportunity to blow the dust off some of my old memory banks. :)
142s wore GMPTE orange too. Those were the possible overlappers I had in mind.
GMPTE orange class 142s did operate alongside 150s and 323s in the later dark grey/white scheme for at least a couple of years before they received the latter livery.
 
Last edited:

Neptune

Established Member
Joined
29 May 2018
Messages
2,445
Location
Yorkshire
One I think you've missed above, 158910 (iirc) carried a variant of Northern Spirit that was a crimson base with silver full height "N" swooshes and MetroTrain decals. I think it still wore this at the start of the Serco/NS era.
158909 was in the 333 style without yellow doors. It was definitely repainted into Arriva/Metro red/silver before the franchise change. Incidentally this was the last unit to work the 0949 Leeds - Glasgow service before it was withdrawn and replaced with the loco hauled service to Carlisle.
 

pieguyrob

Member
Joined
27 Oct 2018
Messages
571
can I go as far back as the late 90's and early noughties. The were the class 101's in SPT orange or the green British railways versions operating from Man Picc to Rosehill or Sheffield.

Don't forget they went to Blackpool North as well.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top