br experimental blue livery

7mm Panniers, superbly weathered by James Harrison to represent 4614 in its last years working in the Forest of Dean

The post-nationalisation steam liveries can be roughly divided into two short eras, 1948–56, and 1956–1965, when Western Region steam came to an end. The liveries in both these eras show rapid change, are not always logical, and the variations described endorse the old adage of following a dated picture if historical modelling accuracy is to be observed. As always, locos were usually repainted only after major shoppings, so liveries overlapped even within the same class, and many locos went for scrap in the late 1950s and early 1960s still in pre-1956 paint.

Thanks are extended to members of RMweb for help in compiling these notes.

Nationalisation commenced on 1 January 1948, but livery change was gradual and muddled. It was decided that locos should continue to be painted in their pre-nationalisation style pending a decision on insignia. Locomotives therefore continued to be turned out initially in GWR 1946 livery except that company lettering was omitted pending a specification for the new lettering. From mid-January, as an interim measure, 'BRITISH RAILWAYS' in GWR Egyptian font was being applied to the sides of tenders and tanks. Kings, Castles and Stars continued to be outshopped in lined green livery, in much the same previous style, but there were differences in lining style, as detailed below.

Experimental liveries appeared in 1948 on some express locos: , and lined dark blue for Kings 6001, 6009, 6025 and 6026. The lined apple green experiment was confined to Castles – 4091, 7010, 7011, 7012 and 7013 painted from new, with 4089, 4091, 5010, 5021 and 5023 receiving the livery following works overhaul. Kings were painted in a livery from 1949, but they began to revert to green from 1951.

Other than Kings, Castles and Stars, classes that were lined previously in GWR days began to be outshopped in a 'mixed-traffic and secondary passenger' lined livery, which first started to make its appearance in 1949. The classes involved were therefore Halls, Counties, and those Saints (2920/6/7/34/7/45/7/9/54) receiving works repaints before the class finally disappeared in October 1953. In addition, the ten BR-built Manors (7820–7829) received the livery. Body colour was black, and lining on tanks and tender sides was a ⅝" outer pale dove grey band adjacent to which was an inner ⅛" cream band, inside which was a ⅛" red line. Lining on boiler bands and cylinders was two ⅛" red lines. Mixed-traffic livery locos retained their copper chimney tops and brass safety valve covers. It should be noted that this livery era lasted only from 1949–56, and some Halls (e.g. 6990) carried their pre-1949 lined green livery right through to 1956, when lined green livery was re-introduced, so never received the lined black livery.

All locos other than Kings, Castles, Stars, Saints, Halls, Counties and the 10 BR-built Manors were outshopped in unlined black. The decision to used unlined black for 'non-express' locos had in fact been made in principle at the Riddles/BTC agreement of October 1947, but it seems it wasn't until the Gill Sans lettering for 'BRITISH RAILWAYS' arrived (June 1948) that black began to be used.

7804 received unlined green with no emblem on the tender in 1948 for pilot duties over the south Devon banks. Between 1952 and 1954 it received unlined black with early crest, probably at the same time as the blastpipe modifications. The BR-built Manors, painted in lined mixed traffic black with the early crest when new, reverted to unlined black with the early crest during 1952–4 (probably at the same time as the blastpipe modifications). Prior to 1949, a few large Prairies appeared in unlined green, including 4162.

For the less-distinguished classes, there were exceptions to the general application of unlined black. The following locos are examples of lined black:

For locos in plain black or lined mixed-traffic black livery, the background colour of nameplates and numberplates was painted red from November 1949. This practice ceased in April 1952, when the background reverted to black on official repaints. Newton Abbot works however continued to paint name and number plates with a red background for at least two years after the practice had been officially discontinued. Some engines could still be seen with red-background number plates up to 1960/1.

For green bodywork locos and tenders, the perimeter beading on the top of tender fenders and the beading of the cabside cutout was green.

Some odd loco-tender livery pairings took place: 6947 in lined black loco with a GWR shirtbutton tender (April 1953), 6994 in lined black with a G [crest] W green tender, .

In anticipation of a future relaxing of the rules, green was re-introduced in 1955 for locos other than Kings, Castles and Stars, and appeared first on some Counties. The introduction of lined green for non-express locos was sporadic, but can be dated to approximately March 1956. The following are examples, other than Kings, Castles and Stars of course, of lined green with early crests:

The first era of unlined green appeared between late 1956 and early 1957, but was confined to a relatively few number of locos outshopped from Caerphilly works, including small Prairie 4569, large Prairies 4121, 4160, 5169 and 8103, 0-6-2Ts 5635, 5641, 5656, 5662, 5677, 6605, 6609 and 6680, with lion and wheel crests. Moguls 5311, 6306, 6326 and 7300 are also thought to have been in unlined green c April 1957, 6397 was in unlined green with a large early crest in July 1957, and 1454 was in unlined green early crest in April 1957.

The first official instruction regarding application of green livery, either lined for certain mainline passenger engines or unlined for smaller passenger and mixed traffic engines, was issued in November 1956. The next instruction, issued on 25 January 1957, rescinded the previous instruction, and stated that all engines painted green were to be lined out. An additional complexity was that lining was to be applied not only to passenger classes, but also many 'passenger' members of classes not previously lined in GWR days. These included:

• many of the large Prairies
• small Prairies, including 4547, 4552, 4557, 4561 , 4562 , 4564, 4565, 4566, 4567, 4569 , 4570, 4571, 4574, 4585 , 4587 , 4589, 4591 , 4593, 4594 , 5504, 5510 , 5514, 5519, 5523 , 5528, 5531 , 5534 , 5536, 5539, 5542 , 5545 , 5549 , 5551, 5554, 5555 , 5560 , 5562, 5563, 5569, 5570 , 5571 and 5572
• many 14xx 0-4-2T locos
• Moguls, including 4358, 5322 , 5326, 5330, 5339 , 5357, 5369, 5370 , 5376, 5396, 5398 , 6301, 6304, 6308, 6313, 6333, 6337, 6339, 6343, 6346, 6347, 6351, 6352 , 6353, 6355, 6364, 6365, 6372, 6374, 6377, 6379, 6385, 6389 , 6391, 6394, 7307, 7309, 7310, 7316, 7326, 7330, 7333, 7334 and 7341
• some passenger 54xx and 64xx Pannier tanks – examples are 5409, 5410, 5416, 5420, 6400, 6412, 6416, 6418, 6421, 6430 and 6437
• 0-6-2T (56xx, 66xx) locos, e.g. 5600, 5604 , 5614, 5617, 5619, 5621, 5626, 5627, 5628, 5632, 5643, 5644, 5645 , 5647, 5653, 5654, 5668, 5674 , 5680 , 5682 , 5685, 5686 , 5689, 5692, 6603, 6613 , 6616, 6618, 6619 , 6624 , 6635 , 6641 , 6642, 6651, 6652 , 6656 , 6657, 6659, 6661, 6664 , 6665, 6683, 6688 , 6689, 6670, 6671, 6688, 6689, 6691, 6694 and 6695
• some Collett Goods locos (2251 class), including 2201, 2204, 2207, 2211, 2212, 2217 , 2219, 2220, 2230, 2231, 2232, 2239, 2241, 2251, 2255, 2268, 2277, 2286, 3200, 3203, 3205, 3206, 3210, 3215 and 3216

The first Halls to appear in green (lined, with early crest), after heavy overhauls between Spring 1956 and Spring 1957, included: 4904, 4910, 4914, 4918, 4926, 4930, 4931, 4949, 4962, 5910, 5919, 5938, 5957, 5962, 5990, 6929, 6945, 6961, 6962, 6963, 6964, 6969, 6971, 6973, 6979, 6991, 7906, 7912, 7920 and 7925. 5960 appeared as a lined black loco coupled to an early crest lined green tender.

Boiler feed pipes were lined on some Halls, Granges and Collett-series Moguls (i.e. those with side windows), but not for other classes. The lining in these cases was a single orange line in the middle of the boiler feed pipe cladding.

Generally, the fender of Churchward 3500g tenders was not lined, but a few were, primarily a quirk of Caerphilly. Churchward 3500g tenders with lined fenders were seen behind Moguls 4358 , 6364, 6372, 6385, 6389 and Manors 7801 and 7810. One tender, seen running behind Mogul 6308 in February 1957, had a single lining panel applied incorrectly, with the upper part of the panel extending to the fender area. Officially, lining of the fender on such tenders was discontinued in July 1957.

Lining was not applied to the rear face of tender bodies, although could still be seen, as a continuation of the GWR style, on tenders newly relettered with 'British Railways' in Egyptian font in 1948.

Generally, no effort was made to remove paint from previously painted safety valves, but exceptions to this could be observed. In 1957–8, Caerphilly works polished (as opposed to painted) all brass safety valve covers, even on engines painted black.

For locos in green, the valance was painted green. The green valance was also applied to tenders running with green locos.

Caerphilly works had a fondness for painting reversing rods red , but was instructed by Swindon to cease the practice in November 1958. (The last loco to have its reversing rod painted red was 6345 at the end of October 1958.)

A second period of unlined green was the so-called 'economy green' era, and seems to have started possibly as early as 1958 and certainly by 1960. It has been recorded on Moguls 5306, 5369 , 6320, 6327, 6363, 6368, 6378, 6381, 6384, 7304, 7306, 7317, 7320, 7326, 7337 and 7340, and was also applied to small Prairies 4574 , 5537 , 5557 and 5569, some large Prairies, e.g. 6141 , some 56xx locos, some 2251s and some 14xxs. Some locos received plain black in their last years.

After 1958, the numbers of steam locos receiving works attention and repainting declined rapidly, and as a consequence the standard of external cleanliness of steam locos also declined dramatically. Labour shortages at sheds meant that the majority of locos, except for a few express passenger locos, were cleaned rarely if at all. The external state of many locos in their last years was pitiful, with no insignia discernible beneath the heavy grime.

Lining details

For a short initial period in 1948–9, insignia changed to 'BRITISH RAILWAYS' on tank and tender sides:

• Initially, from 1 January 1948 to 31 May 1948, this was in the standard shaded yellow GWR Egyptian font. Examples are 39, 41, 64, 77, 83, 91, 111 , 208, 211, 215, 270, 295, 335, 337, 361, 666, 893, 895, 1014 , 1016, 1022, 1027, 1542, 2001, 2089, 2146, 2219 , 2223, 2238 , 2286, 3178, 3636 , 3694, 3726, 4017, 4022 , 4025 , 4026, 4037, 4039, 4050, 4078, 4085 , 4099, 4100, 4160–65, 4229 , 4298, 4404, 4546, 4571, 4902 , 4919 (loco in lined black), 4925, 4928, 4941, 4946, 4951 , 4972 (loco in lined black, lined green tender), 4977, 5017, 5018, 5019, 5022 , 5037, 5048, 5059, 5067, 5068 (8-wheeled tender), 5072, 5077, 5079, 5095, 5099, 5112, 5144, 5165, 5197, 5218, 5415, 5514, 5602 , 5624, 5691, 5699, 5904 (loco and tender in unlined green), 5972 (in lined black), 5976, 6003, 6017, 6126 , 6141 , 6160 , 6308, 6321, 6411, 6658, 6696, 6697, 6698, 6866, 6911 , 6964 (loco in black, tender in lined green), 6977, 6984, 6986, 6987, 6988, 6999, 7003 , 7007 , 7008, 7009, 7014, 7017, 7213, 7225, 8100, 8738, 8767, 7914 and 9741. The following lined black Halls were paired, as part of normal tender swapping, with green tenders with GWR Egyptian font 'BRITISH RAILWAYS': 4919, 5901 and 5997.
• Later (from 1 June 1948 to 31 March 1949), a 6" Gill Sans font was adopted, but opinions differ as to whether the colour was white or light cream. Examples are 40, 42, 46, 56, 68, 73, 75, 81, 236, 240, 284, 306, 309, 312, 351, 360, 372, 398, 1421, 2100 , 2109, 2148, 2351 , 3738, 4091 (in experimental light green livery), 4143, 4146, 4215, 4241, 4235, 4272, 4276, 4409, 4505, 4526, 5010 (in experimental light green livery), 5021 , 5023, 5106, 5155, 5169, 5180, 5190, 5202, 5216, 5221, 5236, 5241, 5262, 5519, 5523, 5534, 5613, 5644, 5645, 5670, 5697 , 5699, 6001 , 6025 (in blue livery), 6602, 6614, 6662 , 6682 , 6684, 6685, 6910, 7010 (in apple green livery), 7011 (in apple green livery), 7203, 7224, 8105, 8773 and 9715 . ( 5816 appeared for a short period with a sans serif font, but not Gill Sans.)

Prior to the availability of the first lion and wheel crests, some large Prairies were outshopped in unlined green , with GWR style numerals on their bufferbeams, and a small (2") white W under the cabside numberplate. The 'W' was applied between January and late March/early April 1948, and it is thought about 150 or so GWR engines received it.

Further reading: Ian Rathbone's comprehensive British Railways Western Region locomotive liveries 1948 – 1955

1    Photo dated 1955 in Portraits of Western 4-6-0s by Holden and Leech

2    Photo dated 26 June 1955 in The Great Western Remembered by Whiteley and Morrison

History: The Life & Times of Rail Blue

"so, what was the first rail blue train that’s a question no one seems to want to answer. but the candidate spotlight fell on brand new locos and units being built at that time...".

