New Great Western Livery

[Peter Kazmierczak]

Thw W reminds me of the hair on a cartoon character from something like Dennis the Menace.

 

I thought the gWr was an echo to the GWR round "shirt button" motif of the early 1930s.

 

If you look at the picture of the W attached to a power car, the fit to the bodyside isn't all that good - plenty of places for water to settle behind it which can't be good.

 

You'll gather that I don't think much of the new livery. Sorry.

[Zomboid]

I can't say that electricity was anywhere near my mind when I saw the huge W.

I too thought it was just an update of the old shirt button logo.

[alaneggleston]

We had one of the latest sets ex-works on the branch last Friday for a special event(a member of station staff retiring)

An excellent piece on the 6.30 pm BBC South programme last week about the retiring Twyford stationmaster. I may be wrong but the newly named (named after the stationmaster) 16X appeared to have cast name plates rather than the cheap flat ones that adorn many multiple units these days, if so a nod to gWr for going that little bit further. 

[The Pilotman]

An excellent piece on the 6.30 pm BBC South programme last week about the retiring Twyford stationmaster. I may be wrong but the newly named (named after the stationmaster) 16X appeared to have cast name plates rather than the cheap flat ones that adorn many multiple units these days, if so a nod to gWr for going that little bit further.

 

Did they use his proper name, or does the nameplate just say "Flash"? (because that's what he was always known as).

[Banger Blue]

An excellent piece on the 6.30 pm BBC South programme last week about the retiring Twyford stationmaster. I may be wrong but the newly named (named after the stationmaster) 16X appeared to have cast name plates rather than the cheap flat ones that adorn many multiple units these days, if so a nod to gWr for going that little bit further.

 

 

It would be nice to have cast name plates on but it is a vinyl. (166204 being the recipient). The techs at Reading Depot can't have done a bad job then if it's come across as being cast!

 

Did they use his proper name, or does the nameplate just say "Flash"? (because that's what he was always known as).

"Norman Topsom MBE"

 

As well as the named 166, a portrait has been done which now adorns the wall of the station building.

Edited November 5, 2015 by Banger Blue

[alaneggleston]

It would be nice to have cast name plates on but it is a vinyl. (166204 being the recipient).

 

Such a shame, 40+ years service and all you get is a couple of sticky labels. I do hope he got a decent retirement present.

[The Stationmaster]

Such a shame, 40+ years service and all you get is a couple of sticky labels. I do hope he got a decent retirement present.

He had a champagne send-off - stage 1 was the portrait and nameplate unveiling at Twyford and stage 2 was a champagne reception and film show (of a film specially made about him for the occasion although he thought it was being filmed for something else) in a specially erected marquee in the station car park at Henley (which is where he started as a Lad Porter and where he acquired the 'Flash' nickname although not so many people seem to know him as Flash nowadays and he's nowhere near as quick on his feet as he used to be).  He was called Flash because he used to do jobs 'in a flash' - and then get sent back to do them again

 

I don't know what he got from GWR as a retirement present - apart from a really good farewell do and the film - and of course he's already had at least one Long Service Award but the commuter group also ran a crowd funding collection for him although I don't know how much it raised.  Incidentally I'm fairly sure it's actually 50 years plus (52/3?) in his case as he is over the normal retirement age and was asked, at 65, to stay if he wanted to on and leave when it suited him.

 

http://www.henleystandard.co.uk/news/news.php?id=41557

Edited November 5, 2015 by The Stationmaster

[roundhouse]

 

 

It would be nice to have cast name plates on but it is a vinyl. (166204 being the recipient). The techs at Reading Depot can't have done a bad job then if it's come across as being cast!

 

 

"Norman Topson MBE"

 

As well as the named 166, a portrait has been done which now adorns the wall on the station building.

I am sure that was the unit at Redhill one morning this week as it had a sticky red name plate on it

[Fenman]

Amazing! ( to quote the Gruffalo)

... Artistic/creative types frequently seem to include "references" in their work that will be understood, accessed, by a vanishingly small proportion of their audience, and I've never quite worked-out why. If the art/creativity is supposed to be a form of communication, then making it unintelligible rather defeats the purpose; and, if it isn't meant to communicate at some level, then what is it meant to do?

I'm not making a plea for all art/creativity to be in the "blindingly obvious / literalistic" school, BTW; I'm prepared to put a bit of thought into "getting" it, but I am genuinely mystified by why creatives choose to "talk in languages that nobody will understand". ...

The design company responsible for the FedEx logo were asked why they didn't emphasise the arrow that they magically made appear between the "E" and the "x" - click here, in case you don't remember it:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=fedex+logo&prmd=isvn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAWoVChMIyryU0Ov5yAIVyMAUCh3drgA5&biw=1024&bih=672#imgrc=7IFx6qvtUrxlOM%3A

 

They answered that if people spotted it for themselves they were much more likely to feel clever and therefore rather warm to the company, whereas if they didn't notice it wouldn't matter - they'd just perceive a nice and distinctive piece of typography.

 

I think these subtle things can be rather nice: not everything has to be obvious to the least design-literate person, and following that path means you just dumb-down everything.

 

This may be coming over as a bit more assertive than I had intended - it's not meant to, am just very tired today...

 

Paul

 

 

PS: Sorry I can't make that link clickable. The iPad doesn't seem to show any editing tools when I post.

[JDW]

I'd never spotted the FedEx arrow.  I now feel that my observation is poor and I am a useless observer.  

[Reorte]

I'd never spotted the FedEx arrow.  I now feel that my observation is poor and I am a useless observer.  

