Worst livery on a UK train?

[Burkitt]

Another which occurs to me - the Northern Spirit + First + Central Trains + Cross Country all on top of each other mess that some 158s wear.

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

I disliked the old Silverlink livery, green/purple/yellow, whoever designed that must of been on an LSD trip I think.

I also disliked the Inter-City livery in the late 1970s-1980s which was two tone brown and orange, I understand that was sometimes called "Jaffa Cake" I think some trains in the SR & Gatwick Express also had that for a while before the network SE livery came out, ( I did not like that either)

I did not like the Old Virgin Livery either or some of the old MML green/orange colours, although they ran, IMO , a great service and nor do I like the FGW colours either. (IMO trains from Padd to the West should be traditional GWR Chocolate and Cream)

I Did like the old GNER dark blue livery with a red stripe, that looked very good as did the Blue and Grey IC Livery introduced in the late 1960's and most recently used again on the much lamented W&Srly from Marylebone to Shrewsbury/Wrexham etc.

 

[OuterDistant]

Definitely DRS' "compass" livery; looks like it was designed with clipart in Microsoft Publisher 97.

 

[sprinterguy]

(IMO trains from Padd to the West should be traditional GWR Chocolate and Cream)

When Great Western Trains won the first Great Western franchise, their design team considered applying traditional chocolate and cream colours to their HSTs, but apparently it wouldn't work, so the dark green and ivory scheme that was actually applied was chosen instead. The first class carriages were intended to have a mauve colour replacing the dark green areas, but this too was decided against.

I'd quite like to see a variant of GWT livery brought back as a standard livery for the Intercity component of the Great Western franchise. But with less white/ivory.

 

[Class172]

Personally I hate the East Coast livery, especially on their HSTs. I think that HSTs suit darker colour schemes better (eg. GNER/FGW/Grand Central).

 

[Schnellzug]

When Great Western Trains won the first Great Western franchise, their design team considered applying traditional chocolate and cream colours to their HSTs, but apparently it wouldn't work, so the dark green and ivory scheme that was actually applied was chosen instead. The first class carriages were intended to have a mauve colour replacing the dark green areas, but this too was decided against.

I'd quite like to see a variant of GWT livery brought back as a standard livery for the Intercity component of the Great Western franchise. But with less white/ivory.

Now i thought that was a damn good livery. Just a pity the running of the company didn't match it. Although as I may have mentioned previously, personally I think FGW Blue is one of the best liveries around now, at least on HSTs.

 

[mallard]

Another which occurs to me - the Northern Spirit + First + Central Trains + Cross Country all on top of each other mess that some 158s wear.

Ey? No 158 has ever been in any CrossCountry livery. A few were operated by Virgin CrossCountry prior to the introduction of the Voyagers, but they were only ever in the "Express" livery, I don't think they even had Virgin logos on them.

 

[T163R]

Silverlink for the worst
FCC for the best

 

[chris89]

East Coast, ATW, & Arriva Cross country are my most disliked liveries.

Most liked are though

Virgin Old red and new one
GNER
FGW
Great Western 'Merlin' liverly (Most fave overal)
Fag Packet FGW

Chris

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I also disliked the Inter-City livery in the late 1970s-1980s which was two tone brown and orange, I understand that was sometimes called "Jaffa Cake" I think some trains in the SR & Gatwick Express also had that for a while.

Two different things.

InterCity livery arrived in the early 1980s, dark grey round the windows, light cream lower bodysides, red and white stripe separating the two. Yes, it did appear first on Gatwick Express, then at around the same time in 1983 on an HST on the WR as a successful trial, after which it was adopted wholesale.

Jaffa cake livery was similar but brown and orange and arrived in the late 1980s on London & South East before the sector was re-named NSE. A few CIGs, CEPs and MLVs only received the livery.

 

[mallard]

Jaffa cake livery was similar but brown and orange and arrived in the late 1980s on London & South East before the sector was re-named NSE. A few CIGs, CEPs and MLVs only received the livery.

And some 309s with "Essex Express" branding... It looked quite smart in my opinion, although very early 80s. The NSE livery was certainly more vibrant though.

 

[185]

Ok..ok - I hereby apologise to Freightliner and Ffffestiniogogoch for tarring them with the same brush as AwfulGroup.

 

[NIMBUS]

The National Express livery is ok but isn't suitable to a railway environment as it gets filthy so quickly and looks scruffy. I don't like the new East Coast livery either - it just looks tacky and so 1970s. Come on - purple on silver (or grey)?

Although it wasn't popular, I really liked the original Thameslink livery (with the London landmarks vinyls). The subsequent blue and yellow was another livery that looked really dated.

 

[RyanB]

I think that the original NX Scotrail Livery was actually pretty good, especially compared to the Barbie blue rubbish that replaced it.
I actually really like the new Scotrail livery, particularly after I rode on 170434 last Thursday on the last train from Glasgow Queen Street.
On some trains I also feel that the SPT livery is pretty awful, some suit it but most that are/were in the SPT livery look horrid.

NXEC and the EC livery, both horrid liveries, the GNER dark blue with red stripe was a far better Livery.

XC is an awful livery too as is the Virgin livery.

 

[507 001]

I think that the original NX Scotrail Livery was actually pretty good, especially compared to the Barbie blue rubbish that replaced it.
I actually really like the new Scotrail livery, particularly after I rode on 170434 last Thursday on the last train from Glasgow Queen Street.
On some trains I also feel that the SPT livery is pretty awful, some suit it but most that are/were in the SPT livery look horrid.

NXEC and the EC livery, both horrid liveries, the GNER dark blue with red stripe was a far better Livery.

XC is an awful livery too as is the Virgin livery.

