South Western Railway livery launch

[Oldddudders]

 

P.S. Black is a sod to keep clean, ask anyone with a black car.

That's why undertakers always look mournful!

[Gwiwer]

Well. Seen in the flesh it's drab, dark but different. Overall there is some sort of balance between lightand dark. Thank goodness there is still yellow on the front end (which is no longer required) though it is distinctly lemon in shade rather than the usual custard. That actually works on this livery where custard would look heavy.

 

444040 left Wimbledon Park depot around 8 minutes early but was held outside Waterloo arriving there 10 minutes late. Still in time for the formalities but probably giving rise to some bitten nails.

 

Photos later as they have to be transferred from the DSLR. I went to Southfields but the light was wrong and there is now too much clutter along the platform so I back-tracked to Wimbledon Park. With numerous problems on the main line I managed to also photograph a diverted up 450 probably from Portsmouth plus a scheduled down 458 ecs move to the depot over District Line metals.

 

Currently on lunch break before taking position near Richmond railway bridge for the return working. Options nearer to Twickenham don't give a good angle.

[lmsforever]

Yes its awful and to think someone was paid to design this cock up is this a sign of what is to come with this franchise?

[Graham_Muz]

Blanding not branding...

[Ceptic]

I didn't watch it, but, could anybody tell me whether last night's 9.00pm Ch.5 film was sponsored by SWR ?. If not, they missed one heck of an opportunity !.

[Legend]

I'm net really getting it (no change there), what is the motif or emblem under the S in SWT. Looks like an arrow pointing NE

[Ron Ron Ron]

I didn't watch it, but, could anybody tell me whether last night's 9.00pm Ch.5 film was sponsored by SWR ?. If not, they missed one heck of an opportunity !.

 

 

I had to look that up.

I see what you mean.

 

 

.

[Ron Ron Ron]

At the presentation, the marketing and PR director was offered three choices........

 

 

[D854_Tiger]

I quite like it.

 

Trains and busses should be painted in drab or dull colours.

 

We should leave the raspberry ripple colour schemes for the ice cream vans.

[Southernman46]

Yes its awful and to think someone was paid to design this cock up is this a sign of what is to come with this franchise?

Oh it's here already ............................  was going to go out and photo for this to return but seeing as they have f*cked up the service yet again - it's EVERY bl**dy day now !!!! - still trains running a hour !!! late out of Waterloo and I face the prospect yet again !!! of a late journey to work this afternoon without a through train to Waterloo AGAIN !!!!!

 

Least the livery will now match the quality of train service .................... 

[phil_sutters]

I'm net really getting it (no change there), what is the motif or emblem under the S in SWT. Looks like an arrow pointing NE

I think that it is supposed to represent the routes radiating out into the south west quadrant. My immediate reaction to the livery on the carriage sides was that it reminded me of the deep whitish panels on LNWR stock - but that's probably going to put me in LNWR fans bad books.

Perhaps rail liveries should be like London buses - a basic colour scheme with different logos. That would make it cheaper when the franchises changed - but I don't suppose the savings would get passed on to the passengers.

Edited September 4, 2017 by phil_sutters

[John M Upton]

I'm net really getting it (no change there), what is the motif or emblem under the S in SWT. Looks like an arrow pointing NE

It is supposed to be a pictorial representation of the South Western network radiating from Waterloo in the top right corner.

 

Unfortunately everyone I have spoken to about it sees the same thing I do, an arrow pointing north east....

[Bilbo]

I like it. 

[Oldddudders]

I like it.

 

Brave man. And taste is indeed personal. But be prepared for unkind comments about men in white coats coming to see you shortly.

[eastwestdivide]

In two minds about the "lines" part of the logo. Clever enough concept - all routes point to/lead from Waterloo, but at a glance it does look like it could be North Eastern Railway.
I suppose reading left to right accentuates the tendency to see it as a NE-pointing arrow, even though it's positioned in the SW quadrant of the

SW
≤R

logo (I'm using a less-than-or-equal-to sign as the nearest equivalent here)

Edited September 4, 2017 by eastwestdivide

[Legend]

It is supposed to be a pictorial representation of the South Western network radiating from Waterloo in the top right corner.

 

Unfortunately everyone I have spoken to about it sees the same thing I do, an arrow pointing north east....

 

Ahh its not just me then!    

[lapford34102]

Me to. Perhaps the designwr(s) should have stepped outside and checked with a few random members of the public, or perhaps they did

Stu

[The Stationmaster]

I don't dislike (too much) but what gets me about it is this current far to paint everything grey as some sort of fashion statement.  Quite why this has happened I can't understand unless the intention is to make everything around the grey whatever look better but we have loads of grey painted shop front elements locally and the bloke down the road painted his house window frames in grey a while back.

 

I'm certainly no fan of the fairground Southeast livery that was sprung on us by Chris Green or indeed any of its derivatives post privytisation but we now seem to be going to the opposite extreme.  First got it right in my mind with the GWR image and livery but this time their 'stylist' simply seems to have followed fashion and done nothing truly original.

[Southernman46]

Technically SWR trains run towards the NE 1/2 the time ..................... or at least they face red signals pointing that way........................

[coachmann]

Thank goodness I was born early enough to witness tasteful design before it's demise starting in the late 1950's. I'm thinking of all the old buses proudly wearing municipal liveries until 'progress' demanded crude simplified liveries or all-red!  This kind of fitted in with bamboo wallpaper, replacing everything Victoriana with Formica and the workers nailing a sheet of hardboard over their panelled front doors while her indoors sawed the bottom off the bed to make it resemble a divan. Rock & Roll....

[Gwiwer]

Wimbledon Park.  A pub quiz "Where is it?" location, perhaps, as the unit appears to be operating on TfL's fourth-rail power supply.  It isn't.

 

 

 

 

 

And Richmond railway bridge. With a grey unit against a grey sky the lighting for these shots, facing north so with "sun behind", was tricky and illustrates just how drab this livery is.  However there's not as much of the darker grey as had been suggested at an early stage.

 

 

 

 

[Ceptic]

I wonder what TfL will make of this new livery.

Didn't they agree with SWTrains', that their inner suburban units (Cl. 455, 456 etc.) were / had to be painted red in exchange for TfL financing the units' refurbishment ?. 

[coachmann]

Hey, after seeing the images in post 47......I like it!  Does this mean the end of graffiti liveries?

Edited September 4, 2017 by coachmann

[Zomboid]

Well. Seen in the flesh it's drab, dark but different. Overall there is some sort of balance between lightand dark. Thank goodness there is still yellow on the front end (which is no longer required) though it is distinctly lemon in shade rather than the usual custard. That actually works on this livery where custard would look heavy.

 

Chances are 444s do need the yellow because they weren't built to the standard where it can be dispensed with.

We'll probably see how it looks without yellow when they introduce those new Bombardier trains.

[Gwiwer]

I wonder what TfL will make of this new livery.

Didn't they agree with SWTrains', that their inner suburban units (Cl. 455, 456 etc.) were / had to be painted red in exchange for TfL financing the units' refurbishment ?. 

 

Agreements made with SWT might not carry over to SWR and in any case the 455 and 456s are now officially coming up for retirement as SWR has new stock under development.