S&D station colours.

[NHY 581]

From a variety of photos it is clear that S&D stations were painted in the L&SWR 'house colours'. Does anyone know the equivalent Railmatch colours.

Also, when were the repaints into Southern colours started.

Did any stations retain L&SWR colours into nationalisation?

 

I ask only to see if the Southern colours were applied pre 1930 and therefore would we hae seen blue locos etc alongside Southern buildings, as it were.

 

Rob.

[Benbow]

From the info I have it would appear that from the take over of the S&D by the Midland/LSWR in 1876 buildings etc were painted in LSWR colours until 1923 when the change to SR colours started until 1953. Fairly obviously this would not have happened overnight and a period of a year or so would probably have elapsed until everything was re-painted.

 

I am sure much more knowledgeable folks on here will give you chapter and verse! 

 

Regards

Roger

[NHY 581]

Thanks Roger. That was pretty much my thoughts. I don't like to talk about the W.......W.......Western region. As far I am concerned, it never happened.........

As you say the more knowledgable types will know these things...

 

Rob

[Captain Kernow]

I don't like to talk about the W.......W.......Western region. As far I am concerned, it never happened.........

 

Lots of things may (or may not) have happened in my S&D universe...!!

[Benbow]

And in mine!!

[Jim49]

Lots of things may (or may not) have happened in my S&D universe...!!

 

Ah yes, P2s over the Mendips.

[Captain Kernow]

Ah yes, P2s over the Mendips.

Common as muck, mate!

[Tim V]

That Beeching has a lot to answer for.

[JZ]

Digging this one up as I too would like to know. From colour pictures of stations on the northern section, it appears to be bleached cream and washed out brown, maroon? Would the WR, given it's known dislike for the S&D, have bothered with repainting ? And I can't find any colour pictures of enamel signs. Would these have been green or, later, chocolate and cream?

[NHY 581]

Yes the wretched western region inflicted it's brown and cream on the northern section of the S&D. I prefer to ignore this ever happened and stick with Southern colours

....

 

Rob.

[JZ]

Tend to agree with you Rob.

[NHY 581]

If you haven't already got a copy , June's, try and source a copy of 'The Somerset and Dorset at Midford, by Mike Arlett. Good read and has some useful notes on the various paint schemes seen at Midford, along with some very nice 4 mm drawings of the buildings.

 

Rob

[jack768]

No one seems to be still alive that remembers the colours as the WR painted all in brown, all at a time when the cameras were all

black & white. Well, I remember.

My father was Shed Master at Highbridge under BR Southern. I was then 13 and I went shunting and footplate on the milk train.

Dad gave me a grease cap and hat badge. BR Southern kept much of the S&D as it was.

The Totems, Station Signs from Templcombe to Burnham on Sea were all S&D Prussian Blue and  somewhere to the east it changed

to Southern Green, The Enginemens BR totom badges were dark blue (Keeping up the S&D tradition) the hat badges had southern

region in the lower third maybe in brackets. To proof the Southern Region kept the S&D alive I have the 'Train Staff Ticket' for the

Somerset & Dorset (Somerset Central) Centenary of August 28th 1954 and it is a Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway Document.

So all you with colour photos look for the hints WR left us like odd signs still in blue and the station toilet signs that were still blue.

If any one can proof me wrong let me know.

[jack768]

Further I have contacted the NRM, the S&D Trust ect and nobody can tell me, they don't know. So you need a colour photo

or an S&D Engineman from Highbridge end of the line who is about 85+

If your photo shows a GWR Loco then it may be too late.

[phil_sutters]

There are only a few colour photos in the Newman family website, but one does show the Shepton Mallet Charlton Road signal box with a dark background to its nameboard, in the snowy winter of 1962-3. It seems too dark to be either WR brown or SR green, so I wonder if it was still blue - possibly??. Perhaps the snow made the contrast more marked and the background looking darker than it was. Anyway, the photo is about 80% of the way down http://www.newman-family-tree.net/s&d/index.html . Dad didn't start taking colour photos until after the S&D was long gone.

editted a bit later

Looking through Michael Welch's Somerset & Dorset sunset, the photos in which are almost exclusively in colour, some of the WR brown does look darker than I remembered it. While Glastonbury & Street's station board is clearly SR green, at Highbridge the WR influence from its neighbouring station had brought brown enamel totems and platform number signs across. Interestingly Highbridge East 'C' box has a very dark background to its board - it looks black. The wooden paintwork looks almost white, with black steps-handrails. Pylle's box looks faded cream with brown trim and handrails, but the old lamp post retained its blue. West Pennard's down platform shelter seems to have a dark buff coloured valance. Burnham-on-Sea's little box was cream with brown 'skirting', but its board seems to have had a dark background with a brown frame and white lettering. Looking at the northern section some boards seem to have had the 'black' background and some WR brown.

None of which answers the original post!

Edited March 24, 2017 by phil_sutters

[jack768]

Thank you phil.

It went green when WR took the Highbridge end. Look at Michael Welch's S&D Sunset p101, Blanford Forum with Green Signs.

But look at the canopy uprights and the parcels & left luggage. Every thing is Blue, the green came as the WR brown did.

Your photos in the Sunset book have GWR Locos. It was all blue in 1954 this all happened after 1956. We need some thing

like Wells which came up 51 was it.

I spent a saturday on the S&D Wells line as they took it up. It was a new idea to take a section up with the rails and sleepers

attached, put bogies on them and tow them away. I was about 11. One of the farmers on route gave us Cyder from their vats.

Mum wondered why I could not leave the loo!!

[jack768]

 

Edited March 29, 2017 by jack768

[phil_sutters]

Thank you phil.

It went green when WR took the Highbridge end. Look at Michael Welch's S&D Sunset p101, Blanford Forum with Green Signs.

But look at the canopy uprights and the parcels & left luggage. Every thing is Blue, the green came as the WR brown did.

Your photos in the Sunset book have GWR Locos. It was all blue in 1954 this all happened after 1956. We need some thing

like Wells which came up 51 was it.

I spent a saturday on the S&D Wells line as they took it up. It was a new idea to take a section up with the rails and sleepers

attached, put bogies on them and tow them away. I was about 11. One of the farmers on route gave us Cyder from their vats.

Mum wondered why I could not leave the loo!!

I wouldn't trust the colour rendition of that photo. If you look at the upper one on page 102, which was taken a couple of years earlier, the same parts appear green.

[RailWest]

I wouldn't trust the colour rendition of that photo. If you look at the upper one on page 102, which was taken a couple of years earlier, the same parts appear green.

A lot of green paints tended to go blue with age. Colour rendition of photographic film in the 1950s and 1960s was variable. Then there is the varying quality of book printing. Overall, 'colour' is a tricky subject :-)

[S&DJR Brian]

Hi all. New to this forum ,enjoyable experience reading all new articles s&d. Running in boards and signal box name boards were green with white lettering until closure at Wincanton. One of my father’s friends had the running in board from down platform before demolition began.