The new saltire livery looks especially bad on 314s. SPT was much nicer, they should have used that as the national livery! Or gone back to the black and orange
The WAG livery is much more suitable.

 

[alexf380]

If you catch the light the wrong way, the 314s and 334s look AWFUL in the new Saltire livery!

 

[Schnellzug]

personally, on the subject of ScotRail, I think I'd nominate 334s - well, 334s whatever the livery, but in particular the carmine & cream with a turquoise stripe and that "STRATHCLYDE PASSENGER TRANSPORT" lettering in ugly capitals down the side. Was that just the whim of Politicians wanting to stamp their identity on them?

 

[alexf380]

Probably, Donald Dewar even got his name on one!

 

[sprinterguy]

As RyanB says, I don't think that the Strathclyde PTE carmine & cream livery suits any of the more modern unit designs: The use of the light blue stripe in an attempt to modernise the scheme really didn't work, but at least the traditional livery suited the 156s. SPT were much better off with the orange and black livery.

And I also find the National Express "swoosh" and current Saltire liveries very pleasing.

 

[90019]

As RyanB says, I don't think that the Strathclyde PTE carmine & cream livery suits any of the more modern unit designs: The use of the light blue stripe in an attempt to modernise the scheme really didn't work, but at least the traditional livery suited the 156s.

I dunno, I rather like it on the 170s.
I really like the interior of the SPT 170s as well.

 

[Schnellzug]

Talking of Scotland, another favourite was the Mk1s that were painted in Sealink "livery" (though why they called it that I don't know, since it was nothing like anything ever seen on any Sealink Ship) in the '80's

* Also seen on an NIR DEMU, I find.

 

[sprinterguy]

Talking of Scotland, another favourite was the Mk1s that were painted in Sealink "livery" (though why they called it that I don't know, since it was nothing like anything ever seen on any Sealink Ship) in the '80's

* Also seen on an NIR DEMU, I find.

Yeah, Sealink was a very pleasing scheme to my eyes.

 

[aspierail]

One

National Express East Anglia

East Coast

Connex

First Great Western barbie livery

Silverlink

 

[yorksrob]

Connex

Yes indeed, the plain grey/yellow version was irredeemably hideous.

 

[lewisf]

Connex

Not as bad as the advertising livery they had on a couple of 319's which was all over yellow with coloured paint splats on the door and 'A family fun day out' or something like that written in a font not too dissimilar from Comic Sans...

 

[gg1]

Ugliest:
One East Anglia
The Regional Railways livery worn by the 150/1s when new, but oddly not by the 150/0 or 150/02
Colas Rail

Favourites include:
GNER
Chiltern Railways lined blue as carried by their 121 bubble car
Original 1986 Foster Yeoman blue/silver
Railfreight sub-sector
IC Swallow
Prototype Deltic blue
Original 1996 FGW livery

 

[fgwrich]

Another two:

Railtracks Lime Green & Blue - Which didnt look too bad on some locos & stock, but really didnt suit the meccano sides of 31190!

Railtracks Fake tan, white & grey!

http://carlswatson.com/Trains/Galle.../class205977939stleonards15thoctober2011.html

Though at least on that version, they didnt add any swoping curves or fancy lines!

As for Connex, i think it was one of those liverys that looks alright at the time - and only on certain units!, But give it time and plenty of weathering, and then it started to look sh*te and shabby! Though i prefer the version as worn by the Cigs & Veps, to the version on the 365/465s with the blue band along the windows!

 

[yorksrob]

Another two:

Railtracks Lime Green & Blue - Which didnt look too bad on some locos & stock, but really didnt suit the meccano sides of 31190!

Railtracks Fake tan, white & grey!

http://carlswatson.com/Trains/Galle.../class205977939stleonards15thoctober2011.html

Though at least on that version, they didnt add any swoping curves or fancy lines!

As for Connex, i think it was one of those liverys that looks alright at the time - and only on certain units!, But give it time and plenty of weathering, and then it started to look sh*te and shabby! Though i prefer the version as worn by the Cigs & Veps, to the version on the 365/465s with the blue band along the windows!

I actually think the blue stripe version didn't look too bad - although whether it would have worked on CIG's and VEP's I don't know.

I also think that railtrack lime green and blue looked OK on de-icing units that were formerly SUB's/EPB's.

 

[fairysdad]

I think I'm actually alone in that I didn't mind the One livery...

I didn't like the Wessex Trains livery that advertised local lines/attractions - particularly as it meant that certain stock had to be on certain lines otherwise it looked even worse (ie the 'Heart of Wessex' line 153 on the Gunnislake branch...). I think their Alphaline livery would've suited the rest of their stock (minus the giant alpha symbol though). I also disliked the 143s or 142s (forget which) that got sent Devonwards which had the giant star at the front of them.

I quite like the East Midlands Trains' HST sets though - I think that livery suits them.

Railtracks Fake tan, white & grey!

http://carlswatson.com/Trains/Galle.../class205977939stleonards15thoctober2011.html

Though at least on that version, they didnt add any swoping curves or fancy lines!

Looks like it spent too long in the sun...

 

[Schnellzug]

I think I'm actually alone in that I didn't mind the One livery...

I didn't like the Wessex Trains livery that advertised local lines/attractions - particularly as it meant that certain stock had to be on certain lines otherwise it looked even worse (ie the 'Heart of Wessex' line 153 on the Gunnislake branch...). I think their Alphaline livery would've suited the rest of their stock (minus the giant alpha symbol though). I also disliked the 143s or 142s (forget which) that got sent Devonwards which had the giant star at the front of them..

Oh, i liked the black and gold 153, that looked quite classy, and the maroon one wasn't bad, but the 150s in maroon with those pictures all over them just looked a mess.
The 142s were basically North Western Trains livery.

**

Post 666!