THE PERIOD COVERED BY RAIL BLUE

THE BIRTH OF RAIL BLUE

• A concept described in period BR literature as “solid blue” for locomotives. No more two-tone, white lining or separate roof colour. Apart from observing compliance with BR’s yellow approach-warning policy, paintwork above the rolling chassis would comprise one dollop of uninterrupted blue. The shade of blue featured in XP64 had pretty much the same colour mix as Rail Blue, but a higher luminance, which made it a bit paler. The shade was subsequently finalised in 1965 as the darker colour we now recognise as “correct”.
• A new double-arrow logo, which would be the centrepiece of the BR brand going forward. However, at the XP64 stage, no final decision had been made on the way the double-arrow logo would be applied to trains. Therefore, the locomotive came as standard with no logos. During the promotional period in 1964, the XP64 loco – D1733 – ran with temp stick-on BR logos, in white, with bright red backings. But after these stick-ons were removed in early autumn, D1733 continued to run with no logos at all until it received a standard Rail Blue repaint at the close of 1969.
• A rounder, Helvetica-esque font for the application of fleet numbers, which was dubbed Rail Alphabet.
• Introduction of the classic coaching stock livery style with dark grey roof, light grey running in a wide band around the window area, and the rest of the bodywork above the rolling chassis in the chosen shade of blue.
• As XP64 prototype, D1733 featured hybrid yellow warning panels which ‘sealed’ round onto the bodysides in the same way that the forthcoming full yellow end would. So XP64 blue did not have the full yellow end, but neither did it have the standard small yellow warning panel. It was a stepping stone.

THE INTRO PHASE

WHY WE LOVE RAIL BLUE

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• Other Rail & Transport
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Introduction of BR Blue

• Thread starter L+Y
• Start date 23 Jun 2023
• 23 Jun 2023

I am fascinated by the transition era from the steam age railway of the early 1960s to the essentially modern network of the late 1970s. I've seen plenty of threads before about locos: but here's a more niche question. Does anybody know when the first coaching stock (aside from the XP64 rake) was outshopped in blue and grey? And did carriages go through a similarly confused livery introduction as locos, with some being outshopped in maroon (or even SR green?) even as others were appearing in blue and grey?  

RailUK Forums

L+Y said: I am fascinated by the transition era from the steam age railway of the early 1960s to the essentially modern network of the late 1970s. Click to expand...

L+Y said: And did carriages go through a similarly confused livery introduction as locos, with some being outshopped in maroon (or even SR green?) even as others were appearing in blue and grey? Click to expand...

Established Member

According to .bloodandcustard.org the official date for the introduction of the blue livery was 1 January 1965. The last maroon coach disappeared in 1974 and Selhurst outshopped its last green unit (2-HAP 6009) in December 1968.  

Andy873 said: I think the rebranding of BR started in 1965 with the shortening of its name to British Rail and the introduction of the double arrow symbol. Click to expand...

Gloster said: According to .bloodandcustard.org the official date for the introduction of the blue livery was 1 January 1965. Click to expand...

Gloster said: The last maroon coach disappeared in 1974 Click to expand...

Strathclyder

History: The Life & Times of Rail Blue

The first 64-seater open seconds were completed at Derby Litchurch Lane Works in the late spring of 1965, the first new carriages to carry the BR Corporate Identity livery of rail blue and pearl grey, the XP64 set having been outshopped in 1964 with an experimental livery with slightly different colour tones. Click to expand...

• 25 Jun 2023

Richard Scott

Beebman said: 'British Rail Mark 2 Coaches' by Michael Harris (Mallard, 1999) has the following paragraph on p39: I no longer have my collection of old railway magazines but ISTR that there were various photos in 1965 issues which showed Mk1 catering vehicles outshopped in blue and grey to match the Mk2 rakes being used in trains of otherwise maroon vehicles. I also seem to recall that other Mk1s continued to be outshopped in maroon (or SR green) until sometime in 1966. Click to expand...

Veteran Member

Richard Scott said: Weren't some of the early mk 2s outshopped in maroon or green? Click to expand...

hexagon789 said: Yes, all FKs afaik Click to expand...

Gloster said: I think there were twenty green ones and they were intended for the Southampton Boat Trains and, possibly, the Golden Arrow: they were sometimes used for other work, particularly out of Waterloo. Once the two services had disappeared they were transferred away and the Southern made do with Mark 1s. Click to expand...

• 26 Jun 2023

randyrippley

randyrippley said: Weymouth boat trains as well. From memory two in each rake Click to expand...

Beebman said: I've just checked my old RCTS coaching stock books - 46 Mk.2 FKs with Mk.1 interior designs were built at Derby in 1964 with 18 to Lot 30733 for the LMR and ER, and 28 to Lot 30734 for the SR. Looking at P5 books from the 80s the first batch had all gone by 1986 and the second by 1989. However by 1986 two from the second batch were allocated to Cambridge and that's jogged a memory of me travelling on one to there from Liverpool St behind a Class 86 just after electrification went live in 1987. Another memory I have (but much earlier and vaguer) is one of my Dad pointing out "two new coaches" on the Channel Islands Boat Train in Weymouth sometime in the mid-60s. Click to expand...

Magdalia said: The Great Central closed in September 1966 and I only know of one photo where a Great Central passenger train includes a blue and grey coach, though their fleet may not be a representative sample! Click to expand...

Beebman said: 'British Rail Mark 2 Coaches' by Michael Harris (Mallard, 1999) has the following paragraph on p39: Click to expand...

FWIW last maroon coaches I saw were in summer 1971. Three attached to the back of an otherwise blue/grey rake hauled by a Peak heading west at Dawlish, presumably NE-SW saturday only service. Coaches were in a real mess, faded peeling paint, cracked windows and peeling roof felt. Looked straight from the scrapline  

L+Y said: I think I've seen the same photo- is it a class 37 hauled York-Bournemouth train somewhere near Bulwell Common? Click to expand...

randyrippley said: FWIW last maroon coaches I saw were in summer 1971. Three attached to the back of an otherwise blue/grey rake hauled by a Peak heading west at Dawlish, presumably NE-SW saturday only service. Coaches were in a real mess, faded peeling paint, cracked windows and peeling roof felt. Looked straight from the scrapline Click to expand...

• 27 Jun 2023

To provide sufficient capacity for the International Motor Show at the NEC in 1978, the frequency of main line trains between Euston and Birmingham International was doubled with departures both ways every 15 minutes. The stock used for these extra trains was clearly only used very infrequently. IIRC there were one or two carriages still in maroon, though I can't remember any further details. Perhaps someone somewhere has more information.  

• 28 Jun 2023

Rescars said: To provide sufficient capacity for the International Motor Show at the NEC in 1978, the frequency of main line trains between Euston and Birmingham International was doubled with departures both ways every 15 minutes. The stock used for these extra trains was clearly only used very infrequently. IIRC there were one or two carriages still in maroon, though I can't remember any further details. Perhaps someone somewhere has more information. Click to expand...

Thanks all. I defer to your accurate information. The passage of time plays tricks with such recollections!  

We discussed before that the Derby set was the last maroon one. There was a comparable one in Scotland, the Cowlairs excursion set, which was the last maroon train I saw, in 1972, running a football excursion from Glasgow to Edinburgh. It looked a complete riot on board as it ran into Haymarket, presumably one of the Glasgow teams was playing Hearts, and the police at Glasgow Queen Street seemed to have most effectively diverted the supporters into a different special from the regular half-hourly push-pull service. Now it was the Edinburgh police's problem. To complete the allusion, Eastfield had turned out their most down-at-heel, pockmarked paint, Class 27 with a smoky exhaust to haul it.  

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The Official Bachmann Collectors Club

• Collectors Club Products
• N Scale Products
• N Scale Locomotives

Class 47/0 D1733 BR XP64 Experimental Blue (Small Yellow Panels)

Product Number:

Scale/Gauge:

Availability:

Member Price: £

• Description

This Bachmann Collectors Club Limited Edition model is launched to coincide with the 60th Anniversary of XP64, portraying the Class 47 locomotive that hauled the prototype train in 1964.

The XP64 train comprised a series of eight experimental coaches which showcased BR’s new corporate Blue & Grey colour scheme, hauled by a specially-liveried Class 47 No. D1733, which was built at Brush Falcon Works in Loughborough and was out-shopped in primer in April 1964, being despatched to Deby Works for painting into the new XP64 Experimental Blue Livery.

The official launch of XP64 took place in May 1964 with No. D1733 hauling a train of matching blue & grey coaches around the country to gauge public opinion of the new coaches and corporate livery. Whilst a Blue & Grey colour scheme was adopted for coaches, BR chose a darker shade of blue for locomotives and although the double arrow logo remained, the red background was dropped.

This new model takes advantage of recent developments to the Graham Farish Class 47 which include several technical advancements, with an upgraded specification which now boasts a Next18 DCC decoder interface, pre-fitted speaker, cab lighting (when used on DCC) and independent control of the directional lights at each end. This SOUND FITTED model makes full use of the new Next18 DCC interface and pre-fitted speaker, providing authentic sound effects when the model is used on both DCC and Analogue control straight out of the box!

• Graham Farish N Scale
• Pristine XP64 Experimental Blue livery
• Running No. D1733
• SOUND FITTED – Fitted with a ESU Loksound V5DCC Sound Decoder – See below for the function list
• Length 130mm
• Bachmann Collectors Club Limited Edition – 200 Certificated Pieces

DETAIL VARIATIONS SPECIFIC TO THIS MODEL

• Glazed Headcode Panels displaying Blinds 1X95 and 3T41
• Double Arm Windscreen Wipers
• Round Buffers
• Full Cab Roof Vents
• Original Three-Piece Radiator Grilles
• Ribbed Exhaust Panels
• Spanner Mk3 Boiler Port
• 1,200 Gallon Water Tanks
• Open Bogie-mounted Cab Steps

GRAHAM FARISH CLASS 47 SPECIFICATION

• Coreless, twin shaft motor with two flywheels providing drive to both bogies
• All axle drive
• Electrical pickup from eight wheels
• Diecast metal chassis block
• Gearing arranged for prototypical running speeds and haulage capabilities
• 9mm (N gauge) wheels to NEM310 standards with authentic profile and detailing
• Bogie-mounted coupling pockets to NEM355 standards at each end
• Designed to operate on curves of second radius (263.5mm) or greater
• Bogies constructed from multiple components featuring full relief detail
• Separately applied detail parts, including lamp irons, cab handrails and roof aerial (where applicable)
• Separately fitted battery box/water/fuel tank assembly
• Cab Interior Detailing
• Each model supplied with a full set of model-specific bufferbeam pipework and accessory parts
• Directional lighting, switchable on/off at either end on DCC or Analogue control
• Cab lighting, switchable on/off (when used on DCC only)
• Authentic light colours and temperatures selected for each model based on era and application
• Next18 DCC decoder interface
• Speaker installed in all models for optimum sound reproduction
• ESU Loksound V5DCC Sound Decoder fitted to SOUND FITTED versions
• Sound files produced specifically for the Graham Farish Class 47 using recordings from real locomotives
• SOUND FITTED models operate on DCC and Analogue control as supplied

LIVERY APPLICATION:

• Authentic liveries applied to all models
• Multiple paint applications employed on each model using BR/TOC specification colours
• Logos, numerals and text added as appropriate using multi-stage tampo printing using authentic typefaces, logos and colours

F0 - Directional Lights - On/Off (plus Light Switch Sound)

F1 - On - Warm Engine Start / On, Off - Failed Engine Start / On, Off, On - Cold Engine Start

F3* - Horn (Playable)

F4* - Two-Tone Horn

F5 - Heavy Load

F6 - Coasting (Manual notch Down if F22 On)

F7 - Maximum Revs (Manual notch Up if F22 On)

F8** - On - Coupling Up / Off - Uncoupling

F9 - Flange Squeal (Speed Related)

F10 - Fan Noise

F11 - Air Dump

F12 - On - Guard’s Whistle / Off - Driver’s Response Horn

F13 - Cab Lights On/Off No. 1 (plus Light Switch Sound)

F14 - Cab Lights On/Off No. 2 (plus Light Switch Sound)

F15 - Auto Uncouple Cycle

F16 - AWS Horn

F17 - AWS Bell

F18 - On - Sound Fades Out / Off - Sound Fades In

F19 - Mute (Latch) / Volume Cycles 6 Levels (Trigger)

F20 - No. 1 End (Fan) Directional Lights Off

F21 - No. 2 End (non-Fan) Directional Lights Off

F22 - Manual Notching Logic On/Off (control with F6 & F7)

F23 - Spirax Valve

F24 - Station Announcement

F25 - On - Driver’s Door Open / Off - Driver’ Door Shut

*Alternative Horn sounds and behaviour can be selected via CV changes

** Alternative coupling sounds can be selected via CV changes

Analogue Users: Please note that any automated drive sounds will be played when this model is used on analogue control (DC) straight from the box!

CLASS 47 HISTORY

Towards the end of the 1950s, British Railways began planning a new fleet of diesel locomotives and after investigating several prototypes, BR decided to place an order with Brush Engineering for 20 locomotives during February 1961. The resulting design became the iconic Brush Type 4 Diesel locomotive, a practical, versatile design with a very distinctive cab. Powered with a Sulzer engine and initially rated at 2,750hp, the locomotive could achieve a top speed of 75mph with a tractive effort of 55,000lb. Building commenced in January 1962 and the first locomotive No. D1500 appeared in late September of the same year with test runs on the London Midland Region and Western Region. The design was a success and BR went on to order a total of 512 with continuous production through to early 1967, forming the largest single class of main-line diesel locomotives in the UK.

