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STRANGE LIVERIES

LCDR

By LCDR
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LCDR Grand Master

LCDR

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Quite often someone asks about or questions a livery applied to a railway model, which is significantly different to the one that the real train carried. However there has been many livery changes, some official, and some completely unauthorised. Ignoring

those that have only been done on a computer (e.g. PhotoShop) or have only been done on a model, (and this is important) what unusual or bizzarre liveries have you come across in real life or in photographs?

One that immediately comes to mind was a

class 37 locomotive painted white with an orange and yellow stripe to look like a police car, even to having a blue light on top! This was done for filming and advertisement between Newcartle and Carlisle, and was on Gateshead diesel depot for a few days like

this.

The other that immediately comes to mind is LMS 5MT 45212 which was wallpapered, in floral wallpaper, again for advertising purposes and ran for a few days on thge Worth Valley.

One unofficial livery was City of Truro, that was painted

in lined BR mixed traffic black, at Bridgenorth. Only one side was painted thus, it was photographed, and the picture published in the SVR magazine one April. A lot of people got VERY upset, and some resigned from the society.

Engine sheds might embellish

a locomotive for a special service, and I remember an extreme example of this seeing a picture of a LMS 4P 4-4-0 painted in red, yellow and black to work a Daily Mirror special to Blackpool in the 1950s.

What others can you tell us about?
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81F Grand Master

81F

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Wasn't the black City of Truro an Aopril fool stunt for one of the railway magazines?

I thought I read once about a GWR county tank being painted maroon/red at the time that their coaches received that colour - has anyone heard the same or has more

details.

During early BR days Banbury Castle was painted a light green. Also on January 30th 1948 3 LMS Class 5s were trialed in three shades of green, GWR, LNER, and SR Malachite at Adison Road Station Kensing ton (ES COX Locomotive Panorama) in order

to choose a livery for the new British Railway.

I also seem to remember the Lakeside & Heverthwait painting a Fairburn (?) tank in Caledonian blue - did their other get Furness Railway red?

The Cholsey and Wallingford originally painted their

08 123 in a rather bright green - I seem to recall someone saying that they had bought the wrong shade! I think I still have a model of this built at the time (a Hornby body on a LIMA chassis) with etched name/number plates.
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Postman Prat Grand Master

Postman Prat

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Hi 81F

You're right regarding City of Truro - it was an April Fool for Steam Railway magazine. As LC&DR says when it was published the brown stuff really did 'hit the fan'

The Fairburn tanks were in psuedo Caledonian Blue and LNWR Black

with the appropriate crests.

You mentioned the Castle in light green and also the Black 5s. They were only part of the livery experiments which took place around that time. A3s and A4s appeared in a Purple colour and a Merchant Navy appeared in Blue

with RED horizontal stripes, rather than the Black/White finally settled on. I can't remember which one it was but, no doubt, LC&DR will tell us!!

Before deciding on the 1946 livery the LMS trialled a couple of Jubilees, one in RAF Blue/grey and the

other in pre-war Crimson Lake. Both of these locos were lined on one side only.

Finally, for me, is Ivatt 2MT 2-6-0 no 46441 which, in preservation, has appeared as 6441 in LMS Maroon livery.

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malB Collaborator

malB

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Yes indeed Vespa that engine was painted green for a time in preservation. "But"[as ever there a "But"] it had been painted that way for a short time not quite how long [but more than just a day or two], by the newly formed British Railways in the 1948-49/50

period whilst "they" developed a new company livery in the same way as several big express engines where painted blue; Southern Merchent Navies, Great Western Kings LNER A1,A2,A3 and the fabulous A4!
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Hitchin Brian Apprentice

Hitchin Brian

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A Pictorial Record of Great Western Engines Vol 1 & 2 by J.H Russell has lots of photo's of GWR engines in works grey for their official photo's.

One of the last loco's I brought before changing from OO to n guage in the early 90's was 47 522 Doncaster

Enterprise in LNER Apple Green 'Parcels' livery. I think this was a one off livery. I did see the loco in Apple Green at Doncaster Works whilst on a tour of the works, the loco was in a smashed up state following it's second crash.
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LCDR Grand Master

LCDR

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I have thought of a few more - first appropriate for the year Stratford painted huge Union flags on the side of two class 47s in 1977,for the Silver Jubilee.

BR built 2MT 46441, was painted Midland Rrd and recently a

LMS 2-8-0 has been similarly treated,

And let us not forget 5972 'Oulton Hall' in maroon too.

Some Class 47s and a Class 50 received lined GWR green for the illfated GW150 celebrations in 1984. 50007 Sir Edward Elgar and 47484 Isembard Kingdom

Brunel, and 47500 Great Western, I remember, there may have been others.

