Appropriate Colour for Station Name Boards?

[Ray Von]

Evening all. I've got some Knightwing white metal station name boards, I've grey primed them and am unsure of a colour with which to paint them?

I have the name signage printed and ready - my instinct was to paint the metal white and then weather them, but as the signs are white too maybe this isn't such a good idea?

The station is Southern Region circa 1980.

[John M Upton]

By 1980 most were painted black but a few SR green posts did still exist in the more forgotten corners of the erstwhile Southern Region.

[Roy Langridge]

Most station names where just steel plate painted white with black letters by the 1980s weren’t they?

 

Roy

[Ray Von]

Just now, Roy Langridge said:

Most station names where just steel plate painted white with black letters by the 1980s weren’t they?

 

Roy

I'm talking about the posts really.

[Roy Langridge]

2 minutes ago, Ray Von said:

I'm talking about the posts really.

Will hunt through some books for you. 
 

Roy

[Roy Langridge]

Having looked through a number of books from the late 70s and very early 80s I can tell you there aren’t many photos with station names showing!

 

There were still a few names on the older ornate posts as there still are today. Some were just mounted on lamp posts and other posts that were already there (such as canopy supports). 
 

Many were on what looks like 2” square steel posts either grey or black. The grey may have been just galvanised steel. None of these seemed to have any in a region colour until one book which covered Cromptons through the years touched on the Network South East era (mid 80s) where I found both red and blue painted posts.

 

No posts looked white. 

 

Hope that helps. 

 

Roy

[TheSignalEngineer]

From the BR Blue era onwards new signs were white with black lettering on grey posts. With the onset of PTEs, NSE and line branding various coloured logos and borders started to appear.

A few old station nameboards survived mostly on far flung lines, the GWR style being quite common, and they were sometimes unofficially painted in big four company or BR regional colours rather than in accordance with the Corporate Identity Manual.

[Ray Von]

Looks like grey was a good choice of primer... 

[phil_sutters]

I have photos of nameboards mounted on square-section pale grey tubular posts at Southampton (with the Network Southeast corner flash on the board) 2001 and Llandudno 1992. 

 

 

Edited February 5, 2021 by phil_sutters

[Ray Von]

I reckon if I dry-brush some white over the grey primer the job'll be a good'un! 

[Ray Von]

Here's the finished article:

 

 

The camera isn't very forgiving, but they look great in the flesh.  Thanks for the help and advice, one and all!