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Great Western Livery

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E_Reeves

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I'm new to this thread, but some months ago I remember seeing 43198 in GWR livery, but seemed a bit darker than usual? Is it slightly discoloured or is it just me?
 

Rhydgaled

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I'm new to this thread, but some months ago I remember seeing 43198 in GWR livery, but seemed a bit darker than usual? Is it slightly discoloured or is it just me?
GWR livery darker than usual, is that even possible? As it is, the livery essentially looks black to me in some lighting conditions; but on a grey, soaking wet, day it can be hard to tell that the colour is in fact green. So, if it was any darker, wouldn't it just be black anyway?

In the right light, 43187 (the GWR liveried one I've seen most, not sure if I've ever seen 43198 in GWR green) is certainly green, but catch a glimse in poor light and it doesn't look it.
 
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DenmarkRail

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Seen a whole load of GWR HST sets in Hayle this week... Probably the same one multiple times!

I did get quite annoyed when my video got ruined by a blue FGW coach in the middle of the set ;)
 

Parallel

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The yet-to-be refurbished 150249 worked the 17:04 Worcester Fte St to Westbury today - I boarded at Bristol and the conductor manually set off the "Your attention please! So that all passengers may be seated, will you please remove all luggage from seats to the luggage space between the seats, and the overhead luggage racks. Thank you" announcement. I'm aware that this (and other) automated announcements exist from Wessex Trains/Wales & Borders days but I've never actually heard this one in person before; and I've been commuting for over three years in the area!
 

pdeaves

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165112 seen in Reading depot yesterday (13 August) in green but with no stickers. Prepared for it, I went past today (14) with my camera only it had gone (or was hiding)!
 

D1009

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Seen a whole load of GWR HST sets in Hayle this week... Probably the same one multiple times!

I did get quite annoyed when my video got ruined by a blue FGW coach in the middle of the set ;)
The set with grey and green seats in standard class, LA15 IIRC was without its catering vehicle on Saturday working 1C86 1506 Paddington to Plymouth, catering being provided from a trolley between coaches A and B. Today it has gained a blue miniature buffet, 40119, so now has additional standard class accommodation at the expense of first. It also has a blue power car on the country end. It's on 1C09 1000 Paddington to Paignton.
 

Apedlar12

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A green 143 car was half way out of the workshop this morning with people appearing to be working on the door mechanism. I presume this is part of 143611.

It could be however 143603 (in the GWR Green livery livery) developed some problems the other week and was sent back to Bristol so the issues could be resolved.
 

fgwrich

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The set with grey and green seats in standard class, LA15 IIRC was without its catering vehicle on Saturday working 1C86 1506 Paddington to Plymouth, catering being provided from a trolley between coaches A and B. Today it has gained a blue miniature buffet, 40119, so now has additional standard class accommodation at the expense of first. It also has a blue power car on the country end. It's on 1C09 1000 Paddington to Paignton.

First GWR does appear to have failed miserably to keep the Green and Blue liveries apart from each other with all these mixed sets. However, the latest thing I noticed this morning On my return via Padd / Reading is that (Green) 43188 is now sporting a fetching FGW Blue radiator panel on its roof.
 

Michael.Y

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First GWR does appear to have failed miserably to keep the Green and Blue liveries apart from each other with all these mixed sets. However, the latest thing I noticed this morning On my return via Padd / Reading is that (Green) 43188 is now sporting a fetching FGW Blue radiator panel on its roof.

Aesthetics must surely come a very distant second to a) working parts and b) servicable and available PCs and coaches?
 

D1009

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and actually providing a service for the paying customers.
To be fair the whole thread is about liveries, more a trainspotting subject than anything to do with railway professionalism. I know most of the front line staff of all TOCs are trying to do their best in difficult circumstances and to my mind GWR has been more successful in this than many others.
 

Michael.Y

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and actually providing a service for the paying customers.

Indeed.

There's no hot water in the buffet, the toilets are all full up and the WIFI's buggered, but hey, at least it's a green rake of coaches with two green power cars.
 

Harbornite

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First GWR does appear to have failed miserably to keep the Green and Blue liveries apart from each other with all these mixed sets. However, the latest thing I noticed this morning On my return via Padd / Reading is that (Green) 43188 is now sporting a fetching FGW Blue radiator panel on its roof.

Joe Public isn't going to care.
 

fgwrich

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Indeed.

There's no hot water in the buffet, the toilets are all full up and the WIFI's buggered, but hey, at least it's a green rake of coaches with two green power cars.

I don't doubt that at all, and in the case as mentioned above a Mini Buffet with additional standard class is better than no catering at all or a cancelled service.