I might be imagining it but hasn't there been an HST power car painted in red Hornby livery!
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Hitchin Brian Apprentice

Hitchin Brian

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Some good memories LC&DR. Living next door to the ECML I remember the buzz when Stratford started playing around with the paint jobs on 47's. I saw one of the Union Jack loco's and remember the first silver roof 47's coming out of Stratford. Lady Diana

Spencer was one for the 81 Royal Wedding. That then moved onto the large logo 47's with full yellow cabs such as County of Norfolk - a model that Hornby made. That was soon copied by the 50's which looked great and many other classes. Hornby's first class

58 was in large logo livery but I didn't think any were in that livery in real life. Maybe someone can confirm.

A Liverpool Street 08 was repainted in black (I think) or it might have been green with British Railways motif and became a bit of a celeb

and I think in later years one of the York 08's was painted bright red with the number 1 on. I think Hornby did a version of this.

Towards the end of the 80's and early 90's there were loads of different paint jobs, I remember 40 106 in BR Green. I

had the Lima model of 40 106.

Re: GW150 celebrations 47 Sir Daniel Gooch also slipped into a tin of Brunswick green.
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Postman Prat Grand Master

Postman Prat

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Hi Hitchin Brian

Firstly, the Class 58s were all delivered in Grey with Red Solebars and large logos, what eventually became the Railfreight livery. The Liverpool St shunter was in Great Eastern Blue, other odd-ball 08s included LNER Green and

Provincial/Regional Railways livery.

The fourth GW Green class 47 was 47079 G J Churchward. The class 47s had lots of odd liveries, including 'Midland Railway' maroon and and Regional Railways paint scheme. This latter livery was also carried by a

number of 31s and 37s.

Large Logo livery was first applied to 56036 and spread, rapidly, to the 50s and a large number of 47s.

LC&DR - You must have missed my prompt. What was the Merchant Navy in Blue with red stripes. I'm sure it was 3502 something,

but the last number escapes me.

Hope this helps

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LCDR Grand Master

LCDR

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You must mean 35024 "East Asiatic Company", which was painted in 'Southern' style but with blue replacing malachite green and red stripes replacing

the yellow stripes. This was applied in February 1949 and was replaced with the official livery in March, which had only two lines this time in black and white, in the upper and lower positions only.

The LNER A4s got some odd liveries too. The silver

grey and the garter blue schemes are well known but a few were painted in the normal apple green, but the smoke box was painted black just like a conventional locomotive and not in the streamlined shape. This did not flatter them! 4483 to 4487 got this treatment.

Fortunately common sense prevailed and Garter Blue became the norm. In BR days four were painted purple for a short while.

To list every unusual livery applied to diesel classes 08, 37 and 47 would fill a huge book. Living in Chesterfield between 1979

and 1985 we saw the large logo appear on 50s, 47s and 56s as they emerged from Doncaster works en route to their depots. The large numbers certainly made train spotting a lot less difficult.

Sometimes workshops got into trouble with painting. Schools

30932 'Blundells' was in Ashford for an overhaul in 1958 and the tender which was unique as it was self trimming and had high sides, went into the paintshop and emerged in lined dark green. Unfortunately the engine came out in its original mixed traffic lined

black. Fortunately 30905 "Tonbridge" was in works too, so the locomotive was given passenger green and its tender retained lined black and they both therefore were matched up. This is why Hornby's model of 30932 has an original low sided tender that was only

matched with it for the last 18 months or so, "Blundells" was one of the first Schools to be scrapped.

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Dinkey Apprentice

Dinkey

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[reply]LC&DR said:

WOW MAN!! If this loco was running in the 1960s I think I might have doubts that someone had spiked my drink with LSD! Very 'Sergeant Pepper'!

I think a GW 2-6-2T got a similar paint job in 1967, all rainbows and Indian

goddesses for a film of course.

Didnt think of that LC&DR! But yeah! Very pshcodelic!!!

P
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Y9 Pug Rookie

Y9 Pug

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I'm sure Hornby did a model of this particular engine some time back, it was a B17 in an unusual bright green in early BRITISH RAILWAYS markings. Also, the LNER experimented with apple green on single examples of many loco classes, e.g. There was a single

N2 in apple green which is something Hornby could do.

Another unusual one from the LNER that I've read about was some D49 "Shire & Hunt" class being painted green but being paired with black tenders due to tenders being swapped around within the LNER

system.
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LCDR Grand Master

LCDR

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Between 1948 and 1949 there were dozens of livery experiments as British Railways sorted out what colours they were going to use. Apple Green was applied to Bulleid Pacifics, Jubilees, and I also believe a Castle

got some Donny paint. Carriage too got some funny finishes, including London & North Western Plum and Spilt Milk, and GW chocolate and cream.
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Graskie Grand Master

Graskie

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Although I run all BR steam periods, I could never bring myself to buy Hornby's 2008 commemorative 1948 trials special edition R2685 34006 "Bude." What an incongruous and, may I say, ugly sight! Normal lined malachite green for the loco coupled with a

black "BRITISH RAILWAYS" Stanier tender. Urrrgghh!
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