Worst/best preservation liveries?

[35B]

I'd forgotten about that one! Given the size of the class, it had its fair share of dubious liveries: 50 002 here, 50 017 maroon + gold upthread, 50 007's "homage" GWR green* (!)

* The readers aged younger than mid-fifties, might not know about the furore in 1984, when 50 007 Hercules was painted green and renamed Sir Edward Elgar...

Oi - 50007 looked excellent in GWR green. And for one of the best sounding types to be named after one of the best British composers was a brilliant decision

 

[JKF]

If I recall, InterCity didn't want them (there was no need for the 50, the IC125 and 47 fulfilled that for InterCity). So NSE had 'em in 1986.

My hazy memory says they were displaced mostly by East Coast HSTs cascaded after electrification. End of an era.

 

[35B]

My hazy memory says they were displaced mostly by East Coast HSTs cascaded after electrification. End of an era.

The timings don't work for that - ECML electrification came 3 or 4 years later, by when NSE were already winding down the 50s

 

[Sun Chariot]

Oi - 50007 looked excellent in GWR green. And for one of the best sounding types to be named after one of the best British composers was a brilliant decision

We used to turn our backs on it during GWR150 events, if it was present.

My views softened after a year or so; I even allowed myself a photo of it, coupled with D400 and (leading) 50 033, on The Bishops Triple tour.

 

[43096]

The timings don't work for that - ECML electrification came 3 or 4 years later, by when NSE were already winding down the 50s

NSE used a motley collection of 47s to (try to) replace the 50s on both Thames and Waterloo-Exeter. Of course ultimately it was the 159s and 165/166s that were the solution.

 

[33117]

Is the class 31 at the Northampton preserved line in the experimental Matt blue(31289)?

Still wears that experimental blue, a fab paintjob. Done rather well too considering it was hand painted by it's owner & some mates with rollers.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 11 Jun 2026 ==

Couple of liveries I wouldn't mind seeing in preservation are:

50015 In Dutch - It wore this in its BR career & I thought looked mint.

50049 In Railfreight General - An experimental livery & also got renumbered as 50149.

Somebody could do with painting a 20 into dutch. They never wore this in service but as they were well known for engineers trains & such it could work.

 

[Krokodil]

The timings don't work for that - ECML electrification came 3 or 4 years later, by when NSE were already winding down the 50s

It was reliability that resulted in their replacement. The collapse of Speedlink in 1991 freed up 47/4s to cover Thames services. Ex-Scotrail 47/7s displaced by 158s filled the gap on the West of England until the 158s arrived.

 

[35B]

NSE used a motley collection of 47s to (try to) replace the 50s on both Thames and Waterloo-Exeter. Of course ultimately it was the 159s and 165/166s that were the solution.

I remember them well.

 

[Cowley]

I remember them well.

Great days. Especially if you liked 33s (and weren’t a passenger).

 

[LGM08]

50015 In Dutch - It wore this in its BR career & I thought looked mint.

Its been discussed, maybe one day

 

[19Gnasher69]

50049 In Railfreight General - An experimental livery & also got renumbered as 50149.

Definitely a +1 for that.
And, as an aside, if it could then visit the Mid-Norfolk Railway when 37003 is back and double-head with it, we can all have the opportunity to be hauled by 50149. (Assuming that the tale about the 37’s bogies is true!)

 

[Ashley Hill]

50049 In Railfreight General - An experimental livery & also got renumbered as 50149.

Didn’t it carry this livery when first preserved? ISTR being pleased that the number nines on the front ends were still blue.

 

[hexagon789]

Assuming that the tale about the 37’s bogies is true!

It's very possible, certainly unrefurbished 37s even exchanged bogies with Deltics to my knowledge and other than the traction motors 37/0s, 50s and Deltics shared the same basic design of bogie, geared for a safe continuous motor speed at a rail speed of 106mph.

Hence the brief use of pairs of 37s on certain accelerated trains on the Western Region in the latter half of the 1960s, which ran at 100mph on certain authorised sections - no modifications were necessary or were made to the 37s for them to run at 100mph, though officially they remained 90mph machines.

Refurbished 37s with the CP7 bogies are geared for 80mph in comparison.

 

[Forty29]

Yes l've heard stories about bogie's being swapped between 37's and Deltic's so guess this true. Class 50 bogie's seem very similar to look at.

 

[35B]

Yes l've heard stories about bogie's being swapped between 37's and Deltic's so guess this true. Class 50 bogie's seem very similar to look at.

All three used CP7 bogies; the difference was between cast and fabricated frames (but I forget quite what that difference was).

 

[43096]

All three used CP7 bogies; the difference was between cast and fabricated frames (but I forget quite what that difference was).

As far as I know CP7 was the designation for bogies modified for the Class 37 refurbishment, not the entire group of Class 37/50/55 bogies.

 

[hexagon789]

As far as I know CP7 was the designation for bogies modified for the Class 37 refurbishment, not the entire group of Class 37/50/55 bogies.

Yes, CP7 are the lower geared bogies.

50149 did carry them during its Railfreight stint I believe, but otherwise they are specific to refurbished Class 37s.

 

[LRV3004]

I'd forgotten about that one! Given the size of the class, it had its fair share of dubious liveries: 50 002 here, 50 017 maroon + gold upthread, 50 007's "homage" GWR green* (!)