During this time and subsequent years, several variations appeared with an increase in speed and tractive effort to 95mph and 62,000lb respectively. Originally fitted with four character train reporting head-codes, these changed to marker lights, with the addition of high intensity lights and roof aerials in the late 1980s. Other variations involved the fitting of different types of steam heating boiler for early BR coaching stock, later replaced with electric train heating for use with modern rolling stock. The numbering system started with four figures but changed to five with the introduction of the TOPS coding system which saw the locomotives classified as Class 47 Diesels with variations such as 47/0, 47/2, 47/3, 47/4 and 47/7. By the end of the 1990s, half of the Class 47 fleet had been withdrawn or scrapped, 33 have been converted into Class 57 locomotives and several have been preserved, including the original No. D1500, now numbered 47401.

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British Rail - Express Passenger Blue Locomotives

Discussion in ' Steam Traction ' started by Hurricane , Mar 16, 2014 .

Hurricane Member

window.top.__vm_add = window.top.__vm_add || []; //this is a x-browser way to make sure content has loaded. (function(success) { if(window.document.readyState !== "loading"){ success(); } else { window.document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function(){ success(); }); } })(function(){ var placement = document.createElement("div"); placement.setAttribute("class", "vm-placement"); if(window.innerWidth > 1080){ //load desktop placement placement.setAttribute("data-id", "5a8ff27b46e0fb0001a94328"); } else { //load mobile placement placement.setAttribute("data-id", "5f7af514da7a8f6d26edd438"); } document.querySelector("#adcontainer-11").appendChild(placement); window.top.__vm_add.push(placement); }); The Didcot blue gala started a conversation at the weekend regarding which locomotives carried the BR Blue livery. I believe it was only class 8? A1 A3 A4 Kings Duchess Merchant Navy Did anything else carry the livery? (Hopefully no smart arse will say Thomas). Its a shame the Lord Nelsons never did as 850 would look great in blue!  

Attached Files:

Med_gallery_8020_1412_5399.jpg, post-5613-0-00873800-1315424216_thumb.jpg, rv_35027.jpg, 0001-colour-rail-brm87.jpg.

Fred Kerr Resident of Nat Pres Friend

I believe it was applied to a couple of Jubilee Class locos  

Steve Resident of Nat Pres Friend

Hurricane said: ↑ The Didcot blue gala started a conversation at the weekend regarding which locomotives carried the BR Blue livery. I believe it was only class 8? A1 A3 A4 Kings Duchess Merchant Navy Did anything else carry the livery? (Hopefully no smart arse will say Thomas). Its a shame the Lord Nelsons never did as 850 would look great in blue! Click to expand...

Jamessquared Nat Pres stalwart

Steve said: ↑ 60113 may have carried blue livery, but that piccie is definitely photo-shopped! Click to expand...

Oooops that will teach me for only thinking about liveries not all the other variables, however it does sum up my point nicely! Does anyone have the definitive list of which classes of loco wore the blue?  

blackfour New Member

It was only the Class 8s that received it. All the Kings wore it - incidentally the only complete class to wear it. The Merchant Navies wore it, the Duchessess and Princesses wore it, as did the A4s, A3s and A1s. Other than that, as far as I know, no others wore it. Class 7s and below were - initially at least - to receive "Pea Green", which was a bilious shade of apple green. This unfortunate colour was made all the worse by the lining - somebody somewhere thought Red, Cream and Grey would set it off nicely! I suppose, in their defence, it was the late 40s... The Pea Green was sported by one Castle, one "Light Pacific" (Only in the paintshop and never on the road, as far as I can tell), about three Jubilees, about three Rebuilt Scots and the same number of Rebuilt Patriots, and perhaps a handful of B17s. I'm prepared to be wrong on this one, my knowledge of "Pea Green" is much less than my knowledge of other liveries. Hope this helps! Tom  

david1984 Resident of Nat Pres

Jamessquared said: ↑ Come on, what's an extra pair of wheels between friends? Seriously - Hurricane, I think you've been had! The source of that "photo" was from a gallery of "might have beens" by well known railway artist Matthew Cousins. See http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/gallery/image/39414-thompsons-great-northern-2-8-2/ See http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/gallery/album/1412-alternative-design-history/ for the complete gallery. And see http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/gallery/image/44541-bullied-2-8-2/ for what OVSB actually wanted to build! (in blue…) Tom Click to expand...

oddsocks Well-Known Member

From the book "The Big Four in Colour", page 186 has a pic of 34011 TAVISTOCK at Exmouth Junction shed, June 1949. "Finished in early BR experimental green (often described as Apple green) with two bands of red, cream and grey lining. Four light pacifics were painted in this livery, Nos. 34011/56/64/5." "In December 1948, three new BB Class 4-6-2's, Nos.34086-8 appeared from Brighton Works in experimental green livery,... etc etc, ...were allocated to Ramsgate Shed to work experimental liveried services during summer 1948." Hope this bit helps!  

goldfish Nat Pres stalwart

It looks as though the name plate has slid down the side of the Merchant Navy… Simon  

class8mikado Part of the furniture

Im devastatated, i thought that some of the w/c Battle of Britains had worn this - perhaps it was in preservation. As the nearest thing left to a Merchant Navy one would hope that if one if one of the smaller Spam Cans were thus painted today it would be considered acceptable...  

class8mikado said: ↑ Im devastatated, i thought that some of the w/c Battle of Britains had worn this - perhaps it was in preservation. As the nearest thing left to a Merchant Navy one would hope that if one if one of the smaller Spam Cans were thus painted today it would be considered acceptable... Click to expand...

S.A.C. Martin Part of the furniture

blackfour said: ↑ All the Kings wore it - incidentally the only complete class to wear it. Click to expand...

ADB968008 Guest

The pea green lives on in only a few pictures and that Mainline model produced a few years ago… would be nice to see a jubilee resurrect this livery just once.  

34014 Member

ADB968008 said: ↑ The pea green lives on in only a few pictures and that Mainline model produced a few years ago… would be nice to see a jubilee resurrect this livery just once. Click to expand...

Martin Perry Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Moderator Friend

34014 said: ↑ Wrenn also did a Castle in Pea Green and one in Blue as well; not to mention a Rebuilt Bulleid in Malachite....yuk. Click to expand...

Jonno854 New Member

There is a difference between the 1948 experimental liveries and BR standard blue. In 1948 three Black 5's were painted shades of green; GWR, Southern and LNER, with lining only on one side. Shortly afterwards, the official livery trials commenced, meant to spur public comment. A small number of Kings, MN's, A3's, A4's, Princess Royals and Princess Coronations were painted ultramarine blue (purple) with white and red lining, BRITISH RAILWAYS on the tender, the exception being the MN which had three red stripes and the cycling lion logo. A small number of Castles, Light Pacifics, Lord Nelsons, B17's, Royal Scots/Patriots and Jubilees were painted apple green with white and red lining, BRITISH RAILWAYS on the tender. Coaching sets for each region were painted plum and spilt milk or chocolate and cream. There are a small number of colour pictures available from Colour Rail. Other experimental liveries were variations on black for mixed traffic or freight locos. Come 1949 the official liveries were chosen, remaining as such for the life of BR's steam history with the exception that class 8's (Kings, MN's, A1's, A3's, A4's, Princess and Princess Coronations) went blue (a different shade to ultramarine) with black and white lining, main line coaches went blood and custard and suburban stock was crimson (both later changing to maroon). Blue was rejected after 1951 as the pigment in the paints used did not wear well and it proved almost impossible to touch up damaged paintwork. In preservation a rebuilt MN (non-prototypical but very nice indeed), King, A1 and A4 have gone blue. I would dearly love to see some other variations of the above (Duke of Gloucester in blue would I suggest also look veeeerry nice). Reference is made in an earlier post to a blue Jubilee. The LMS painted a Princess Coronation and a Jubilee in experimental bluey grey post WW2 but I don't believe that this ever left the paint shop. Hopefully this is of help, more info can be found in Colin Boococks book on BR liveries 1948 - 1968. Regards JP  

Spamcan81 Nat Pres stalwart

Jonno854 said: ↑ There is a difference between the 1948 experimental liveries and BR standard blue. In 1948 three Black 5's were painted shades of green; GWR, Southern and LNER, with lining only on one side. Shortly afterwards, the official livery trials commenced, meant to spur public comment. A small number of Kings, MN's, A3's, A4's, Princess Royals and Princess Coronations were painted ultramarine blue (purple) with white and red lining, BRITISH RAILWAYS on the tender, the exception being the MN which had three red stripes and the cycling lion logo. A small number of Castles, Light Pacifics, Lord Nelsons, B17's, Royal Scots/Patriots and Jubilees were painted apple green with white and red lining, BRITISH RAILWAYS on the tender. Coaching sets for each region were painted plum and spilt milk or chocolate and cream. There are a small number of colour pictures available from Colour Rail. Other experimental liveries were variations on black for mixed traffic or freight locos. Come 1949 the official liveries were chosen, remaining as such for the life of BR's steam history with the exception that class 8's (Kings, MN's, A1's, A3's, A4's, Princess and Princess Coronations) went blue (a different shade to ultramarine) with black and white lining, main line coaches went blood and custard and suburban stock was crimson (both later changing to maroon). Blue was rejected after 1951 as the pigment in the paints used did not wear well and it proved almost impossible to touch up damaged paintwork. In preservation a rebuilt MN (non-prototypical but very nice indeed), King, A1 and A4 have gone blue. I would dearly love to see some other variations of the above (Duke of Gloucester in blue would I suggest also look veeeerry nice). Reference is made in an earlier post to a blue Jubilee. The LMS painted a Princess Coronation and a Jubilee in experimental bluey grey post WW2 but I don't believe that this ever left the paint shop. Hopefully this is of help, more info can be found in Colin Boococks book on BR liveries 1948 - 1968. Regards JP Click to expand...

Was the turbomotive ever painted in the express passenger blue? It occurred to me today that it's the one "one off" not mentioned in the lists above.  

TonyMay Member

S.A.C. Martin said: ↑ Was the turbomotive ever painted in the express passenger blue? It occurred to me today that it's the one "one off" not mentioned in the lists above. Click to expand...

Railcar22 Member

Don't you mean 35005 Canadian Pacific. saw it once going round the West Curve at Didcot in Blue  

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BR A4 Experimental Blue 1948-51

By robmcg , May 11, 2020 in Hornby

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With Hornby now producing another A4 in the 'experimental blue' of 1949-51, as applied to 60024/7/8/9, may I ask if Hornby have got this reasonably 'right'?

edit; correction, 1948-50-ish on.

I know in the case of the Gresley Hush Hush there has been considerable debate, I feel for you Paul isles, but the photos of 60028 and the 2008 model 60027 show varying colours, not always very complimentary, in advertising, so I wonder if there may be some definitive guidance here on RMweb?

I know the lining on the model may be different from the prototypes, but mostly I am curious about the colour hue, too much blue, needs more purple?

A couple of photos show the variations on the models for sale.  Opinions invited.

Both the above have been edited by me, mostly de-saturating the colour.

This below is unadulterated.

Somewhere in-between might be more the natural look as per the prototype?

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The nearest I could find to what might be a natural rendition of the colour may be in these shop ad photos?

For comparison a 'standard' BR blue livery 1950.

MikeParkin65

Just bought the digital version of the new Key Publishing 'bookazine' 'Coats of many colours Rail Liveries  - The British Railway Steam Years'. On page 57 there is a colour pic of 60028 in this blue livery. A very old photo of course and not definitive bu in my view your photo of 60027 is the nearest match - it is certainly not like either version of 60028 above I am sorry to say. 

The Key book is a bargain in my view and of course the beauty of a digital version is that you can zoom right in to the images! Available from Pocketmags 

3 minutes ago, MikeParkin65 said: Just bought the digital version of the new Key Publishing 'bookazine' 'Coats of many colours Rail Liveries  - The British Railway Steam Years'. On page 57 there is a colour pic of 60028 in this blue livery. A very old photo of course and not definitive bu in my view your photo of 60027 is the nearest match - it is certainly not like either version of 60028 above I am sorry to say.    The Key book is a bargain in my view and of course the beauty of a digital version is that you can zoom right in to the images! Available from Pocketmags 

Thanks Mike, I will look up and buy  'Coats of many colours Rail Liveries  - The British Railway Steam Years'.

Yes I have read that the Hornby colour may in some eyes be a little less red/purple than desirable and I'll look to that first pic of 60027 as a guide.  What a strange colour!  When it was on my screen a friend passed by and said, 'oh that looks good'  and she was a professional print broker!

There was a big debate about this on another thread, and I seem to remember a knowledgeable contributor saying that the pigment used in the original colour is very slightly iridescent, which, if true, might explain why it is such a difficult colour to capture.

