LOL The Irony
Established Member
I was on a 156 from Manchester to Preston and the windows were brown when we got to Preston....because Northern seem unable, unlike other TOCs, to clean their trains properly?
I was on a 156 from Manchester to Preston and the windows were brown when we got to Preston....because Northern seem unable, unlike other TOCs, to clean their trains properly?
I was on a 156 from Manchester to Preston and the windows were brown when we got to Preston.

Probably a bit hazardous in 25kV territory, but surely they could just have someone with a Karcher jet-wash the front of the train after it stops in a terminal platform?
WARNING: PAINT WIBBLE
I have always thought the original virgin livery dull and boring. The colour palette seems overly subdued and the silvery gray a magnet for dirt.
Indeed. And a lot of silver on a train livery was very 'naughties'. A symbol of the second generation privatisation liveries with white probably making a bigger appearance currently.
To be honest, if it was completely on white with no livery, there'd be a lot less complaints about a half-finished livery!Isn't the point of the re paint to get the 390s ready for return to the Roscoe at the end of the wcml contract? Remove the flowing silk vinyls and you've got an unadorned white train.
Isn't the point of the re paint to get the 390s ready for return to the Roscoe at the end of the wcml contract? Remove the flowing silk vinyls and you've got an unadorned white train.
Not quite. The repaint was required as a maintenance procedure, and given that Virgin are only guaranteed to run the west coast franchise for a short while longer, it made little sense for the ROSCO to pay to paint it in a Virgin specific livery if it'll need rebranding a few years down the line. You are right about the removing the vinyls to just give a plain white train for the next TOC to adorn as necessary (in virgins case, by adding more red vinyls along the train). There isn't any need to return trains to the ROSCO/next operator in a completely plain livery, the extent that most franchises go to is to simply remove their own (main) branding and leave the rest untouched.
WARNING: PAINT WIBBLE
I have always thought the original virgin livery dull and boring. The colour palette seems overly subdued and the silvery gray a magnet for dirt.