* The readers aged younger than mid-fifties, might not know about the furore in 1984, when 50 007 Hercules was painted green and renamed Sir Edward Elgar...

What about when 50044 was numbered D444 and painted in BR green, and 50035 numbered 50135 and decked out in LoadHaul colours?!

 

[6Gman]

Is it "preservation" if it's a livery never carried by that class of loco?

 

[Sun Chariot]

What about when 50044 was numbered D444 and painted in BR green, and 50035 numbered 50135 and decked out in LoadHaul colours?!

Yes, 50 044 I didn't like. 50 035 I thought wore the LoadHaul rather well.

Those were all in preservation. When 50 007 lost its 1970s-assigned name Hercules, let alone its large logo blue livery, there was much debate in the 1984 press and on platforms.
In 1984, we only had InterCity's colours and a few variations of monastral blue livery on BR's main line fleet.

 

[43096]

Yes, CP7 are the lower geared bogies.

50149 did carry them during its Railfreight stint I believe, but otherwise they are specific to refurbished Class 37s.

They were also fitted to the 37/3s (37330 and above).

 

[hexagon789]

They were also fitted to the 37/3s (37330 and above).

Thanks

 

[Krokodil]

What about when 50044 was numbered D444 and painted in BR green

Just Googled that, it feels odd.

50035 numbered 50135 and decked out in LoadHaul colours?!

I remember that, it looked fantastic.

 

[19Gnasher69]

Yes, CP7 are the lower geared bogies.

50149 did carry them during its Railfreight stint I believe, but otherwise they are specific to refurbished Class 37s.

Indeed. At risk of hijacking a livery threaded further, I seem to recall reading that, during an overhaul, 37003’s bogies were found to have had “50149” written on the frames. Could be apocryphal……..

 

[HOOVER29]

It was reliability that resulted in their replacement. The collapse of Speedlink in 1991 freed up 47/4s to cover Thames services. Ex-Scotrail 47/7s displaced by 158s filled the gap on the West of England until the

It was reliability that resulted in their replacement. The collapse of Speedlink in 1991 freed up 47/4s to cover Thames services. Ex-Scotrail 47/7s displaced by 158s filled the gap on the West of England until the 158s arrived.

The mule finished them off.
Constant hard acceleration from frequent stops did them no good at all.
They were high speed locos & were fairly happy going full speed.
The shove duffs that replaced them were no better apparently at matching them
Went up the 1 in 37 from Exeter St David’s not long ago in a 159.
The thing romped up the climb.

Now soon the 158/159’s will need replacing.

 

[43096]

The mule finished them off.
Constant hard acceleration from frequent stops did them no good at all.
They were high speed locos & were fairly happy going full speed.
The shove duffs that replaced them were no better apparently at matching them
Went up the 1 in 37 from Exeter St David’s not long ago in a 159.
The thing romped up the climb.

Now soon the 158/159’s will need replacing.

The 159s have rather shown up the Vacs and Duffs on Waterloo-Exeter: well over 30 years on the route and been very reliable. Unlike their predecessors.

 

[Forty29]

Their very comfortable too well cushioned seats.
Is the mule Honiton bank? Saw video with Clan Line being worked to the limit end of last month sounded superb.

 

[35B]

Their very comfortable too well cushioned seats.
Is the mule Honiton bank? Saw video with Clan Line being worked to the limit end of last month sounded superb.

It's the whole line from Salisbury to Exeter. Fast working with frequent stops was not good for them, especially as they were being wound down.

Much as I hate to admit it, @43096 is spot on about their replacements

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Is it "preservation" if it's a livery never carried by that class of loco?

It's the locomotive that's preserved. It'll need painting periodically anyway, so why not have a bit of fun with it?
It might not be "authentic" but they are working machines as well as museum pieces. For locos on static display which are unlikely to run again, I'd stick to the 'canon'... but the running examples already break canon with the coaching stock they work with (a couple of years ago I rode in a train of Gresley Teaks behind a Western for example!) so while it might annoy photographers it doesn't strike me as a major taboo. As long as there are still some authentic examples around, that is. I'm not sure I'd be keen on 89001 getting Virgin colours or one of the two surviving Warships having FirstGroup's "dynamic lines" applied to it.

I quite like some of the "what if" liveries we've seen over the years, the Hymek that wore Dutch for a period looked great in my opinion. I'm less taken with the LoadHaul examples, as I feel that's a massively overrated livery... but that could just be my inner contrarian reacting to all the "foaming" about it!

 

[norbitonflyer]

I rode in a train of Gresley Teaks behind a Western for example!

I had those Teaks hauled by a Peak!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 16 Jun 2026 ==

All three used CP7 bogies; the difference was between cast and fabricated frames (but I forget quite what that difference was).

As I understand it, the fabricated frames didn't take kindly to the treatment they got under the Deltics, so were swapped out for a cast design - the fabricated iones being re-used under then-new 37s.

I beleive the bogies under Class 20s and 23s were similar, which whas been sueful for the D5910 project. More strangely, given their rather different provenance, the bogies from a Class 77 (essentially a development of an LNER design) were found to be a good fit for the Ivatt project (a replica of an LMS design).