I was just making the mere observation that the interchangeable parts are now making there way across the two liveries - something that I thought was normally avoided with First not wanting to "contaminate" its new GWR brand. Don't forgot that there were times when after LA15s release into traffic, if there was an issue with the set another set would substitute in its place. Now the mixing seems to be happening almost left right and centre within the HST rakes.
 

JN114

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I don't doubt that at all, and in the case as mentioned above a Mini Buffet with additional standard class is better than no catering at all or a cancelled service.

I was just making the mere observation that the interchangeable parts are now making there way across the two liveries - something that I thought was normally avoided with First not wanting to "contaminate" its new GWR brand. Don't forgot that there were times when after LA15s release into traffic, if there was an issue with the set another set would substitute in its place. Now the mixing seems to be happening almost left right and centre within the HST rakes.

Mixing is becoming more common as there are now 8(6?) Green powercars to go on two sets - it would be woeful to not use the GTi powercars with present fleet availability so you're always going to end up with green power cars on blue trailers. Once that became necessarily acceptable, the strictness of keeping LA15 and LA16 all green dropped away. The correct 407xx vehicle should end up back in LA15 once it's had whatever work done to it it needs.
 

D2007wsm

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Mixing is becoming more common as there are now 8(6?) Green powercars to go on two sets - it would be woeful to not use the GTi powercars with present fleet availability so you're always going to end up with green power cars on blue trailers. Once that became necessarily acceptable, the strictness of keeping LA15 and LA16 all green dropped away. The correct 407xx vehicle should end up back in LA15 once it's had whatever work done to it it needs.
At the end of the day, even though it may look a bit mismatched with a mixture of FGW blue/Dynamic Lines and GWR green in a set, I'm sure the average customer will not care as long as they get to there destination. Also it has to be factored In, when the power car was swapped was there another green power car on depot at the same time? It's probably a case of needs must to get the set out The same with the radiator grill on the roof, due to the small number of green power cars atm, a blue on was put on instead to get the power car out rather than waiting for one to be sent away, painted green and returned with the power car sat idle.

It would be the same with DMUs, imagine the frustration for diagrammers if they had to ensure any DMUs coupled together had to be in the same livery. Near on impossible I would have thought. Not so long ago a 158 was running around with 1 GWR coach and 1 Local Lines coach.

To promote more of a brand consistency, I'm surprised that the First Great Western logos have not been stripped on all stock in a blue livery and replaced with a GWR sticker. Not the perfect solution but a good interim measure.
 

pdeaves

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To promote more of a brand consistency, I'm surprised that the First Great Western logos have not been stripped on all stock in a blue livery and replaced with a GWR sticker. Not the perfect solution but a good interim measure.

Yes, I too expected that to happen. I did see a 150 with the (f) removed from both vehicles and thought that would extend to the rest of the fleet, but obviously it didn't.
 

TT-ONR-NRN

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Yes, I too expected that to happen. I did see a 150 with the (f) removed from both vehicles and thought that would extend to the rest of the fleet, but obviously it didn't.

Well, First still own the franchise, so it isn't a big worry.
 

Michael.Y

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To promote more of a brand consistency, I'm surprised that the First Great Western logos have not been stripped on all stock in a blue livery and replaced with a GWR sticker. Not the perfect solution but a good interim measure.

That still requires time in a depot or shed or siding or whatever that could be better spent on actually fixing real problems.
 

D2007wsm

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That still requires time in a depot or shed or siding or whatever that could be better spent on actually fixing real problems.
GWR may still be operated by First, but the brand tends not to mention this anymore. Event if just the First and roundels were taken off just saying Great Western wouldn't be too bad. Stripping these would not take long and could be done overnight or when stock is in for routine maintenence.
 

devonexpress

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Indeed.

There's no hot water in the buffet, the toilets are all full up and the WIFI's buggered, but hey, at least it's a green rake of coaches with two green power cars.

Or I my case, when I asked if the buffets card machine was working, to then be accused of being a card thief, using my own card to pay for £2.60 Latte! Great job GWR.

In regards to power car mixing, its not just the train companies that do it, a lot of bus companies do too, and Flybe has a lot of its purple aircraft with white nose cones or engine casings. However, GWR could have easily painted all its fleet green by now and had the stickers applied the fact they still have two brands running is crazy. Even BBC Spotlight called them "First Great Western" yet again the other night.
 
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TT-ONR-NRN

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Or I my case, when I asked if the buffets card machine was working, to then be accused of being a card thief, using my own card to pay for £2.60 Latte! Great job GWR.

In regards to power car mixing, its not just the train companies that do it, a lot of bus companies do too, and Flybe has a lot of its purple aircraft with white nose cones or engine casings. However, GWR could have easily painted all its fleet green by now and had the stickers applied the fact they still have two brands running is crazy. Even BBC Spotlight called them "First Great Western" yet again the other night.

They are taking a ridiculously long time!
 
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