5 hours ago, MikeParkin65 said: Just bought the digital version of the new Key Publishing 'bookazine' 'Coats of many colours Rail Liveries  - The British Railway Steam Years'. On page 57 there is a colour pic of 60028 in this blue livery. A very old photo of course and not definitive bu in my view your photo of 60027 is the nearest match - it is certainly not like either version of 60028 above I am sorry to say.    The Key book is a bargain in my view and of course the beauty of a digital version is that you can zoom right in to the images! Available from Pocketmags 

Well Mike I finally found the book   liveries Vol.3 at Key Publications, not listed under the title you quoted, but the Vol 3 liveries book has the 'coats' bit at the top as a subtitle  but cannot for the life of me work out how to create a digital subscription, website from hell, I'm afraid. I'll try Pocketmags, without any great optimism.  Key want to SEND me books and magazines, nothing on their website directs you to digital subscription, unless I'm blind.

Edit, pocketmags have Rail Liveries volume 1 and if you try again, also vol 2   but no volume 3...  I have an account with pocketmags so it's all rather strange and weird.   'Rail Liveries Volume 3' is my search phrase.   

i. With so few locos in the livery,

ii. all of the preserved ones remaining may have very little original material if any to recover (fyi 60008 did recover Apple green in 2013 during its repaint)

iii. memories being around 70 years old, in people at least 80

iv. Pictures being unreliable...

I think chances are what ever Hornbys researched, everyone will have an opinion on.

with all the above 4 being variables, is there any written (or even a stored research sample) that remains to use as original research ?

1 hour ago, adb968008 said: i. With so few locos in the livery, ii. all of the preserved ones remaining may have very little original material if any to recover (fyi 60008 did recover Apple green in 2013 during its repaint) iii. memories being around 70 years old, in people at least 80 and.. iv. Pictures being unreliable...   I think chances are what ever Hornbys researched, everyone will have an opinion on.   with all the above 4 being variables, is there any written (or even a stored research sample) that remains to use as original research ?

I have no idea if there are formal names for such colours.

I agree Hornby's guess is likely very good, given the variables you so correctly describe.

here is part of p.57 of Rail Liveries Volume 3 

The lining on the A4 seems less prominent than in my guessimate, but who know?

Just out of interest, has Hornby done an LNER post-war blue version with no valences?

I think that would be very handsome.

4 minutes ago, scumcat said: They did a tender drive one some years ago that came with a plate, but haven’t done it in the newer model strangely I’ve just finished repainting my own.

Indeed! Very nice. I see the RCTS has several pics of LNER post war A4s without valences, I wonder if they all had red wheels?   Sorry to be so ignorant on these matters.

9 hours ago, robmcg said:   Well Mike I finally found the book   liveries Vol.3 at Key Publications, not listed under the title you quoted, but the Vol 3 liveries book has the 'coats' bit at the top as a subtitle  but cannot for the life of me work out how to create a digital subscription, website from hell, I'm afraid. I'll try Pocketmags, without any great optimism.  Key want to SEND me books and magazines, nothing on their website directs you to digital subscription, unless I'm blind.   Edit, pocketmags have Rail Liveries volume 1 and if you try again, also vol 2   but no volume 3...  I have an account with pocketmags so it's all rather strange and weird.   'Rail Liveries Volume 3' is my search phrase.      Edit 3   success!      I searched pocketmags rail liveries 3 an came up with two direct links to vol.3  my apologies!   

Yes, sorry it isn't the easiest to find - I think I just struck lucky in my first search having seen it advertised in Hornby Magazine. I see Pocket Mags also files it under 'Aviation Specials'!

A couple more pics of Experimental blue.

To my eye, both look a bit darker than the Hornby livery but the variation between all the prototype photos really highlight the difficulty of working from 70-year old photos taken in varying lighting conditions.

14 hours ago, Nearholmer said: There was a big debate about this on another thread, and I seem to remember a knowledgeable contributor saying that the pigment used in the original colour is very slightly iridescent, which, if true, might explain why it is such a difficult colour to capture.

Do you have a link for that thread I can't seem to find it?

The Goldenage models site shows an ultramarine and standard BR blue comparison

http://www.goldenagemodels.net/sr-locomotives-merchant-navy-class-gallery.html

Part of the problem with that livery is the way the red affects the blue anyway. The neutral black and white doesn't fight the blue in the same way the red does. Weren't these experimental blues done in 1948 or very early 1949?

It's a very subjective matter and a debate that will last for as long as there are people to debate it. The model of the A4 is very sensitive to light - moreso than standard blue or green - with the hue changing under different conditions. 

A while ago, I painted a King into what I thought was a good rendition of the livery (although it's now being primed for a repaint into green). The attached photo demonstrates how that colour changed quite drastically with the light too.

4 hours ago, BernardTPM said: Part of the problem with that livery is the way the red affects the blue anyway. The neutral black and white doesn't fight the blue in the same way the red does. Weren't these experimental blues done in 1948 or very early 1949?

Yes, more reading and experimental blue was from 1948-on  I have edited the original post.

4 hours ago, Henry 84F said: It's a very subjective matter and a debate that will last for as long as there are people to debate it. The model of the A4 is very sensitive to light - moreso than standard blue or green - with the hue changing under different conditions.    A while ago, I painted a King into what I thought was a good rendition of the livery (although it's now being primed for a repaint into green). The attached photo demonstrates how that colour changed quite drastically with the light too.  

What a lovely rendition of 60028!  Best I've seen of the model. I have bought one and await its arrival from a retailer, but in NZ here we have just emerged from lockdown and couriers and parcel post have four times Xmas volumes.

Thanks for the pictures.

May I fiddle with your pic of 60028 and perhaps add track and scenery? I'll understand if you demur. Will put anything I do up here, and it will be captioned 'edited from photo by Henry 84F'.

10 hours ago, robmcg said: May I fiddle with your pic of 60028 and perhaps add track and scenery? I'll understand if you demur. Will put anything I do up here, and it will be captioned 'edited from photo by Henry 84F'.   Cheers

Be my guest.

I've found Rails of Shefield photographs to be accurate in terms of colour balance whenever I've bought from them. There is a small difference though here, the Mallard photos has a warmer white balance.

13 hours ago, Henry 84F said:   Be my guest.   Thanks, Henry

I took a few liberties and tried to get a colour rather more like the old book photos, inaccurate though they may be, but I think it is a very pleasing model, what Hornby A4 isn't? 

My model may turn up by courier today or tomorrow but in any event I think the colour would have been in real life just as variable as the vexed BR Brunswick Green was, dirt, ash, weather, age, oxidation and so on. Maybe even more variable given its iridescence.   In short I think that weathering it could be very interesting!

Quite an impressive engine! 

Picture edited from photo by Henry 84F.   Thankyou Henry.

Ruffnut Thorston

8 hours ago, maico said: I've found Rails of Shefield photographs to be accurate in terms of colour balance whenever I've bought from them. There is a small difference though here, the Mallard photos has a warmer white balance. <SNIPPED.  

Of course, the two locos are in fact different colours...the "purple", and the Standard Blue...

Well my 60028 arrived today and is lovely... an interesting colour indeed.

Here is is with mostly daylight a touch of tungsten lamp to add highlights.

In natural light alone it is unsurprisingly more blue, with less red too. Very slightly at least. 

Canon EOS-M camera, standard settings, 8 sec at F29 DIN 100 auto colour balance.

Steamport Southport

On 13/05/2020 at 14:53, maico said: I've found Rails of Shefield photographs to be accurate in terms of colour balance whenever I've bought from them. There is a small difference though here, the Mallard photos has a warmer white balance.  

I feel that Mallard looks a bit off there and far too dull.

The BR Blue is supposed to be about the same colour as Caledonian locomotives.

Didcot got it right on 6023 IMHO.

https://didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk/article.php/75/6023-king-edward-ii

On 12/05/2020 at 07:03, robmcg said: Just out of interest, has Hornby done an LNER post-war blue version with no valences?   I think that would be very handsome.

The Bittern pack is without valances in LNER livery, although I don't know if it is remotely relevant to post war pre BR.

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BRITISH RAILWAYS WESTERN REGION LOCOMOTIVE LIVERIES 1948 - 1955

 Edited 8/11/23

Introductory notes

I define the various livery periods of BR as –

 Period 0 – 1948-1951; unbranded company liveries, experimental liveries.

 Period 1 − Up to mid 1956; the first standard liveries, 1st BR emblem. Carmine (Crimson) or carmine and cream coaches

 Period 2 – Late 1955 – end of steam; following the 1953 Transport Act there was greater regional freedom in livery matters, 2nd BR emblem (from mid 1956), Crimson Lake (Maroon) coaches.

 Period 3 – 1964 onwards; Blue period

 Period 4 – Sectorisation -  InterCity, Provincial, etc.

As usual there was a great deal of overlap between the periods.

  Western Region Locomotive Liveries, Period 0

  Summary

 As a result of the 1946 Transport Act the railways of Britain were nationalised on 1st January 1948, and the GWR became the Western Region of BR. The railways were to be run by the Railway Executive for the British Transport Commission.

 There had been discussions since October 1947 between Robert Riddles (Chief Mechanical Engineer) and BTC in regard to liveries. The initial proposals were that freight and shunting locomotives be plain black and other steam locos green (type not specified), electric locos light blue and mainline diesel golden ochre.

 On 1st January it was decided that locos be painted in their existing style pending a decision on livery. Locos were to be lettered ‘British Railways’ in full. Initially locomotives continued to be turned out in GWR 1946 livery except that company lettering was omitted pending a specification for the BR lettering. From mid January repainted engines were lettered BRITISH RAILWAYS in full on tender or tank side.

The wording was originally in standard GWR style but later changed to 6” BR Gill Sans in cream. The lettering was spaced as ‘Great Western’ had been before it, ie the central space was centred on the middle axle box and the H and R equidistant from it. (The only exception was the eight wheel tender running behind 5068, where the end and central spaces were equal). There were never any transfers made for the BR lettering so it was always hand painted.

 On 5th January a prefix system was approved pending the revised numbering system. For a period of about six weeks from late January locomotives left the works with a 2” high white ‘W’ painted below the number plates. Locomotives noted with a W are listed in The RCTS ‘Locomotives of the GWR’ Once the renumbering system had been sorted out at the end of February no more engines received the W, as ex GWR engines were to keep their original numbers and their cast number plates. During the immediate pre and post nationalisation period some South Wales engines were being renumbered, to tidy up the system. To distinguish new from old the new plates did not carry the letters GWR.

 The official BR (ex LMS) power classification system was applied to all engines but the markings were ignored by BR(W), as engines continued to carry the GWR letter system within the coloured route disc on the cab side, usually just above the number plate.

 During 1948 LMS style smoke box number plates were introduced. The rimless cast iron number plates had 5” high numbers (painted white) in the official ‘BR Gill’ type face. The first few however, were cast in brass with 4” numbers, probably for the engines that appeared in the experimental livery styles. In 1949 a few engines of 2021 Class were sent to Crewe for servicing and returned with LMS 1936 pattern smoke box number plates, eg 2111 & 2040. Some locos carried both number plates and buffer plate numbers in the early days.

 Engine sheds or motive power depots were reorganised on the LMS model where depots were grouped under a ‘principal’ depot. Each principal depot on the WR was allocated a code number 81A – 89A and the remaining sheds given an alphabetic suffix from B down to G. Generally these were in the order of the distance from the main depot, but not always. Cast elliptical plates (7.25” x 4.5”) with raised rim carrying the shed code were carried on the smoke box door mid way between the central boss and the lower rim. The lettering and the rim were picked out in white. For a short while some locos carried both smoke box plate and GWR style platform angle lettering.

 The official BR liveries for passenger locomotives were not decided until early 1949 so, until that time, it can only be assumed that new or repainted lined green engines appeared in the appropriate GW livery without branding. On 15th April it was agreed that apart from locos selected for livery trials ‘all other locos apart from express passenger to be black; passenger and mixed traffic locos to be lined’ (lining style not specified).  Freight and shunting locomotives were appearing in plain black during 1948 although records of this period are pretty well non-existent. The first lined black engines appeared in August 1948 when Halls appeared so painted. Hall 5954 was one of the first engines to carry the proposed Lion on Wheel emblem about that time.    

 In mid summer 1948 thirteen ex GWR engines were chosen to be painted in experimental liveries. The Railway Executive, at this stage, was keen to create completely new liveries and not perpetuate any of the company styles. The locomotives chosen were Kings 6001, 09, 25 and 26, and Castles 4089, 91, 5010, 21, 23, 7010, 11, 12 and 13, the last four being brand new.

 The Kings were painted in a dark ultramarine blue, tending to purple, with LNWR style red, cream and grey lining, while the Castles were painted in a light yellowy green with similar lining. The detail of areas of colour and lining styles appears below. The locomotives were allocated to haul three specific trains of experimentally liveried coaches, chocolate and cream or plum and white. Each of these locomotives carried a brass smoke box number plate.

 The experimental liveries did not find favour so further trials were carried out until the final one on 10th January 1949 (at which Castle 5067 in GWR lined green appeared).

 The final decision was as follows –

 Principal express passenger locomotives (Kings) – Blue with black and white lining.

 Other express passenger (Castles, Stars) – Dark green with orange and black lining.

 Mixed traffic and secondary passenger - Black with red (vermilion), cream and grey lining

 Freight and shunting – Plain black

 The Western Region duly painted all its Kings blue and all Castles and serviceable Stars in green. The lined black livery was only applied to Countys, Halls, serviceable Saints, BR built Manors and 5101s. A few other engines were treated to this style but the majority of eligible classes, including Granges, GWR Manors, GWR Large Prairies, Small Prairies, Bulldogs, Dukedogs, 4700, 4300, 1400, 5800 mostly stayed plain black.

