Worst looking after market modification.............?

[lookingforit35]

No, not alloy wheels and furry dice, but the same principle applies!

Quite often modifications will be made to trains, locos etc over their operational lifespan. There's absolutely no doubt that this is valuable and necesarry but sometimes the result is less than pleasing to the eye. But which ones make us cringe the most?

As a commuter my top three contenders are:

1) The air conditioning unit welded to the top of the drivers cab on Southeastern's 465/2s, 465/9s and 466s. Unsympathetic is the best you can say of it.

2) Revised front end of Southern 455s. Only great if you are a fan of visible rivets, resultant look is a bit "industrial".

3) 423s (OK, not current but worth a mention). Dont want people hanging out the windows? Weld some bars on each door to create "the prison look".

Just to confirm, no argument that the changes are essential, or at least desirable. But purely on changes to what might be called design purity what offends us most? Or are we not that bothered...?

 

[driver9000]

I've never liked the revised front end of the WAGN/FCC 365s. It looks awful.

 

[adamp]

Class 57s. Although neccessary for coupling, it spoilt them in my opinion.

 

[lookingforit35]

I've never liked the revised front end of the WAGN/FCC 365s. It looks awful.

Agree - a slightly odd "smiley face" style to it

 

[LE Greys]

Agree - a slightly odd "smiley face" style to it

Closer to a Pekenese, they look horrible.

 

[yorksrob]

Orange walls in the CEP's. Never worked for me.

 

[LE Greys]

Worst change, Great Northern. This was the pioneer Gresley A1, one of the nicest-looking locomotives ever. Look what they did to her!

 

[Arriva 175]

For me it has to be :-

1) Class 57 with dellners.

2) Southern Class 455s after gangway removal. The ScotRail Class 318s also had there gangways removed and look far nicer, almost akin to a Class 150/1.

 

[12CSVT]

Jumper cables the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway fitted to 31414. Totally ruined the front end as no class 31 received this modification in main line service. Why ?

 

[Turbostar]

It's basically so it can be controlled from the cab of an ex-GLV they have.

 

[Hydro]

I love the aesthetics of roughly/practically modified vehicles. Here are a few that could annoy some of the purists:

73138 having the thermal imaging camera in the headcode box at one end.

43013, 14 and 62 having forward facing camera boxes at the driving ends, sticking out from the sleek HST style.

31233 (and another, I forget which) laden with spotlamps and IR lamps at one end for SGT work.

 

[sprinterguy]

Worst change, Great Northern. This was the pioneer Gresley A1, one of the nicest-looking locomotives ever. Look what they did to her!

Thompson did some awful things to the beautiful Gresley designs. Turning the P2s into ungainly looking Pacifics has to rate as one of the worst IMO, although given their lack of success in their original forms at least he was partially justified in that decision. It seems to me that if Gresley did something, Thompson felt compelled to undo it and go the opposite away when he took command! I'm not at all keen on the influence he made on the LNER.

I think my least favourite of current times has to be the revised front of the FCC 365s, it looks horrible when I always rather liked the appearance of the Networker design as built.

 

[yorksrob]

2) Southern Class 455s after gangway removal. The ScotRail Class 318s also had there gangways removed and look far nicer, almost akin to a Class 150/1.

Does seem to be a backward step.

 

[nferguso]

Jumper cables the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway fitted to 31414. Totally ruined the front end as no class 31 received this modification in main line service. Why ?

Because it allowed us to operate the 31 with our Gatwick Express unit in push pull mode.

Is that OK with you sir? We'd hate to ruin your asthetic...

 

[90019]

Because it allowed us to operate the 31 with our Gatwick Express unit in push pull mode.

Is that OK with you sir? We'd hate to ruin your asthetic...

That was worth the 3 month wait...

 

[nferguso]

That was worth the 3 month wait...

Don't get what you mean?

Ah! Penny has dropped!

Sorry for not posting before, was a worthwhile experiment that proved very useful when the set was used for filming a couple of years ago.

