Ugliest Train in the UK?

[K.o.R]

456s are just a result of their time. That's what BREL EMUs looked like.

And a neat illustration of the change from coupler plus separate cables to multifunction coupler. 455/6 to 317, 455/7 and 455/8 to 318, and 456 to 320 and 321 all share the same "front end" types, but the latter are all neat and clean without all the extra cabling.

 

[Ken H]

I am going to go out on a limb here and say
1. I think corridor connections are a good idea. Passengers like them, and it allows staff to access all the train and it makes catering easier
2. They dont have to look rubbish. Class 350 look really good. Their front ends would have looked really good on the 185's and made them more suitable for TPE

puts on hard hat....

 

[BRX]

I am going to go out on a limb here and say
1. I think corridor connections are a good idea. Passengers like them, and it allows staff to access all the train and it makes catering easier
2. They dont have to look rubbish. Class 350 look really good. Their front ends would have looked really good on the 185's and made them more suitable for TPE

puts on hard hat....

I agree.
Cl442 also looks really good.

 

[Doomotron]

I am going to go out on a limb here and say
1. I think corridor connections are a good idea. Passengers like them, and it allows staff to access all the train and it makes catering easier
2. They dont have to look rubbish. Class 350 look really good. Their front ends would have looked really good on the 185's and made them more suitable for TPE

puts on hard hat....

I also agree... Class 375/6 anyone?

 

[cjmillsnun]

It contains an air conditioning unit for the cab, so is a purely practical change.

SWT managed it on their 455s without making them uglier.

 

[E100]

Like almost everyone I thought they were the ugliest monster ever designed when I first saw them. However now that I've got used to them I quite like them. They have a kind of brutal look but that doesn't seem wrong for a heavy freight loco. They look (and sound) like they mean business. Compare with a 68 which is over-styled and seems to take more from car design than any railway heritage. I'm getting used to them too but I think they are overly fussy. They have tried to disguise a brutish diesel loco by making it look like a bloated people carrier. The class 70 on the other hand is what it is. Especially once they get a bit grimy they look like a real loco. Colas livery looks good on them, better than the freightliner one that introduces superfluous curves.

Fair point. I think I agree in that I can very much appreciate some examples of brutalist architecture but that doesn't mean it's not still ugly!

 

[K.o.R]

SWT managed it on their 455s without making them uglier.

Did SWT actually fit cab air conditioning to their 455s?

 

[Cambus731]

I do find it difficult to understand all the mentions of Class 360s. I find their front end design quite pleasing, as it reminds me of the lower front panel on East Lancs bodied Atlanteans and Fleetlines.

 

[Cambus731]

As soon as I saw this thread, I immediately thought of Class 70s

 

[Cambus731]

Id like to nominate Class 60s as maybe the oddest design. It looks like a mock up rather than a final design.

 

[hexagon789]

Class 142
Classes 165/166
Class 168/0
Class 195
Classes 332/333
Class 376

 

[BRX]

I do find it difficult to understand all the mentions of Class 360s. I find their front end design quite pleasing, as it reminds me of the lower front panel on East Lancs bodied Atlanteans and Fleetlines.

'looks like a bus' means instant qualification for this thread I reckon!

 

[Bletchleyite]

'looks like a bus' means instant qualification for this thread I reckon!

Does it? 142s might be a nasty proposition when seen turning up for a peak-time commuter run, but I don't find them *ugly*.

 

[Bodiddly]

The new Transpennine DT's look absolutely horrific. A combination of no yellow warning panels, and what looks like a big gaping mouth with broken teeth!
Not sure I'm sold yet on not having the requirement to paint the nose yellow. The 68's just look weird.

 

[anamyd]

I am going to go out on a limb here and say
1. I think corridor connections are a good idea. Passengers like them, and it allows staff to access all the train and it makes catering easier
2. They dont have to look rubbish. Class 350 look really good. Their front ends would have looked really good on the 185's and made them more suitable for TPE

puts on hard hat....

I actually really like 350s. I also really like 170s but with the latter, because of their lack of end gangways / corridor connections, in multiple working they're more like separate trains stuck to each other than multiple units forming a single train.

 

[RealTrains07]

350,450 and 444 are the best. Ik their pretty much the same but its just a nice design all around bringing old and new together, easy to see what type of older unit they were based on

 

[LOL The Irony]

350,450 and 444 are the best. Ik their pretty much the same but its just a nice design all around bringing old and new together, easy to see what type of older unit they were based on

AM9's?

 

[anamyd]

AM9's?

what are AM9s...?

 

[LOL The Irony]

what are AM9s...?

AKA 309's & Clacton Expresses

 

[anamyd]

AKA 309's & Clacton Expresses

Siemens Desiros are actually based on those?!

 

[61653 HTAFC]

what are AM9s...?

Class 309 "Clacton Express" units.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_309

 

[anamyd]

Class 309 "Clacton Express" units.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_309

thanks are Siemens Desiros really based on those though...?

 

[LOL The Irony]

Siemens Desiros are actually based on those?!

I was guessing since with the orginal cab windows, are one of the best looking gangwayed stock here.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

thanks are Siemens Desiros really based on those though...?

I was guessing since with the orginal cab windows, are one of the best looking gangwayed stock here.

I'd argue the 442s were a natural progression of the design. Not so much the Desiros IMO.

 

[hexagon789]

I've never really considered the 350/444/450s as being based on any prior UK-design. I thought they were just the Siemens Desiro, tailored to UK requirements with end-gangways stuck-on.

Are they actually based on a previous UK design such as the 309 or 442 or is it simply they bear a similarly to previous designs?

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I've never really considered the 350/444/450s as being based on any prior UK-design. I thought they were just the Siemens Desiro, tailored to UK requirements with end-gangways stuck-on.

Are they actually based on a previous UK design such as the 309 or 442 or is it simply they bear a similarly to previous designs?

The latter.

 

[hexagon789]

The latter.

Hmm, they just seem too different to a 442 and particularly a 309. The similarity is there but it's not a striking one I wouldn't have said.

 

[RealTrains07]

I've never really considered the 350/444/450s as being based on any prior UK-design. I thought they were just the Siemens Desiro, tailored to UK requirements with end-gangways stuck-on.

Are they actually based on a previous UK design such as the 309 or 442 or is it simply they bear a similarly to previous designs?

Although not officially, arguably with mainly modern features however desiros do contain features that do give a nod to the slam door trains (such as the class 411, 412,421,423, that came before the them) that the desiro types replaced
such as
the doors slamming
the cab ends how they have a similar shape
the end gangways (although with no window)
the 3+2 seating arrangement which was based of similar seating arrangement in the slam door era

I know from the way they look, (the 444 Being the most different) they dont look like they have anything compared to the slam door trains before but when you think about the individual elements you can see how some trains are similar to the stocks they replace even if not “officially” based off them

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Well, there's only so much variation you can do with a flattish front and a corridor connection!

 

[RealTrains07]

Well you can easily argue the same case for the electrostars i mean, you never know if bombardier based their design on the slam doors aswell???