Liveries of class 375 units over the years.

[stadler]

Why have the 375s had so many different liveries? Does anyone know more about the history of the livery changes?

The 375s have only ever operated with one TOC (excluding 905/921/924 being on hire to Southern in 2009 for a few months) but yet have managed eight liveries. Technically it is four operators (Connex South Eastern then the first state owned Southeastern then Govia Southeastern then the second state owned Southeastern) but it is all the same franchise and basically the same operator with minimal livery changes. Yet they have had 8 liveries. In comparison the 377s (which are almost as old) have only ever had one livery.

They have had all the following liveries:

• 1. Allover white

• 2. White with yellow doors and no stripe

• 3. White with yellow doors and grey stripe

• 4. White with light blue doors and no stripe

• 5. White with light blue doors and dark grey stripe

• 6. White with dark blue doors and no stripe

• 7. White with dark blue doors and dark grey stripe

• 8. Dark blue with light blue doors

It always baffles me why they kept changing it and had so many different variations. It must hold the record for the class with the most liveries to only be run by one franchise.

Some example photos that i found online of the liveries:

• 1. Allover white:


• 2. White with yellow doors and no stripe:


• 3. White with yellow doors and grey stripe:


• 4. White with light blue doors and no stripe:


• 5. White with light blue doors and dark grey stripe:


• 6. White with dark blue doors and no stripe:


• 7. White with dark blue doors and dark grey stripe:


• 8. Dark blue with light blue doors:


So that is at least 8 liveries that they have carried. Let me know if i have missed any and there are any more but 8 is all i can remember.

Does anyone know why they had so many liveries? For example was it originally different liveries for different groups of units used on different types of work? Or were they trialling different liveries to see which they preferred? I would be curious to know the history of the livery changes and why one fleet at the same franchise has managed to change liveries this many times?

 

[frankmoh]

I have some questions.

Why would Connex choose all white (no logos?) if they had an existing livery at the time? Was it because that blue/yellow livery was only for ex-NSE trains?

As seen here with the 375's semi-predecessor of the 365, also applies to the other Networkers but for some reason not the Class 205, 423 or 508.

And another question, what time period was that dark blue door livery introduced (assuming your pictures are in order)? I know the long-distance fleet of SE began to adopt it post-2012 Olympics to fit in with the Javelin, but the 465s still have the older livery of "White with light blue doors and dark grey stripe" despite it being a long time since that livery began in 2007/2008 or so.

 

[JonathanH]

Why would Connex choose all white (no logos?) if they had an existing livery at the time? Was it because that blue/yellow livery was only for ex-NSE trains?

The livery of the handful of 465s and 365s with blue around the windows was to do with the vinyls only covering the ends and bottom of each coach. The blue is NSE colours on the underlying paint. I think it heard that the minimum order was more than needed for the 16 365s, so they did some 465s as well.

The other units, including slam door stock and 508s is the equivalent vinyls on a plain white base.

Incidentally, the original post missed that the gold variant of the Connex livery on 375610 was a one off on that unit. Only 2 and 5 are actually liveries, the rest are just those without the vinyl at the bottom of the carriage.

 

[frankmoh]

The livery of the handful of 465s and 365s with blue around the windows was to do with the vinyls only covering the ends and bottom of each coach. The blue is NSE colours on the underlying paint. I think it heard that the minimum order was more than needed for the 16 365s, so they did some 465s as well.

The other units, including slam door stock and 508s is the equivalent vinyls on a plain white base.

If I recall correctly, the last ever NSE liveried train was actually in the Connex livery (well, vinyl application) but they took it off in preparation for the new livery. Not sure if it would have painted like 2 or like 5.

 

[The exile]

All-over white usually meant “at the point of specifying a finish for this unit we’d ditched the old livery but hadn’t launched the new one”. The change from 1 to 2 will have come with the requirement to have doors on a contrasting colour.

 

[Russel]

Looking at the photo of the all-over white livery in the first post, it's so strange to see a modern unit without contrasting doors!

 

[43096]

• 7. White with dark blue doors and dark grey stripe:
View attachment 184485

That’s a gold stripe, not dark grey. ISTR it was to do with the Queen’s golden jubilee.

 

[thedbdiboy]

It's only really two basic liveries. The units were originally delivered in white, with vinyls used for the decoration. The 'white' version is simply the unit as delivered, that's not a livery as such. Connex v1 was yellow doors, grey lower band. When Connex were evicted from the franchise the new operator stated they would not be undertaking an expensive rebrand so simply changed the logo. After a few years the door colour and logo were changed - new vinyls. Only when the units went for their mid-life repaint were they decked out in blue. The Golden Jubilee one was a one-off.

Connex in general were a bit hopeless with liveries (I know, I worked for them). They inherited across South Central and South Eastern a fleet which included 455s that had been re-liveried in NSE colours in the late 80s and 456s, 465s and 466s that had been painted new in NSE livery which was designed to last a decade. They didn't have the money to waste repainting them. 1 x 455 and 1 x 456 were repainted into Connex livery for the launch and that was it - they had lost the South Central franchise before any others were due repaints. Connex lasted until 2003 at South Eastern, but at the outset took delivery of 15 brand new Networker 365s all resplendent in debranded but warrantied NSE livery. These would have been expensive to paint into the designated Connex livery so were instead bodged with yellow lower panel vinyls but with the NSE upper blue retained. Meanwhile the slam door fleet with its much more regular need for repaints got the 'correct' Connex livery, apart from the CEPs which were due withdrawal so were kept in (increasingly tatty) NSE colours, One CEP was erroneously painted in Connex colours after an accident. It seemed no-one told the depot it shouldn't get it.

By the time the Networkers were finally due works Connex had designed another new livery as the original one didn't have the contrasting doors that were a recommendation arising from accessibility guidelines. So in the end much of their fleet never carried anything other than NSE colours whilst across units that did have some sort of Connex livery 3 different designs were used, all in the space of 7 years. It was about as un-corporate as it could possibly be.

 

[frankmoh]

By the time the Networkers were finally due works Connex had designed another new livery as the original one didn't have the contrasting doors that were a recommendation arising from accessibility guidelines. So in the end much of their fleet never carried anything other than NSE colours whilst across units that did have some sort of Connex livery 3 different designs were used, all in the space of 7 years. It was about as un-corporate as it could possibly be.

As you can see just barely on the right train, the NSE livery remained in 2007 on at least 2 465s (can't find a picture of 465193).