 

[90019]

Don't get what you mean?

Look at the date of the last post before your response.

 

[NIMBUS]

Personally, I detest the latest refurb to the Chiltern Clubman 168s.

The power points have been moved from the bodyside to a position between the table top and the bottom of the window. That has required the tables to be lowered. On top of that they've installed split-top sliding tables (like Eurostar) which are really deep.

The net result is that for anyone who is tall, their knees are forced down so low that their feet need to be underneath the seat base of the opposite seat. It's now physically impossible for me to sit at a table seat when there are other passengers needing to sit opposite.

It's a really rotten, ill-thought-out piece of work.

 

[nferguso]

Look at the date of the last post before your response.

Yep, was a bit behind the door - been a long day.

 

[RPM]

Personally, I detest the latest refurb to the Chiltern Clubman 168s.

The power points have been moved from the bodyside to a position between the table top and the bottom of the window. That has required the tables to be lowered. On top of that they've installed split-top sliding tables (like Eurostar) which are really deep.

The net result is that for anyone who is tall, their knees are forced down so low that their feet need to be underneath the seat base of the opposite seat. It's now physically impossible for me to sit at a table seat when there are other passengers needing to sit opposite.

It's a really rotten, ill-thought-out piece of work.

They also changed the seat moquette from one that was pretty forgiving in terms of hiding stains and minor blemishes to one that shows every mark. The carpets were also changed for lighter ones that show all the fitters' greasy footprints. Ho hum. Should be due another refurb in a year or two...

 

[BestWestern]

Class 442 Wessex sets, and the removal of their jumper cable covers ruining the sleek front ends. One of the few classes of British multiple unit actually designed to look nice, and they find a way of spoiling it! Combined with the absolutely appalling livery that Southern has used. Fair enough they didn't want to waste money painting over the top of their freshly applied SWT colours, but what on earth is with the hideous diagonal line down the cabsides... :cry:

 

[talltim]

That Porterbrook deltic. It now seems to have been fixed

 

[gg1]

The two class 73s fitted with Eurostar couplings aren't exactly pretty.

For the best modification (aesthetically), I would say the headlights fitted to the class 50s when they were refurbished.

 

[Flywaver]

Overhead Power Lines....

 

[Schnellzug]

That Porterbrook deltic. It now seems to have been fixed

On a similar theme, the new lights on the 37/6s. Did they get them when they were converted for (supposed) use by EPS, or was it DRS that fitted them?

** Having looked it Up, they seemed to have a pair of big headlights in orginal form. If you ask me, it looked rather better.

 

[trentside]

I've never liked the revised front end of the WAGN/FCC 365s. It looks awful.

I've got to agree there. The strange evil smile it gives them...

 

[simon7929]

Green circle multiple working equipment fitted to Freighliner 47's. Class 45 headlights fitted in the 80's.

 

[sprinterguy]

On a similar theme, the new lights on the 37/6s. Did they get them when they were converted for (supposed) use by EPS, or was it DRS that fitted them?

** Having looked it Up, they seemed to have a pair of big headlights in orginal form. If you ask me, it looked rather better.

To my knowledge, it was only the three locos that were kept the longest by Eurotunnel (37601/3/4) that received the large nose-mounted headlights, quite late on in their careers with Eurotunnel. The headlights on the 37/6s after conversion were unchanged from the style they had when they were 37/5s previously, until they were acquired by DRS, who fitted the UIC standard headlight clusters to them.

 

[NIMBUS]

That Porterbrook deltic. It now seems to have been fixed

Oi - that was a cracking livery, tastefully designed by David Maxey to reflect the original two-tone green lines.

 

[12CSVT]

Oi - that was a cracking livery, tastefully designed by David Maxey to reflect the original two-tone green lines.

I always thought David Maxey detested Porterbrook livery. He certainly didn't like the paint job on 87002, judging by his comments on one of the Locomaster 'Traction' DVDs.