Slight changes you would make to liveries to make them nicer

[Bletchleyite]

Of the Pendolino ones I think the wider black one looks nicer. The narrowing Azuma style one makes the "friendly smile" of the Pendolino nose end look more like an evil grin.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Although black is probably the most common colour for train fronts across the world.

Hides the dead flies and bits of dead bird better than yellow.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

View attachment 39988 View attachment 39989 View attachment 39990 View attachment 39991
A few from me.

The white pendo is good!

 

[alexl92]

The white pendo is good!

Definitely prefer the white to black!

 

[Up_Tilt_390]

View attachment 39989 View attachment 39990 View attachment 39991
A few from me.

They look pretty good actually. I thought I'd use them as inspiration to give my own work more of a mix up. I know there was no red front, that's my own doing.

 

[class387]

The red one reminds me of an SBB train:

 

[Up_Tilt_390]

The red one reminds me of an SBB train:

Indeed. It was where I got my inspiration for the original image I made. In fact, I reckon I could get the whole Pendolino train to look like the ICN.

 

[jayiscupid]

Clearly a man with taste!

 

[43096]

Indeed. It was where I got my inspiration for the original image I made. In fact, I reckon I could get the whole Pendolino train to look like the ICN.

ICN is what Class 390 should have been. Dressing dross like a 390 up in SBB colours is just an insult to the Swiss.

 

[Goldfish62]

I don't think The First group debrandings were DfT mandated. More that the group realised (about 10 years after everyone else in the country!) that (a) their colours were hideous, and (b) the name "First" had become toxic.

Yep, I'd agree with that!

 

[Bletchleyite]

ICN is what Class 390 should have been. Dressing dross like a 390 up in SBB colours is just an insult to the Swiss.

Having been on quite a few ICNs, other than the seating layout (which is very easily altered with an afternoon with a spanner per couple of coaches), they really aren't dissimilar to a slightly vertically stretched Pendolino. And the seats are really quite narrow. And there aren't full size tables.

SBB are quite good at a lot of things, but passenger comfort/friendliness really isn't one of them. They are essentially run as a piece of infrastructure.

 

[318259]

Honesly, I'd get rid of corporate-based liveries entirely and introduce a set livery that doesn't change when the franchise does, like ScotRail have. SouthEastern would obviously be renamed Network SouthEast and get its blue, red and grey colour scheme back.

But if I'm following the rules of this thread, I'd change the old SPT livery on the 334s and make it look like the SPT class 170 livery. The placement of the teal band on the 334s just annoyed me.

 

[aar0]

and whilst I'm at it, the yellow bib on HSTs should have convex edges not concave. View attachment 39965

Makes you wonder why they are as they are - I'd not noticed until your post, and now I can't un-see it, and it annoys me

 

[43096]

Makes you wonder why they are as they are - I'd not noticed until your post, and now I can't un-see it, and it annoys me

Presume it is to follow the headlight cluster? The original GWT Merlin livery shows how it should be done.

 

[BurtonM]

Northern.
Remove the coloured Ns from the blue ends.
Remove the web address and App Store links that have no place at all on a train...
The livery isn't good anyway, and needs a complete rethink (it's far too close to the old one), but short of re-engineering that's what I'd do.

 

[xc170]

Remove the web address and App Store links that have no place at all on a train...

What? You do know the internet and apps are a huge part of ticketing and journey planning, don't you?

 

[sprinterguy]

Northern.
The livery isn't good anyway, and needs a complete rethink (it's far too close to the old one)

I rather think that was much of the thinking behind it, to provide continuity between the old and new Northern identities. The franchise launch certainly occurred with the minimum of fanfare to give an impression of "business as usual".

 

[BurtonM]

What? You do know the internet and apps are a huge part of ticketing and journey planning, don't you?

Nobody else feels the need to plaster it on the trains though.

 

[jayiscupid]

Makes you wonder why they are as they are - I'd not noticed until your post, and now I can't un-see it, and it annoys me

It's bugged me from the beginning!

 

[mushroomchow]

A slight change I would make to the proposed new WM Trains franchise would be to take a sander to it, shave off all the paint, fire whichever art school maniac designed it on their Mac during their lunch break, start again and make it not look like a jaundiced tellytubby thrown into a black hole.

That's within the parameters of this conversation, right? Right?

 

[Domh245]

Thankfully the actual version that is being applied isn't quite as hideous as the initial proposal

 

[superalbs]

Mocked these up.

 

[Domh245]

I think the top one would be the more likely, the moorgate fleet is due to have all white fronts. That said, the black front does look smart.

 

[43096]

I think the top one would be the more likely, the moorgate fleet is due to have all white fronts. That said, the black front does look smart.

I think it would be interesting to see it with the same blue as the doors.

 

[jayiscupid]

Mocked these up.

Wow, this looks much better!

 

[K.o.R]

I prefer BR multiple units to have black Wipac lights View attachment 39964

Yes! I always thought they looked odd with those modules painted in yellow, like they forgot to masking tape them before doing the fronts

View attachment 39988
A few from me.

I would keep the yellow only above the line between the headlights but otherwise spot on.

My image editing skills are non-existent unfortunately, else I'd love to see a 444 or 442 in that LSWR dark red that they used when bidding, maybe with cream-coloured doors? Basically the GWR livery but swap green for red and silver for cream (or even gold).

I also wish the Crossrail trains had the "standard" TfL livery with the Crossrail lilac as an accent. And if they must do away with the yellow, then have the front all in lilac. No black fronts!

 

[AY1975]

This is not so much about making liveries nicer, but more about consistency: I think the DfT ought to insist that whatever colour schemes train operators use, where First Class accommodation is provided it must have a yellow stripe above the windows, and where trains have a catering area it must have a red stripe (as in BR days).

At present, some train operators, including Great Western, Southeastern, Southern and Thameslink use the yellow stripe, but some (such as Virgin) have no stripe at all, and the now defunct South West Trains used blue dots above the windows to denote First Class.

AFAIK the only TOC that still uses a red stripe to denote the buffet area is Greater Anglia on its Mark 3 coaches. Southeastern uses a red stripe on its new all-over purple livery to denote the disabled toilet and adjacent area for wheelchairs and bikes. I like the new SE livery, and I think it's good that they do have a stripe above this area so cyclists and disabled passengers know where to get on, but surely they should use some other distinctive colour such as green or turquoise?

SE did away with refreshment trolleys a few years ago, and BR dispensed with full buffet car facilities on the then South Eastern Division at least 35 years ago, but even so, some passengers will recall that a red stripe used to mean a buffet area, and might think SE had reintroduced buffet cars (and not bother to buy a cuppa before boarding!).

 

[K.o.R]

but some (such as Virgin) have no stripe at all

On VTEC at least, the First Class stripe is blue and below the windows.

 

[Melancholia]

https://i.imgur.com/pwAfPNX.png

Yes or no?

 

[DanNCL]

https://i.imgur.com/pwAfPNX.png

Yes or no?

That looks much better!