 Examples of lined black engines are – 1411, 1465, 1470, 4406, 4409, 4116, 4166, 4171, 4702, 5156, 5190, 5816, 7313, 9009, 9014.

 Some examples which should not have received the style were 1503, 1504, 1505, 2213, 2529 , 5409, 8763, 8764 & 8771. Of these the 8700s and 1500s were Paddington/Old Oak pilots and shunters.   

 ( These lists are by no means complete, further examples would be welcome )

EXPERIMENTAL LIVERY STYLES

Style EA   - Kings Nos. 6001, 6009, 6025 & 6026 only.

Main colours

1 Ultramarine Blue. Said to be more purple than the blue of the Great Eastern or Somerset and Dorset. I feel that the Precision Paints BR Experimental Blue is a little too purple but I have no evidence.

 2  Black. The WR used different types of black paint on different parts of the engine and tender, for example, oil paint, oil paint mixed with varnish, smoke stack black and bituminous black. For a model any black, except matt, will do.

  Secondary colours

 3  China or Chinese Red for buffer plates and cases.

4  Venetian Red for various surfaces inside the main frames between smoke box and firebox. Venetian Red is Red Oxide by another name.

  Lining colours

 5  Vermilion. (For a model I use Humbrol No. 19 Gloss Red)

6  Grey. (Humbrol No. 5 Gloss Dark Battleship Grey)

7  Cream (Humbrol No. 7 Gloss Buff

  Style EB – Castles Nos. 4089, 4091, 5010, 5021, 5023, 7010 - 7013

  Main colours

  1  Yellowy Green or Light Apple Green. This colour is elusive as few photographs exist (yes I know about photos and colour) and as far as I know there is no record of the actual colour. The most telling photograph is one of two SR West Countrys standing together, one in malachite green and the other in experimental green (Colourrail). The latter appears to be more yellow than LNER green.

 2-7  All as Style EA above.

  LINING STYLES

  As this lining was used on different background colours I use the abbreviation BGC for the background colour.

   Style 1   - On larger panels, inset from the edge – cab sides and tender sides. Also the lower edge of platform angles.

  ⅝” Grey / ⅛” Cream / 1½” BGC/ ¼”Vermilion.   Corner radius 4” to outside of outer Grey line   except   lower front corner of cab lining.

   Style 2   - Splasher faces.

  ⅝” Grey / ⅛” Cream / 1½” BGC /¼”Vermilion. On splashers the grey line was adjacent to the arc of beading and lower straight edge. The grey/cream line formed an acute angle at the bottom corners of the splasher but the red line had a 1” radius curve at this point.   

   Style 3   - Cylinder and boiler bands.

 ¼” vermilion/2” approx BGC / ¼” vermilion. The boiler bands were lined vermilion on the edges and the remainder was the back ground colour. The cylinder lining was centred on the bolts fixing the casing.

  Style 4 – Name plate supports.

 1” BGC / ¼” Vermilion

  Style 5 – Number plates

 = / ¼” Vermilion / =

  LIVERY STYLES EA & EB, Colour in detail

  Black –

 Running plate, drag beam, lamp brackets, outside face of frames and all springs & axle boxes etc attached, step plates, cross head, C-bracket. Above the running plate the Black areas were smoke box and saddle, chimney, cab roof, reverser rod, tops of splashers, pipe work attached to top of running plate, inside, top and front of tender.  Ends and back of buffer plates. Fire box back within cab. Sunken areas of name and number plates.    

  Ultramarine Blue (EA) or Yellowy Green (EB) –

Boiler, firebox, splasher faces, sides and top of fire iron tunnel, weather board, nameplate support plate, platform angles and cylinders, sides and rear of tender. On tenders the Blue/Green extended to include all of the angle at the base of the sides and rear. Operating rods above the running plate for sanders, inside walls and roof of cab, including the cladding to the sides of the fire box. AWS equipment within cab including the bell. Rear vacuum stand pipe above the buffer plate.

  Venetian Red –

Inside face and all stretchers and castings forming the main frames between smoke box and fire box, axles, all castings forming part of the motion eg balance weights, cranks and eccentrics. Eccentric rods. Regulator lever within cab except the handle.

  China   Red (also known as Chinese Red) –

Buffer plates and cases, all of the front vacuum stand pipe and the part of rear stand pipe where it crosses the buffer plate.

  Unpainted areas –

Whistles, brass window frames, brass splasher beading, cab corner beading, raised parts of brass number and name plates, wooden parts within cab – floor, control handles, seats. Brass control handles – regulator, reverser. Non-ferrous metal parts attached to the firebox front. The hand rails adjacent to the cab entrance on both engine and tender were unpainted except for about an inch at each end. Forged parts of the motion and valve gear, except eccentric rods. Copper chimney top, and brass safety valve bonnet.  

  Hand rail colour not known.  

Livery Styles EA & EB, lining in detail

  Lining on Blue/Green areas

 Cab sides –

Lining Style 1 formed a closed panel below the cab windows, set in 3” from the edges and the cab window frame. Top corners and bottom rear corners were 4” radius to the outside of the Grey line. The radius at lower front followed the radius of the edge.

 Collett tender sides –

Lining Style 1. The position of the lining was dictated by the position of the rivets in that the upper and lower Grey/Cream line passed just above the top rivets and just below the bottom rivets so that the lining was about 5 – 6” from the edge. The front vertical lining was positioned so the tangent point of the vermilion lining was just in front of  the closely spaced rivets for the tender bulkhead. The rear vertical lining ran clear of rivets to give a spacing of about 5” from the end. All outer corners were 4” radius.

 Hawksworth tender sides –

Lining Style 1. There were no rivets so the lining was set in 6” from all edges, the top line following the shape of the tender top edge.

 Splasher faces –

Lining Style 2 along the base and along the top arc with the Grey line adjacent to the beading. The Grey/Cream line formed an acute angle at the bottom corners but the Vermilion line had a 1” radius at this point.  Where a splasher was obscured by the weatherboard, or the reversing gear cover on the right hand side, the lining was deemed to continue behind, and was not ‘closed off’.      

 Platform angle –

Lining Style 1. The Grey line ran along the bottom edge from behind the buffer plate to the drag beam and similarly on the tender.

 Cylinders –

Lining Style 3. The outer vermilion lines were about 2” in from the edge, the lining being centred on the line of fixing bolts.

 Boiler bands –

Lining Style 3. The vermilion lines were on the edge of the bands with the body colour between. There was no lining on the fire box. On the Kings the feed pipe cover was lined similarly, the lining being closed off at the bottom edge but not the top as it ran under the top feed casing.  

 Name plate support –

Lining Style 4. The vermilion line was set in an inch from the edge and ran parallel to it.

 Number plates –

Lining Style 5. The vermilion line ran roughly midway between the rim and number.

Company markings –

 Each of the locomotives in experimental livery carried the words ‘BRITISH RAILWAYS’ in full on the tender sides in Cream 6” Gill Sans lettering. No. 6009 later carried the Lion on Wheel emblem. Evidence is required for others.

                                    --------------------------------------------------

  The Lion on Wheel emblem

 Following trials of suitable emblems on Eastern Region B1s and Southern Schools Class the Lion on Wheel was chosen as the emblem (not a crest) to adorn locomotives. The emblem was approved on 25th November 1948 and introduced in early 1949, when again engines appeared without lettering pending supplies of the new transfers.

 Its origin is obscure. Brian Haresnape in ‘British Railways Liveries’ attributes it to Abram Games, who designed the Festival of Britain logo. However, I have been told by the Abram Games Archive that it is not so. The same emblem, but with a road wheel, adorned the cabs of British Roadways vehicles.

 It possibly first appeared on the WR on King No. 6009 in August 1948, when in experimental livery and Hall No. 5954, in lined black, around the same time. It was positioned on tenders above the central axle box and centrally within the height of the panel or lining thereon. On pannier tanks it was generally positioned centrally on the tank.

 Three sizes were made but the WR only used the two larger sizes and generally favoured the largest size on tenders and the larger tank engines.

 The lion always faced the front of the locomotive. On the WR it was not used on other stock.

  Red number and name plates

 From late 1949 to early 1952 number plates on black engines were being routinely painted red, and the name plates where applicable. There are some colour photographs showing it and the occasional monochrome panchromatic film picks it out. With orthochromatic film, with which most photos were taken at the time, it is more difficult to spot. Even some green GWR liveried engines returned from Crewe with red plates. The reasons for it have not been detailed but it was possibly due to Riddles wanting the new liveries to be close to that of the LNWR. Personally I think it looked quite smart, adding a dash of colour to an otherwise black engine.

 The reasons for its demise are also unclear. I would suggest that the red faded making the number difficult to be seen by staff (not train spotters). There weren’t the resources to maintain the plates, so black was the better option – and it suited the GWR diehards.   

  The Standard Liveries

  Following a number of trials the official liveries were announced in early 1949, and published by the Railway Pictorial and Locomotive Review in July. Unusually, for a time of austerity, there were to be four styles, three of which had quite complex lining. The vast majority of engines were to be plain black but passenger locomotives of Class 7 were to be ‘Light Blue’ with black and white lining, other principal passenger locos of Class 5, 5X & 6 ‘Deep Bronze Green’ (BS 381C 224) with GWR style lining, and mixed traffic & secondary passenger locos Black with LNWR style lining.

 The locomotive used to illustrate the lining was a LMS rebuilt Patriot 4-6-0. The diagram included lining on the platform angle but, although the experimental liveries included this and a few WR lined black locomotives carried it in 1948, it was never used on the WR subsequently. The diagram showed splasher lining as being along the top arc only, but the WR lined green or blue splashers exactly as the GWR had done previously. Lined black splashers on the WR also had the Grey/Cream line continue along the bottom edge. An innovation for the WR was to paint the platform angle in the body colour, something the GWR had never done.

 The diagram indicated that buffer plates and casings were to be painted in Signal Red but the WR continued to use China Red,at least until stocks ran out. There is anecdotal evidence that China Red continued in use at Worcester until the end but it is likely that Swindon, and other works with a greater throughput, would change to Signal Red sooner. ( A specification issued from the Swindon drawing office on 1st January 1959 simply referred to ‘red’ as the colour for buffer plates and inside of frames). 

 The specification did not include ‘non public’ parts so, inside cab, tender front and between frames were not mentioned, so each region continued with its traditional style. 

 In the event the Blue style did not last long as it was found that the blue paint faded quickly, preventing the ability to touch up paint work. In late 1951 ( or early 1952 – needs checking ) the style ceased and all subsequent repaints of Class 7 locos were in the Green style.

 Compared to the GWR 1946 livery there was further simplification of the lining; it was omitted from the fire box and weatherboard, and the back of the tender.

   LIVERY STYLES

  Style A Green locomotives - Castles and Stars (after 1951 to Kings)  

  Generally Green above the running plate and Black below except for the platform angle. Lining applied in up to four styles to Green areas – Boiler, cab sides, splashers, name plate support plates and tender sides. Also applied in two styles to black areas – cylinder covers and number plates.

  Style A(B) Blue locomotives – Kings until 1952

 As above but main colour Light Blue

  Style B – Lined Black - Halls, Saints, Countys, BR built Manors and 5101s, and a few others.

 Black above and below the running plate with lining in four styles to boiler, cab sides, tank and bunker sides, splashers*, cylinders, tender sides and number plates.

 *Rare on tank engines

  Style C - remainder

 All Black. No lining   

 1 Green. Deep Bronze Green BS 381C 224.

 3  Signal Red for buffer plates and cases (but see note above).

5  Pale yellow for picking out numbers on cast iron number plates

 6  Orange. For a model I use Humbrol No. 9 Gloss Tan with added red.

7  White. For a model use a light grey.

8  Red. (Humbrol No. 19 Gloss Red)

9  Cream. (Humbrol No. 7 Gloss Buff)

10  Grey. (Humbrol No. 5 Gloss Dark Battleship Grey

2  Black. Any gloss black will do 

LIVERY STYLE A

  Colour in detail

  Green -

  Boiler and pipework attached, firebox, splasher faces, sides and top of fire iron tunnel, weather board, nameplate support plate, platform angles, sides and rear of tender including beading. On tenders the Green extended to include all of the angle at the base of the sides and rear. Tender top tool boxes were Green. Operating rods for the sanders above the running plate, inside walls and roof of cab, including the cladding to the sides of the fire box. AWS equipment within cab including the bell. Outer edge of number plate casting. Rear vacuum stand pipe above the buffer plate. Hand rails on green areas except adjacent to cab entrance.

 Running plate, cylinders, drag beam, lamp brackets, outside face of frames and all springs & axle boxes etc attached, step plates, cross head, C-bracket, buffer plungers. Above the running plate the Black areas were smoke box and saddle, chimney, cab roof, reverser rod, tops of splashers, hand rails except adjacent to cab entrance, pipe work attached to top of running plate. Inside, top and front of tender. Beading along the top of tender sides. Ends and back of buffer plates. Fire box back within cab. Name and inner part of number plates.    

Inside face and all stretchers and castings forming the main frames between smoke box and fire box, axles, all castings forming part of the motion eg balance weights, cranks and eccentrics. Eccentric rods. Regulator lever within cab except the handle. (Note - I have seen various models where the painter has used red for various handles and controls within the cab, this is completely incorrect)

Buffer plates and cases, all of the front vacuum stand pipe and the part of rear stand pipe where it crosses the buffer plate. Stafford Road continued to paint the buffer casing rim Black.

