• Our new ticketing site is now live! Using either this or the original site (both powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

Increase in Blue & Grey preserved stock.

m79900

Member
Joined
28 May 2023
Messages
707
Location
North Derbyshire
I'm happy to see more preserved coaches/units in the scheme, the old maroon and green colours get boring after a while. The GCR and ELR both seem to be building up B&G mk1 sets, the SVR are doing a 108 and some Hastings vehicles being turned out. Any others?
 
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

Islineclear3_1

Established Member
Joined
24 Apr 2014
Messages
6,594
Location
PTSO or platform depending on the weather
Given that the livery (when widespread) is well over 40 years old; perhaps it's not surprising. I believe express passenger rolling stock started receiving blue/grey livery from as early as the late 1960s; express multiple units from the 1970s and suburban multiple units from the 1980s
 

Mike Machin

Member
Joined
19 Aug 2017
Messages
383
Given that the livery (when widespread) is well over 40 years old; perhaps it's not surprising. I believe express passenger rolling stock started receiving blue/grey livery from as early as the late 1960s; express multiple units from the 1970s and suburban multiple units from the 1980s
The concept of the new blue and grey livery and new British Rail corporate identity made its debut on the XP64 train in 1964. Repainting of general coaching stock started at the extreme end of that year and the first blue and grey coach I ever saw as a youngster was a buffet car at Southampton Central in the first couple of months of 1965.

Main line stock was steadily repainted into blue and grey from 1965 onwards and large deliveries of MK2 stock from 1966 onwards were all in the new colours. The vast majority of loco-haled stock was in the livery by around 1968/69, so it’s widespread use on the network dates back over 55 years.

Its very much a historic livery now and as it’s the colour which predominated on 1970s steam specials, for me personally it’s very nostalgic.
 

norbitonflyer

Established Member
Joined
24 Mar 2020
Messages
5,773
Location
SW London
express multiple units from the 1970s and suburban multiple units from the 1980s
All over blue for non-gangwayed hauled stock until the last was withdrawn (from the GN lines) in 1976.
Also initially for all DMUs except classes 119-120, 123, 124, 201-203 , which went straight to blue/grey (althogh I think i recall seeing a class 120 with one all-blue power car)
EMus were initially all blue, but those with gangways (BEP/CEP, BIG/CIG, VEP, REP/TC) went to blue/grey very early (some were delivered new in that livery). Not sure if any AM9 was ever all-over blue.
If I recall correctly, 312s were the last to be deliveered in blue, and 313s the first in blue/grey.
Blue/grey for all units started to be applied in the early '80s.
 
Last edited:

Top