The LNER Encyclopedia

I read a book once on modern railways livery for 'trains' - and 'respect for the train' - some TOCs have used designers who do have and some who most clearly don't

My personal vote for the worst, well - let's start with Silverlink, the now defunct Connex and the also mercifully almost extinct Thameslink and FGW 'fag packet' colours, all looked chavvy.

What's your worst choice - or are things looking up nationally ?

I always thought that the GNER livery was an understated classic and was (almost) always clean, however the NXEC replacement is not. The few units that they have bothered to re-livery pass my house on a daily basis and are already looking dirty and stained. I suppose that we should be thankful that they have not covered them with garish and tasteless vinyl stickers, but I still don't think that the silver/grey will prove either durable or practical in the long term.

I don't think the silver/grey really worked with the A4s either. Photos of silver A4s always seem to show the dirt.


Richard

Ironically, I've never thought that the 1950s-style crimson and cream Strathclyde Passenger Transport (SPT) livery works very well. On the 156 Sprinter fleet it just looks flat and dull. However, to my eye its worst iteration is on the 334 fleet, where a "teal" coloured horizontal stripe has been added, like this -



That colour combination just doesn't work for me - juxtaposition of greens and reds is always tricky - and I think the additional cream band underneath the teal, and the large cream section above the windows, makes the overall effect deeply unpleasant. The 170 version is probably a bit more successful, like this -



As well as being aesthetically unpleasant, the SPT livery is meaningless as SPT has not had any role in funding heavy rail services for some years now - this is now the responsibility of Transport Scotland.

Maroon as a colour is generally well suited to rolling stock, I feel. I remember talking to someone in GNER just when their then new livery was being applied for the first time and he said the choice of restrained colours was deliberate, as with their staff uniforms etc. because, he said, everything of quality appears restrained. Thought about that and he was right. e.g. the livery of the Royal Train. Virgin Trains pretty garish and don't shout quality, whatever else they do. I like the First Group colours, though and, yes, do the people who come up with the colour schemes ever think about whether they will show the dirt or not.

Silverlink was originally going to be called Silverwing!

Silverwing - a pimped up Honda CX500 made to look like a Goldwing.

I really miss the old One rainbows. And also the Green of Anglia that preceeded it. Don't think much of the new interim livery (rainbows painted out and debranded) and the Nat ex grey is well very grey.

Thameslink is pretty awful (the old one) and the south eastern livery has to win the award for the least imaginative white with yellow doors and provides the local hooligans with a lovely canvas.