Whistles, brass window frames, brass splasher beading, brass edge beading to cab, raised parts of brass number and name plates, wooden parts within cab – floor, control handles, seats. Brass control handles – regulator, reverser. Non-ferrous metal parts attached to the firebox front. The hand rails adjacent to the cab entrance on both engine and tender were unpainted except for about an inch at each end. Forged parts of the motion and valve gear, except eccentric rods. Copper chimney top, and brass safety valve bonnet.

  Lining Styles

  Style 1 - On larger panels, inset from the edge - cab and tender sides.

 ⅛” Orange / ½” Green / 1” Black / ½” Green / ⅛” Orange. The edge distance varied from the ‘official’ 5” In fact the lining followed the dimensions of the GWR, exactly so in the case of the Stars but with the modified cab panel on the Castles and Kings.

  Style 2 - Edge lining. Around all edges of the splasher face except where Style 2S applies.

 ½” Black / ½” Green / ⅛” Orange

  Style 2S -  Edge lining on Star class splashers without brass beading but with an arc of rivets.

1½” Black / ½” Green / ⅛” Orange

  Style 3 – Boiler bands. The width of the G reen lines was increased slightly. 

 ⅛” Orange / ⅝” Green / 1” Black / ⅝” Green / ⅛” Orange

  Style 4 - Cylinder lining.

 ⅛” Orange / 2” Black / ⅛” Orange

  Style 5 - Number plates

  = / ⅛” Orange / =

Livery Style A, lining in detail

  Lining on Green areas

Lining Style 1 set in 3” from the edges. Top front and bottom rear corners were 3” radius to the outside of the Orange line. The radius at lower front corner was the radius of the edge less 3". On Castles and Kings the lining formed a panel below the cab side window. On Stars the lining was exactly GWR in style.

Lining Style 1. Exactly as the GWR had done before. The position of the lining was dictated by the position of the rivets in that the upper and lower Black line passed through the top and bottom rivets so that the lining was about 5 – 6” from the edge. The front vertical lining was immediately in front of the closely spaced rivets for the tender bulkhead. The Black line of the rear vertical lining ran through rivets to give a spacing of about 5” from the end. All corners were 3” radius

Lining Style 1. Exactly as the GWR had done before. There were no rivets so the lining was set in 6” from all edges, the top line following the shape of the tender top edge.

Castles, Kings and Stars with brass beading. Lining Style 2 along the base and along the top arc with the Black line adjacent to the beading. Both lines formed an acute angle at the bottom corners. Where a splasher was obscured by the weatherboard, or the reversing gear cover on the right hand side, the lining was deemed to continue behind, and was not ‘closed off’.

 Stars without beading and without an arc of rivets. The Black line of Lining Style 2 ran along the top edge of the splasher.

 Stars without beading but with an arc of rivets. Lining Style 2S along the top so that the broad Black line covered the rivets. Lining Style 2S also along the base.

Lining Style 2 on all edges

Lining Style 3. Where the band was interrupted by clips the Orange line was closed off and the Black line stopped ½” short with a square end.

 Feed pipe cover plates (NOT Castles or Stars) –

The boiler feed pipes were positioned over a joint in the boiler cladding and were lined as a boiler band in Style 2 and closed off at the bottom with a straight Orange line.

  Lining on Black areas

  Cylinders –

 Lining Style 4 vertically, centred on the rows of fixing bolts.

 Lining style 5 with the orange line mid way between rim and numbers.

LIVERY STYLE A(B) Blue locomotives – Kings

  Colour distribution exactly as Style A except for Green read Blue.

 Lining style and detail as for Style A except for Orange read White.

1 Light Blue. Said to be darker than the final Caledonian Blue and not similar to any other previous locomotive blue. I have no evidence except for Precision Paints P102.  

 2  Black

 Lining colours

 3  White. For a model use light grey.

  LIVERY STYLE  B

 All parts of the engine except for buffer plates and casings, inside main frames between smoke box and fire box etc.

   Style 1   - On larger panels, inset from the edge – cab sides, tank and bunker sides, and tender sides.

  ⅝” Grey / ⅛” Cream / 1½” Black / ¼”Vermilion.   Corner radius 4” to outside of outer Grey line   except   lower front corner of cab lining.

  ⅝” Grey / ⅛” Cream / 1½” Black / ¼”Vermilion. On splashers the grey line was adjacent to the arc of beading and lower straight edge. The grey/cream line formed an acute angle at the bottom corners of the splasher but the red line had a 1” radius curve at this point.   

  Style 2S – Splasher faces on Saints without splasher beading but with an arc of rivets.

1½” Grey / ⅛” Cream / 1 ½” Black / ¼” Vermilion

  Style 3   - Cylinder and boiler bands.

 ¼” vermilion/ 2” approx Black / ¼” vermilion. The boiler bands were lined vermilion on the edges and the remainder was the black. The cylinder lining was centred on the bolts fixing the casing.

  Style 4 – Name plate support plate.

 1” Black / ¼” Vermilion. All edges of the plate were lined.

 = / ¼” Vermilion / =. This needs confirmation, it is more likely that the lining was 1/8". Difficult to see on orthochromatic photos and the presence of a ridge on the number plates, where the casting patterns of the numbers were not quite level with the background, which can produce a reflection that looks like lining.    

  Livery Style B lining in detail

Lining Style 1 set in 3” from the edges. Top front and bottom rear corners were 4” radius to the outside of the Grey line. The radius at lower front and adjacent to the cut out was the radius of the edge less 3". On tender locomotives with side window cab the lining formed a panel below the cab side window. On Saints and similar cabs the lining was GWR in style.

Lining Style 1. Generally as the GWR had done before. The position of the lining was dictated by the position of the rivets in that rivets were in the 1½” black space. The tangent point of the vermilion line of the front vertical lining was immediately in front of the closely spaced rivets for the tender bulkhead. All corners were 4” radius.

Lining Style 1. Generally as the GWR had done before. There were no rivets so the lining was set in 6” from all edges, the top line following the shape of the tender top edge.

 Churchward tender sides –

Lining style 1. On a riveted tender the position of the lining was dictated by the rivets but generally in the same location as GWR lining.  The lower Grey line was about 3” above the angle running along the base, and the top line was just below the dense line of rivets fixing the tank top to the sides. The coal plate was not lined.

Castles, Kings and Stars with brass beading. Lining Style 2 along the base and along the top arc with the Grey line adjacent to the beading. The Grey/Cream lines formed an acute angle at the bottom corners but there was 1” radius on the red line. Where a splasher was obscured by the weatherboard, or the reversing gear cover on the right hand side, the lining was deemed to continue behind, and was not ‘closed off’.

Saints without beading and without an arc of rivets. The Grey line of Lining Style 2 ran along the top edge of the splasher.

Saints without beading but with an arc of rivets. Lining Style 2S along the top so that the broad Grey line covered the rivets. Lining Style 2S also along the base.

Lining Style 4 on all edges

Lining Style 3. Where the band was interrupted by clips the Red line was closed off.

 Feed pipe cover plates were not lined.

 Lining Style 3 vertically, centred on the rows of fixing bolts.

 Lining style 4 with the Red line mid way between rim and numbers.

  Other lined black engines.

  4300 Class

  No. 7313.

  5101 Class

Nos. 4166-79. The lining on these BR built engines varied so a photograph is essential if painting a model. The lining on the tank and bunker sides generally followed the edge but the distance from the edge varied between engines. On Nos. 4166, 4171 & 5156 it appeared to be about 3” from the edge but on 5190 about 1”. On 5192 the lining at the bottom edge was close to the running plate and also the lining ran below the cab shutter instead of behind it. No. 5156 had its platform angle lined. 

  1400 Class

  No. 1411 & 1465, the bunker lining was a simple rectangle to the same height as the tank lining. On No. 1470 the bunker lining was full height following the shape of the bunker.

  9000 Class

  Nos. 9009 and 9014 were lined, the cab lining being full height and very close to the front edge. Splashers were not lined. 9014 was later paired with an unlined tender and 9000 received a lined tender. In 1959 9018, in plain black, was still running with red number plates.

  2251 Class

  No.2213 was painted in lined black, with red number plates in October 1950. As a side window cab engine the cab lining ran below but very close to the window frame. It had full splasher lining and painted safety valve bonnet and chimney.

No. 2529 was painted in lined black, with no BR identity on the tender. The cab side lining continued up to the roof. The splashers were lined in full. The hanging bars were unlined. (Photo dated 05.09.49).

  5700 Class

  Nos. 8763, 8764 & 8771 were some of the few of the class to receive lining as they worked empty coaching stock at Paddington. The cab and bunker lining was full height, the upper  pannier lining lay at the limit of the flat side while the lower line was sometimes on the flat but sometimes strayed just on to the curved portion. The splashers were not lined.

  5400 Class

  No. 5409 had lined splashers.

  1500 Class

  Nos. 1503, 1504 & 1505 were lined out for empty stock working at Paddington but not until the mid 1950s. They had full height cab and bunker lining. No splashers.      

  4400 Class

  No. 4406 and 4409

  4500 Class

No. 5527, possibly others.  

  4700 Class

 No. 4702 only was lined out, by 1950, with full height cab lining and lined splashers. In 1952, 4708 was noted with red number plates and a lined green tender with GW style BR.

  My thanks to Roger Carpenter, for his continual supply of photos, John Edwards and Russ Elliot . Research continues. Other evidence welcome.

Midland Region - Maroon Scottish Region - Light blue North Eastern Region - Tangerine Eastern Region - Light Green Southern Region - Dark Green Western Region - Brown (although they did try black as an experiment for Western Region signs).

The Gresley A4 Pacifics

The LNER's Express Pacific designs were probably the most famous of the LNER locomotives. And of these Pacifics, the A4 is probably the most famous of all. Its distinctive streamlined casing has come to be a symbol of 1930s luxury and fascination with speed. Even today, it is an A4 which holds the world speed record for a steam locomotive.

Listen to the A4 Chime Whistle: WAV #1 (45KB) , WAV #2 (119KB) , WAV #3 (103KB) , Bittern at York in 15/12/2007 (MP3, 108KB) . Thanks to Gerry Taylor for sound samples #1 & #2; Geoff Byman for sound sample #3; and Mark Turner for the recording of Bittern .

By the 1930s, the railways were beginning to see increased competition from road and air travel. It was clear that services between the major cities had to be faster, more reliable, and more comfortable.

Also, a number of high-speed diesel trains were attracting the world's headlines. In May 1933, the German State Railways diesel-electric Fliegende Hamburger entered service, with long stretches of 85mph required by the scheduled timetable. By 1934, the US Burlington Zephyr had reached 112.5mph during a longer 1015 mile journey.

Gresley travelled on the Fliegende Hamburger and was impressed by the need for streamlining, although he realised it was only useful at the highest speeds. From this, he calculated that a streamlined and modified A3 design would be able to haul trains of eight or nine carriages at similar speeds. Both the Fliegende Hamburger and Burlington Zephyr were much smaller (2 and 3 carriage units respectively).

A series of trials were carried out, to confirm that a modified A3 design would be sufficient. During these, A1 Flying Scotsman broke 100mph, and A3 Papyrus managed average speeds almost as fast as Fliegende Hamburger but with a larger coach capacity! On this latter run, Papyrus managed to set a speed record of 108mph. With these trials under his belt, the LNER Board gave Gresley the go-ahead to create the "Silver Jubilee" streamlined trains.

The "Silver Jubilee" was designed as a complete streamlined train including streamlined coaches. These had valences between the bogies and flexible covers over the coach ends. Although this restricted their use, it maximised the streamlining effects and proved useful for publicity! The train had capacity for 198 passengers on 7 coaches: twin-articulated brake third, triple-articulated restaurant set, and a twin-articulated first class.

The wedge-shaped streamlining on the A4 was inspired by a Bugatti rail-car which Gresley had observed in France. The design was refined with the help of Prof. Dalby and the wind tunnel facilities at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) at Teddington. As well as streamlining, it was important that the design lifted smoke up away from the cab. At first, there was a lot of difficulty in achieving this. Even smoke deflectors were considered! During the wind tunnel tests, it was noticed that a thumb print had inadvertently been added to the plasticine model, just behind the chimney. Only on impulse, was the model re-tested with the thumb print. Amazingly, the smoke was lifted well clear of the cab!

The LNER publicity machine had a field day with the new streamlined shape. Many saw this publicity as mere hype. Some thought the LNER was bowing to the latest craze. Others thought that it was not true streamlining and that the design team did not know what they were doing! In-fact, experimental data showed that a 40% reduction in horsepower was required when powering from 60mph to 150mph. The high speed of 150mph was used to simulate a headwind. This saving ranged from 41hp at 60mph to 639hp at 150mph.

As well as the characteristic streamlining, a number of other things were modified from the A3 design. All of the steam passages were streamlined. The boiler pressure was increased from 220psi to 250psi. The cylinders were decreased slightly in size so that the valve diameters could be increased to 9 inches. This produced free steaming within the restrictions of the 3 cylinder design. As with the A3 , Walschaerts gear was used on the outside cylinders, and Gresley's conjugated gear was used for the inside cylinder. Further refinements were added at a latter date, including the Kylchap double-blastpipe exhaust,and Westinghouse QSA Brake Valves.

