Class 90s in European Livs

[TimC]

I was digging in the loft over the weekend and I came up with some of my old photographs (not what I was looking for!). I took loads in the 1980s and early 1990s in various formats (colour, b&W prints and slides etc).

 

In September 1992, I was working as a BR Management Trainee and was assigned to Crewe Electric Depot. It was at the time that 3 Class 90s were painted into European Railway liveries. The locos were prepared and then a short film was shot for showing at Freight Connection 1992 which was held at the NEC (in November 1992, I think). The film was about 45 seconds long in the final cut and was of the unveiling of the three locos - I seem to remember that it was the backing of the start of a key note speech or something similar. The 45 seconds of shot took nearly 16 hours to shoot! I was assisting and helping the film crew out and naturally had taken along my camera so got some shots that night (sadly, I took less and less from then on). After leaving Crewe, I joined European Passenger Services and spent the next three and half years commissioning Eurostars - cameras weren't very welcome at places like North Pole!

 

Here are the 90s.

 

 

90128, in SNCB livery. For this loco, I had been tasked to fly to Brussels to collect the transfers and the paint sample from the SNCB rep which I duly did but was presented with a litre of actual paint (you can't take that on an aircraft!) - so had to find DHL and get it couriered back to the depot - needless to say it got there before me! Why the SNCB rep couldn't have done this in the first place was beyond me.

 

 

90129, in DB livery. Potentially we could see something like this again! There was a spelling mistake on the nameplate for this loco that had to be corrected at the depot.

 

 

90130, in SNCF livery. The fan in the foreground was for blowing off the sheet. Of course, shortly afterwards the front ends of all three locos were adorned with the mandatory warning yellow which was not too bad on 128 & 129 but I personally never liked the orange yellow combination on 130.

 

 

The sheet prior to removal - It took several goes at getting the correct effect!

 

 

The overall view of the filming. It always amazed me that they didn't even clear the weeds from the filming area. The depot looked more like a overgrown garden in summer!

 

Happy memories!

[big T]

Quality pictures Tim!

 

Isn't it amazing at how different the locos looked without yellow front ends?

 

Which was the last one to run in these paint schemes?

 

Was it 030?

 

I recall seeing it last year maybe looking a bit drab and sorry for itself.

[TimC]

Hi BigT

 

I've no idea which was the last to run in the above livs, looking at fotopic all seem to have been repainted into EWS red/gold by the early-mid 2000s. Having had a look at wnxx.com I see that 28 and 30 have been stored out of traffic for a while too now (30 since 2006!). I left the railway in 1996 and by then I was more into steam (being a driver on the Glos Warks) so have not followed the current scene.

 

My interest would have been maintained a bit more if these had remained in traffic. For me, a lot of character had gone from the traction fleet by the end of the 1980s (37s excepted I suppose ).

 

[big T]

Hi Tim,

 

Was there another Skoda with orange bits?

 

I was convinced it was 030, and Im sure it lasted way into EWS days, but cant be sure!!

 

God my memory is pants!

 

Nice pic of the stored AC's too!

[Talltim]

For some reason the pic subjects I took at Frieghtconnection were very random and repetative and I didn't get the 90 that was there. It's good to see these pics

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/41347876@N00/sets/72157623320206376/

 

 

[Glorious NSE]

Was there another Skoda with orange bits?

 

I was convinced it was 030, and Im sure it lasted way into EWS days, but cant be sure!!

 

90036 (136 when it was painted) is still in an experimental RfD Euro scheme from that kind of time which has orange bits up the end, here's a couple of shots from 2006/07 when it was on hire to ONE - it's had "Beasties" added but I think looks kinda nice.

 

(Edit - And another shot from 2009 - on ECS for the Scottish sleeper)

 

 

 

 

[298]

I've just found this thread from the Bachy 90 announcement, and in my long standing list of class 90 liveries, seem to have a pre-DB red finish from when the loco was first painted but required for traffic so hurriedly gained yellow ends before being painted back to red with the DB chevron. Is this true...?

[surfsup]

I've just found this thread from the Bachy 90 announcement, and in my long standing list of class 90 liveries, seem to have a pre-DB red finish from when the loco was first painted but required for traffic so hurriedly gained yellow ends before being painted back to red with the DB chevron. Is this true...?

Does anyone else but me find it somewhat ironic that 90029 has regained DB Deutsche Bahn's livery as now under DB Schenker!

[Allegheny1600]

I well remember the 90's in these liveries, at the time I thought "At last, some really interesting liveries!"

Just to be completely pedantic but the DB red that was used back then was known as Orient Red and today's DB Schenker livery is know as Vehkersrot (Traffic Red!).

The Orient Red is quite easy to spot as the white 'bib' at the end is quite large, whereas there is just a smaller white stripe today. Orient red was a fairly strawberry red that when faded went quite 'pink' and Traffic red is a very bright almost shiny red. Not sure how it fades though, perhaps that was a contributory factor in changing it.

I only mention this as the two colours at first seem the same but are actually quite different!

It was also a 'standard' scheme in Germany and afaik there wasn't such a standard livery in Belgium or France and those 90's were painted in the most recent livery applied to their respective latest traction, so much so that I called the 'French' 90 the "Sybic"!!!

Cheers,

John E.

[Glorious NSE]

Does anyone else but me find it somewhat ironic that 90029 has regained DB Deutsche Bahn's livery as now under DB Schenker!

 

90029 and 90026 at Rugeley TV, 6L48, June 2013

 

Give me a mo and i'll re-link the images of 90036 in the post above as well...

 

[surfsup]

Snap! Nice Shot's there Martyn. Here are a few shots of some of the 90s I've photographed so far. Co-incidentally they have all been in Edinburgh Waverley on the Caly Sleeper duties as well.

 

Quick question for some of you in the know, Did 90036 ever carry a small plate just behind the drivers door above the tops panel?

[298]

Quick question for some of you in the know, Did 90036 ever carry a small plate just behind the drivers door above the tops panel?

The works plate...? The mounting area usually rotted through, and then they were "helped off" before they fell off. If you ever see one, it should be stamped with the loco number on the back, unless it was a new/repro from stores stock.

[surfsup]

The works plate...? The mounting area usually rotted through, and then they were "helped off" before they fell off. If you ever see one, it should be stamped with the loco number on the back, unless it was a new/repro from stores stock.

Ah, thanks for that. Should have remembered the likelihood of it being a works plate. Despite not being in my main modelling area, I've always had a soft spot for the Skodas, especially on the Caledonian Sleeper in EWS, ScotRail and RES guises.