GCR Liveries

19th Century liveries are often open to conjecture. It is also notoriously difficult to reproduce accurate colours on a computer screen, so this has not been attempted. Accurate matches should be taken from preserved vehicles, museums, or historical societies.

Locomotives

Sacre used a Brunswick green livery during his tenure from 1859 to 1886. This had reddish-brown frames. Small panels were lined with black and a white edge. Cab sides, tank sides, and tenders were edged with a wide black band and vermilion edge. Additional white lines were used on express passenger locomotives.

Parker simplified this scheme and removed much of the lining. Boiler bands were black. Black was also used for panel edging.

During the early 1890s, the green was lightened from Brunswick green to chrome green. Frames and valences were painted brown.

Coaching Stock

Before 1857, coaches were painted in a 'claret' colour. After this they were finished in varnished wood. Preserved coaches suggest that the wood was almost certainly was oak, and not the more usual teak. Carriage lining was gold. Solebars were painted light brown. Ironwork was bronce green. White was used for wheel rims and roofs.

Non-passenger vehicles were a light umber brown with yellow lettering. The brown was probably chosen to match the coaches.

Wagons