A demonstration run from Kings Cross to Grantham on 27th September 1935 touched 112.5mph. The first service was on the 1st October 1935, hauled by No. 2509 Silver Link . A further three locomotives were built for the Silver Jubilee service to Newcastle. This service was a great success cutting the travel time between Kings Cross and Newcastle down to an amazing 4 hours. This success led to an extension of the service to Edinburgh, and the building of a further five A4s. By 1937, a third service to Leeds & Bradford had commenced. And thus, Britain's first inter-city network of fast train services was born.

Heyday of the A4: the 1930s

The Silver Jubilee service to Newcastle was a success from the beginning. This was because it supplied the public exactly what they wanted - a fast, reliable service between two major cities. Success was so great, that the trains were extended from 7 coaches to 8 coaches. Reliability was such, that it was said that the people of York checked their watches against the characteristic chime whistle of the Silver Jubilee A4 coming through York station.

The Silver Jubilee was also safe. Never in the 4 years (upto World War Two) was it involved in a major mishap. The A4s were also mechanically reliable. On only 10 occasions out of a total of 1952 Silver Jubilee services, did an A4 experience a mechanical problem. Drivers and fireman were happy too. They found the A4s easily took the loads required of them. They also found the footplate very smooth. This was demonstrated on the original publicity run, when the driver & fireman thought they had barely gone above 90mph. In reality they had touched 112mph!!

Another A4 trial was performed on 27th August 1936. This time the newest A4, 2512 Silver Fox was chosen, and was driven by Silver Link 's George Henry Haygreen. The trial was a scheduled fare-paying service, and was intended to measure water and coal consumption, and to beat Silver Link 's 112mph. Total load with the dynamometer car was 270 tons. Alas, they never told George Haygreen that a record attempt was to be attempted on Stoke Bank. This meant he neither had sufficient speed on the run up Stoke Bank, nor was there a sufficient reserve of boiler pressure. By pushing hard, 113mph was reached. This is thought to be a British record for a revenue-earning steam train, but the locomotive had to be pushed hard and the middle big end suffered damage. The train arrived into Kings Cross 7 minutes late. On the return journey, 2509 Silver Link was substituted and arrived 4 minutes early. The results of the trial were that the A4s had a reserve of power, and a 10 coach train would be perfectly feasible for a planned Glasgow-London service.

On 28th June 1937, Stanier 's streamlined Coronation Scot of the LMS set a new record of 114mph. Two days later, a press & publicity trip for the LNER's new "Coronation" service pulled by 4489 Dominion of Canada attempted to regain the record. Unfortunately, it only managed to reach 109.5mph on Stoke Bank.

With these increasing speeds, braking distances were getting longer, and so methods to improve braking were investigated. Gresley favoured the use of a system produced by Westinghouse (and already in use on the LMS), and so trials began in 1938. Trials typically required rapid acceleration followed by the brake test. On 3rd July 1938, the Westinghouse team arrived to find that the train consist had changed. Some of the coaches had been removed and replaced with the dynamometer car. Also, the locomotive had been changed to 4468 Mallard . Only 4 months old, this A4 was the first to be fitted with the Kylchap double-blast pipe. The driver was also different - J. Duddington, who had been brought down from Doncaster and had a reputation for running trains hard when it was required. Duddington was joined by fireman T. Bray, and inspector J. Jenkins. When the Westinghouse team were onboard, they were told that they were going to attempt to break the speed record. Why the secrecy? One reason was so that the LMS did not hear of the attempt beforehand. Another might be that the LNER's civil engineering department were not keen on 120+ mph runs, when the track had official speed limits of only 90mph!

The Down journey consisted of conventional brake tests. At Barkston, the Westinghouse team were given the option of taking a taxi to Peterborough - they all refused! The centre big bearing was drowned in cylinder oil, and the return journey commenced. Grantham was passed at 24mph. By Stoke signal box, the speed had reached 74.5mph with full regulator and 40% cut-off. At milepost 94, 116mph was recorded along with the maximum drawbar of 1800hp. 120mph was achieved between milepost 92.75 and 89.75, and for a short distance of 306 yds, 125mph was touched.

A peak of 126mph was marked on the dynamometer rolls, and this speed was included in some unofficial reports. 126mph is also the speed marked on the plaque BR mounted on Mallard in 1948. Gresley never accepted this speed of 126mph, and thought it misleading. The LNER only claimed a peak average of 125mph - so breaking the world record for steam traction held by the German State Railways (124.5mph) and the British record set by the LMS (114mph).

When Mallard arrived at Peterborough it was found that the centre bearing had overheated. It was then towed to meet the press at Kings Cross behind an Ivatt Atlantic. This must have led to some confusion, but the overheated bearing was quickly re-metalled. A further check was made that everything was okay, and Mallard was back in revenue-earning service within 9 days.

Over 60 years later, Mallard 's record of 125mph still stands.

Wartime & British Rail

Although the Second World War did not start until 3rd September 1939, the last streamlined services ran on 31st August 1939 due to the enactment of the Emergency Powers (Defence) Act 1939. In these early days, services were seriously cut back, and the evacuation trains had started. Over the next few months, many services returned but timetables were generally much slower than before the war. Freight took priority, and both blackout conditions and lack of maintenance took their toll on Britain's railways.

Initially the Kings Cross A4s were put into storage, although the other A4s were kept in service. Eventually all of the Kings Cross A4s returned to service. Generally, the A4s were called upon to pull loads much heavier than originally intended. They did this well, although reduced maintenance produced some problems especially with the conjugated gear. To aid maintenance, Thompson removed the side skirts from the A4s. Because the A4s were experiencing much increased loads, they occasionally had problems starting off. To help with this Thompson had the valve gear modified so that a maximum of 75% cut-off was possible. Only 6 locomotives were converted during wartime, with the remainder being converted between 1946 and 1957.

A rather weird wartime change, was the removal of most of the chime whistles. It was thought that these might be confused with air-raid sirens! These were removed in 1942 and destroyed. New chime whistles were built after the war.

On 29th April 1942, 4469 Sir Ralph Wedgwood was severely damaged by bomb blast during an air raid in York. Both No. 4469 and a neighbouring B16 were scrapped, although the tender from No. 4469 was kept and later used on Thompson A2/1 3696.

An attempt to renumber the A4s was proposed by Thompson in 1943. Implementation only started after the war in 1946. Even then, only a handful were renumbered before a new numbering system was chosen by the LNER, with the "premier" A4s taking numbers 1 to 34. This was implemented in the latter half of 1946.

In 1948, the railways were Nationalised and the A4s came under the control of BR. The A4s were renumbered again, by adding the prefix of "600".

In the summer of 1948, BR performed a series of locomotive trials, comparing the different classes of the Big Four companies. The A4s produced some good results and had the lowest coal and water consumption figures of any of the expresses. Unfortunately, there were three A4 failures - all related to the conjugated motion. These are thought to have been due to poor wartime maintenance. The Gresley 's conjugated motion worked well if it received good maintenance.

Also during the summer of 1948, there were attempts to restart the non-stop services. In August 1948, serious flooding caused the collapse of a number of bridges and culverts on the East Coast mainline in south east Scotland. Hence, many of the trains were diverted via Selby and Leeds, over the Settle-Carlisle line. From 24th August, the A4's non-stop run was diverted over the Waverley route to St. Boswells, then via Kelso to Tweedmouth to rejoin the mainline. On this first run, No. 60028 Walter K. Wigham managed to run nonstop from Edinburgh to Kings Cross, a record setting distance of 408.65 miles. These runs required some luck as regards running and signals, but the drivers took great pride in achieving a nonstop run. The following runs set the nonstop record:

These records would hold until A3 No. 4472 Flying Scotsman 's visit to Australia in 1988.

During the late 1940s and early 1950s, maintenance of the locomotives and the permanent way improved, so facilitating speed increases of the A4s. Prewar speeds were never reached, although in 1959, 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley set a post-war steam speed record of 112mph. By the late 1950s, steam was being replaced by diesel power. Although the Deltics proved worthy successors of the A4s on East Coast Mainline express services, other diesel classes were generally very poor and often failed. Hence, the A4s were kept in service until the mid-1960s. The first A4s were scrapped at the end of 1962. These were from Kings Cross and had been directly replaced by the Deltics. The last BR A4 service was on 14th September 1966 between Aberdeen and Glasgow.

Technical Details

The tender details are for the corridor version of the streamlined A4 tender.

The A4s probably carried the most liveries of any LNER locomotives - especially in the relatively short time that they were in operation. The Ace Trains poster to the right illustrates the main liveries. Variations are complicated, and readers should consult the RCTS Locomotives of the LNER , or Yeadon's Register for specific details and dates.

The original four 'silver' A4s were painted in a striking silver and grey livery. The main colour was silver grey, with charcoal grey for the smokebox front, and battleship grey for the skirts and frames.

Later A4s were initially painted in variations of the LNER Doncaster green livery. The most common livery has a parabolic curve between the smokebox black and boiler green. Five A4s initially had a straight boundary when there were concerns about the green paint withstanding the smokebox temperatures. The effect looked wrong, and these concerns proved to be ill-founded.

The May 1937 batch was painted in a new garter blue livery. The parabolic curve was kept. Wheel centres were red. The livery was very effective and was later adopted as the standard livery for the A4s. This is the most famous of A4 liveries.

Wartime black 'NE' livery was used during World War 2 as an austerity measure, in common with other express locomotives.

The A4s returned to garter blue after World War 2, but this was relatively short lived. With Nationalisation (1948), BR painted the A4s in white-lined 'Express Blue'. During a period of livery trials, 'BR Purple' was also used on four A4s. 'Purple' was a poor name and the colour was closer to GER Blue . The final A4 livery was that of the the standard BR green livery with orange and black lining from August 1951.

Preservation

The A4s have always been a popular class of steam locomotive, and this probably explains why more A4s survive than any other LNER class. Three are in mainline working condition, and two have even made it over to North America!

4464 (BR 60019) Bittern has just completed a major overhaul on the Mid-Hants (Watercress) Line , and in 2007 returned to running condition for the first time since the 1970s. Previous to this overhaul, Bittern spent an extensive time cosmetically restored as No. 2509 Silver Link . Bittern can usually be seen in either the BR green or LNER garter blue liveries.

4468 (BR 60022) Mallard is a part of the National Collection and can usually be seen at York. She was restored to mainline condition for the 50th Anniversary of her record breaking run, but the boiler certificate has since expired. Due to the expense of keeping her in running condition and the popularity of her as an exhibit at York, she will be kept in a static condition for the foreseeable future.

4488 (BR 60009) Union of South Africa is owned by John Cameron. Based at Bridgenorth on the Severn Valley Railway, it regularly appears on main line steam specials.

4498 (BR 60007) Sir Nigel Gresley is owned by the A4 Locomotive Society. It is currently kept at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway , and has recently undergone an overhaul to mainline condition. Sir Nigel Gresley holds a number of post-war steam speed records, both with BR and in private hands!

4496 (BR 60008) Dwight D Eisenhower visited the UK during 2013 for the 75th Anniversary of Mallard 's record breaking run. During the visit, the (York) National Railway Museum restored it to BR Green condition. It has since returned to its home at the National Railroad Museum at Green Bay, Wisconsin . 4496 was originally named Golden Shuttle , but was renamed in September 1945.

4489 (BR 60010) Dominion of Canada visited the UK during 2013 for the 75th Anniversary of Mallard 's record breaking run. During the visit, the (York) National Railway Museum restored it back to 1930s condition in LNER Garter Blue complete with the ceremonial bell. It has since returned to the Exporail Canadian Railway Museum .

Graham Farish (now Bachmann) and Minitrix have both produced ready-to-run models of the A4 for N Gauge (2mm), and Dapol currently have an N Gauge A4 in production.

3SMR produce a 3mm scale white metal kit of the A4.

Both Bachmann and Hornby sell ready to run OO (4mm) models of the A4. Hornby's short-lived live steam OO range also included an A4. SE Finescale sell a whitemetal kit for 4mm scale that comes with the 1928 tender. Proscale have produced a kit of the A4 for OO gauge, but current availability is unknown.

Martin Finney sell kits of the A4 for both the 4mm and 7mm scales.

7mm (O gauge) ready to run models of the A4 are available from Ace Trains , Sunset Models , and LH Loveless. Kits are available from ACE Products, DJH, and Right Price Railway.

Accucraft UK, Ltd have announced an A4 for Gauge 1.

Locomotives

Most of the A4s carried three different numbers: the original LNER numbers; 1946 renumbering; and the BR renumbering (1948/9). A handful of engines were also renamed. Dates of renaming are in brackets.

The disposal date is that of sale (for preservation) or destruction (No. 4469 suffered bomb damage).

4469 was withdrawn after bomb damage in June 1942. The name was transferred to 4466.

4901 was renamed from Charles H. Newton to Sir Charles Newton on 4th June 1943 to correspond with his knighthood.

Acknowledgements

Thank you to Paul J Haygreen for the photograph of his grandfather George Henry Haygreen, and further information about the Silver Fox record attempt.

Thank you to Gerry Taylor for the first two sound samples.

Thank you to Geoff Byman FRPS for the third sound sample, and the preservation era photographs of No. 4468 Mallard and No. 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley .

Thank you to Dennis Butler for the photograph of A4 No. 4467 Wild Swan .

Thank you to John Massey for the above photograph of the recently restored No. 4489 Dominion of Canada .

Thank you to Peter Langsdale for the photograph of No. 60008 Dwight D. Eisenhower at Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Thank you to the Mike Morant Collection for the photograph of BR No. 60019 Bittern cosmetically restored as No. 2509 Silver Link .

Thank you to Mark Turner for the photograph and sound recording of BR No. 60019 Bittern at York in December 2007.

Thank you to Malcolm Peirson for the photographs of No. 60028 Walter K. Whigham in early BR blue livery, Silver Link being serviced.

Thank you to Ace Trains for permission to use an image of their A4 livery poster.

Thank you to Julie Bridges for the unofficial photograph of the brand new No. 2509 Silver Link fresh out of the Doncaster paint shop in 1935.

Further References

"The Streaks, Gresley's A4s" , Roger J. Mannion, publ. Sutton Publishing

British Pathe have a film of No. 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley being tested at the new Rugby Test Station in 1948 .

Category:BR Experimental Blue

The short-lived BR Experimental Blue livery was introduced some time around 1949, and was an experimental locomotive livery intended for just the fastest and most powerful passenger locos.

External links

• BR Experimental Blue (airfix-shop.com)
• British Railways First Locomotive Liveries (twsmedia.co.uk)

Pages in category ‘BR Experimental Blue’

This category contains only the following page.

• Duchess of Monrose, BR 46232 (Bassett-Lowke)
• British Railways

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View all All Photos Tagged d5578

BR Brush Type 2 D5578 - in experimental blue livery - at Liverpool Street station in May 1960, and the cab front window on the right appears to have been broken...

The loco had entered service in January, and remained in this livery until 1964, when it was repainted in 'standard' BR dark green. It was later painted in a different shade of blue, as Class 31 31160, and was withdrawn at the start of 2000, and scrapped.

Many Class 31s have been preserved, and a few are still in occasional use on UK mainline tracks.

Liverpool Street station was comprehensively rebuilt in the mid/late 1980s, and this part of the station - and the approaches - are now subterranean..

Original slide - property of Robert Gadsdon

See where this photo was taken

March allocated 31160 accelerates away from Water Orton at the head of a 1E64, 10:15 Birmingham New Street - Norwich, 27th May 1978.

Locomotive History

31160 was built at the Brush Falcon works, Loughborough as D5578 and entered traffic in January 1960, allocated to Stratford MPD. In May 1968 it was fitted with a 1470bhp English Electric 12SVT power unit in lieu of its unreliable Mirrlees 12 cylinder power unit. After spending most of its career allocated to Eastern Region depots it became a London Midland Region engine for its final few years in June 1990. It was withdrawn in March 1996 and broken up during June 1999 at Wigan CRDC.

Praktica LTL, Ektachrome 200

BR Brush Type 2 D5578 - in experimental blue livery - at Colchester station in August 1960

The loco had entered service in January, in all-over blue, but now has the cab roof painted white, and lighter-coloured window surrounds. The loco remained in this livery - with the later addition of small yellow warning panels - until 1964, when it was repainted in 'standard' BR dark green. It was later painted in a different shade of blue, as Class 31 31160, and was withdrawn at the start of 2000, and scrapped.

Colchester station had started its rebuilding and platform realignment ready for electrification to London, and the pronounced curve in the platform, seen in the distance, will soon be straightened.

There is already a 25Kv EMU service from here to Clacton and Walton, which commenced in March 1959, and one of the overhead supports for this can be seen on the left, by the bay platform terminus just out of shot.

Restored from an under-exposed grainy blue-colour-shifted (Agfa) original..

BR Brush Type 2 D5578 - in experimental blue livery - at Liverpool Street station in February 1960. The loco had entered service the previous month, and remained in this livery until 1964, when it was repainted in 'standard' BR dark green. It was later painted in a different shade of blue, as Class 31 31160, and was withdrawn at the start of 2000, and scrapped.

Liverpool Street station was comprehensively rebuilt in the mid/late 1980s, and this part of the trainshed still exists, but other parts of the station - and the approaches - are now subterranean..

Restored from an under-exposed grainy blue-colour-shifted original..

Brush Type 2 D5578 in experimental blue livery at March, 13/5/62.

(The Preston Dock Line) Past and Present

This is a group for any pictures of freight Trains, charter excursions, wagons. coaches, which have been taken anywhere on the Preston Dock Line.

Everyone Feel free to add any pictures on to this group. I would especially like to see a nice variety of a historic look back on the docks past and also the present. Thanks for your Interest.

www.flickr.com/groups/2561910@N22/

The resident Brush 2 resplendent in a recently renewed "Golden Ochre" livery, heads the 14.15 Loughborough - Rothley mixed goods.

This livery was carried in BR days by D5578 for a few years after building in the late 50's and early 60's.

The Lea Valley Railway Club "Broadsman" rail tour is seen at Lenwade, Norfolk on 2 October 1976. This train was formed of the Mark 1 compartment stock used on certain Great Northern line services. 31160, a Brush type 2 loco, was new to Stratford in January 1960 as D5578 being withdrawn 40 years later.

31289 PHOENIX is seen inside the shed at Tunbridge Wells West on the Spa Valley Railway. This loco is visiting for the upcoming diesel gala, and carries an early version of BR blue livery that was experimentally applied to D5578 in the 1960's.

_______________________________________________

Flickr image created by Roche37Clagmaster___________

31160 (Phoenix)

Holbeck Depot

Produced from 1962 to 1976, Tri-ang Railways R357 Brush Type 2 diesel locomotive was an accurate and well-detailed model for its day. Two interpretations of the experimental ‘electric blue’ livery carried by D5578 were offered during the first year, neither of which was entirely correct. The first version featured an overall blue livery with prototypically-incorrect white window surrounds. The second version, depicted here, retained the white cab window surrounds and added white bodyside bands, a grey roof and yellow warning panels. It is questionable whether D5578 actually carried this livery. Tri-ang changed the livery to standard BR dark green in 1963 and to BR Rail Blue in 1968 (09-Dec-20).

All rights reserved. Not to be posted on Facebook or anywhere else without my prior written permission. Please follow the link below for additional information about my Flickr images:

On the sunny evening of April 28th 1983, the 16.54 Liverpool Street to Ipswich via Cambridge accelerates away from Coldhams Lane Junction along the recently singled line towards Dullingham and Newmarket. Mr C reminds me that 31160 was one of the stalwart boilered 31s retaining its steam heating capability until the 1984/5 Winter. It worked the Cambridge - Ipswich (traversing the same route seen here) and return footex as late as April 27th 1985 with boiler functioning.

31160 had been a March based locomotive from October 1968 right through until May 1980, it then transferred to Stratford until a move to Immingham in January 1985, the requirement for steam heating in East Anglia having almost finished. Among other claims to fame for this loco are the fact that it was of course originally D5578 painted in experimental electric blue livery when new in January 1960. It also survived to receive railfreight livery in March 1986 and even received the name 'Phoenix' while based at Tinsley in November 1989. It was officially withdrawn in December 1995 and 'ceased to be' in 1999.

Photo copyright : Chris Burton.

Wearing the Golden Ochre livery that D5578 of the class wore as a experiment in the early 1960s, 31463 Passes Woodthorpe on a sunny Autumnal day of Saturday 25th October 2014. 31463 is working 2B11 11.00 Loughborough Central to Leicester North

Stratford based 31187 (D5610), in Railfeight grey with red solebar livery, shares March's stabling point with English Electric's 20103 (D8103) and two other Brush Type 2's No.s 31308 (D5841) and 31160 (D5578) on the 24th March 1989.

31160 stands withdrawn in the snow at Wigan Springs Branch. When delivered this loco carried an experimental version of electric blue, as a test. D5579 was delivered in Golden Ochre to compare with the electric blue. 31160 was scrapped at Wigan in 1999.

With 31146 at Doncaster 11/5/90

New as D5578 1/60

Withdrawn 3/96

An acquired slide taken on 17th June 1967. The drivers of D5578 and D5678 exchanging notes at King's Cross. Both in green, with a different take on the yellow warning panel. D5578 became 31160, D5678 31250. (art-1030f)

31289 PHOENIX is seen inside the shed at Tunbridge Wells West on the Spa Valley Railway. This loco carries an earlier experimental version of BR blue livery which was applied to D5578 in the 1960s.

Two Brush Type 2 (later Class 31) locomotives were selected for livery experiments in the early 1960s. D5578 received the so-called electric blue scheme similar to that applied to a/c electric locomotives; and D5579 received a golden ochre scheme. Tri-ang Railways featured two interpretations of the blue scheme on its Brush Type 2, neither of which was entirely correct. This fictional image - based on an earlier member of the class without the roof-mounted route indicator display - was inspired by the first Tri-ang version. The white cab window surrounds, a feature of the early green examples, is a matter of conjecture. Evidence suggests that D5578 was delivered in plain overall blue, to which small yellow warning panels were later added (27-Jun-10).

D5578 (later to become 31160) at Stratford depot,London,in October 1969.

Little Oak. ( O gauge )

DATE:- 23.10.2023

Fixing the headboard on Class 31 31160 , on the LVRC 'Broadsman' railtour, at Norwich station, in October 1976.

The train consisted of 1950s BR suburban compartment stock, so frequent stops were necessary...

31160 was originally D5578, and was scrapped 20 years after this photo was taken - in 1996.

See where this picture was taken. [?]

With D5578 (31160) and D1705 (47117) Loughborogh Central 17/6/00

New to 65A (ED) 11/61

Later 20098

Withdrawn 6/91

Blue-liveried Brush Type 2 D5578 heads away from Irthlingborough Station with the 15.50 Peterborough East to Northampton service on 5 October 1963.

Class 30 No D5578 in experimental Blue livery at Liverpool Street station London 31st August 1960.

Photo details

Negative scan

Camera Kodak Brownie Cresta Kodet 120.

June in the Lost Gardens of Heligan . Runner beans making a start and potatoes in the Vegetable garden.

2010/09/04.D5578. Once out of the Portsmouth harbour area and into the Solent, the Wightlink WIGHT RYDER I passenger catamaran heading for Ryde Pier Head can overtake the more ponderous car ferry heading for Fishbourne.

Saturday, 4th September, 2010. Copyright © Ron Fisher.

Colourful Class 31, in the style of experimental livery carried by D5578, but with TOPS numbers.

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B.R. Steam Loco Dark Blue (1949)

Product information

Manufacturer:.

 British Railways Steam Locomotive Dark Blue. 

The darker of the two blue's used for steam locomotives in 1949. (See P102 for the Light Blue) P135 Signal Red for buffer beams and between the frames. All of our British Railways colours were matched to colour panels supplied to us by the Technical Services Department at Derby when we were suppliers to British Rail in the late 1970's and early 1980's.

Technical Specifications  

As supplied, a high quality synthetic (oil based) brushing enamel paint. Stir thoroughly with a spatula (lollipop stick, wooden coffee stirer etc.) for a minimum of 5-10 minutes, or a power stirer. Ensure that you get into the bottom corners of the can and bring any sediment to the surface and stir in. May be thined, if required, for brushing using PQ8 General Purpose Thinners. For spraying, thin to approximately 80% paint:20% PQ9 Quick Air Drying Thinners and spray from between 75 - 100mm (3-4 inches) at a pressure of about 2 bar (30 p.s.i.). Matt colours may require more thinning. This product is best brushed or sprayed at a temperature of below 10° Centigrade ( 50°F). and left for a  Minimum of 24 - 48 hours to dry before any overcoating or further actions are taken. Apply over the top of a properly primed surface. This Product Contains LEAD.

Please Note: Not all colours are available in all sizes. Please see our disclaimer regarding colour and quantities below.

B.R. Steam Loco' Light Blue

British railways steam locomotive light blue. the lighter of the two blue's used for steam locomotives from 1949 until 1951. (see p174 for the dark blue) used in conjunction with white and black lining and p135 signal red for buffer beams and between the frames. all of our british railways colours were matched to colour panels supplied to us by the technical services department at derby when we were suppliers to british rail in the late 1970's and early 1980's.   technical specifications  , from £4.75, br loco green post 1954, british railways locomotive and multiple unit green. the standard green used for steam, diesel and electric locomotives and units from 1954 until replaced by rail blue (p132) in 1966. used in conjunction with p104 lining orange and p135 signal red for buffer beams and between the frames. all of our british railways colours were matched to colour panels supplied to us by the technical services department at derby when we were suppliers to british rail in the late 1970's and early 1980's. technical specifications  , g.w.r./ b.r. loco' green (pre 1954), great western railway standard locomotive green as used for locomotives for the period between 1945 and 1948. british railways locomotive green. the standard green used for steam locomotives from 1948 until replaced by the later colour green (p101) in 1954. in actual fact it is not the paint that changes colour but the way the overcoating varnish ages and yellows that changes the shade. this shade of the gwr locomotive green is probably the most accurate. this is due to the fact that wartime paint technology had reached the commercial world and gloss paint was available for the first time. this negated the use of varnish and hence the ageing and yellowing that would have occured had the varnish been applied. this particular colour, in conjunction with p104 lining orange and p135 signal red, is the correct green for all post war gwr green locomotives. used in conjunction with p104 lining orange and p135 signal red for buffer beams and between the frames. all of our british railways colours were matched to colour panels supplied to us by the technical services department at derby when we were suppliers to british rail in the late 1970's and early 1980's. all of our gwr colours were matched to a privately preserved set of paint panels from swindon works. these not only had the colours, but the dates used and the names for each colour. our understanding is that the panels had been signed by the cme for the period.   technical specifications  .