I generally regard myself as someone whose observation is reasonably good but I never spotted that either until it was pointed out to me. I like things like that. Still don't see any electric connection with the W outside of a rather stretched imagination though (and it would've put me off if I had).

[HillsideDepot]

I asked a member of GWR staff yesterday if he knew the significance of the big W, and he said he'd been told it was to emphasise the importance of the west to the franchise. I was also talking to a former railway woman (BR through to Wessex Trains) and she mentioned the new GWR image, obviously having seen it somewhere and she said, without prompting, that "it looks like the old round GWR logo" (meaning the shirt button).

 

GWR named 43172 "Harry Patch The last survivor of the trenches" at Bristol Temple Meads yesterday as part of the remembrance events and while the power car is in a black based livery it fades to blue at the van end, and has "First f Great Western" branding under the nameplate. The silver radiator grilles are unusual! Unfortunately the only photos I've seen so far aren't on the net, but certainly one to look out for.  

[newbryford]

 

 

GWR named 43172 "Harry Patch The last survivor of the trenches" at Bristol Temple Meads yesterday as part of the remembrance events and while the power car is in a black based livery it fades to blue at the van end, and has "First f Great Western" branding under the nameplate. The silver radiator grilles are unusual! Unfortunately the only photos I've seen so far aren't on the net, but certainly one to look out for.  

 

Slighly O/t, but "Harry Patch" is available as a model.

 

Cheers,

Mick

[surfsup]

GWR named 43172 "Harry Patch The last survivor of the trenches" at Bristol Temple Meads yesterday as part of the remembrance events and while the power car is in a black based livery it fades to blue at the van end, and has "First f Great Western" branding under the nameplate. The silver radiator grilles are unusual! Unfortunately the only photos I've seen so far aren't on the net, but certainly one to look out for.

Not to get to nit-picky with what is a fine livery and a smart tribute, but I do wonder why First Great Western was put on / into the wraps than the new order of gWr. 43172 also has the FIRST and Flying F just under the nose as per other HST PCs.

[delticman]

I have recently finished re-spraying some models in this new livery and have posted photos in the "Modifying and Detailing RTR Models" section of "Skills & Knowledge" as I felt it would be inappropriate to post them here.

 

Geoff.

[rogerzilla]

It doesn't work for me.  I think it's the clash with the yellow warning panel, which makes the green look drab.  I didn't mind the old livery although the pink stripes always gave me the impression of a train gradually derailing.

Edited November 12, 2015 by rogerzilla

[rogerzilla]

Just a thought - if the HSTs are being replaced by Hitachi electric units rather imminently, isn't repainting them a bit of a waste of money?  I suppose they'll still be necessary beyond the electrified GWML but I assumed many of them would be re-leased by other operators.

[WCML100]

Just a thought - if the HSTs are being replaced by Hitachi electric units rather imminently, isn't repainting them a bit of a waste of money?  I suppose they'll still be necessary beyond the electrified GWML but I assumed many of them would be re-leased by other operators.

 

would of thought they would only repaint some of them. and the amount the HST sets are being used, to repaint a whole set takes time anyway so by the time the new trains arrive and replaced the majority of the fleet it should just about even out in a case of where the remaining HST's in the fleet where in the new livery.

[The Stationmaster]

Just a thought - if the HSTs are being replaced by Hitachi electric units rather imminently, isn't repainting them a bit of a waste of money?  I suppose they'll still be necessary beyond the electrified GWML but I assumed many of them would be re-leased by other operators.

I understand that the units which are going into the new livery are simply those that are due overhaul anyway (although whether it will change to a 'campaign re-livery' is no doubt an open question) and of course it makes no differeence as far as the 16X units are concerned as they will stay with GWR.  The life of the HSTs on GW metals must really be something of an open question in any case due to electrification delays although obviously some will be re able to be released when then the electro-diesel ( old term but that's what it means) versions of the Class 80X units start to be available for traffic.

 

In the meanwhile GWR is clearly committed to keeping its present fleet up to scratch and is spending money on it in order to do so - which might perhaps be a lesson VTEC should be taking note of.

[Zomboid]

Saw a green turbo at Reading the other day, thought it looked pretty smart in the full new livery. Not the most exciting colour scheme, but smart.

HSTs will be around on GW for some time yet, the Plymouth line Hitachis won't be showing up for quite some time yet, quite apart from the routes which are getting electrified.

[coachmann]

Although green was used to great effect on steam locos, it has never been good on boxy diesel locos. The USA railroads barely used it, but red, blue, yellow, silver and even grey was used to good effect. After the original Deltic and Class 45 liveries, not one classic UK diesel livery comes to mind. Okay, corporate rail blue was around long enough to register with the people, but it is only a classic if Bananarama is a classic pop group...

Edited November 13, 2015 by coachmann

[Zomboid]

Burlington Northern were pretty green, and that looked... Striking. And the pre-noodle Canadian National green was pretty nice (I think PRR also called their colour green, but you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference next to black).

But we've never had anything over here worthy of mentioning in the same paragraph as ATSF warbonnet. Which wasn't green in any sense.

[coachmann]

I knocked this up on 9th January 2001 at 15hrs according to the 'history' but the design in PhotoDraw might be older if this was a 'save'. It was initially done in the hope Railtrack would adopt the scheme. I designed the 'R' logo (A circle of track with a junction) some years before for the notorious Union Pacific liveried Class 31 that Rail magazine,  Pete Waterman and I were involved in. I must have added the Freightliner name as an afterthought (I think their green livery was introduced shortly before)....

 

Edited November 13, 2015 by coachmann

[Glorious NSE]

Burlington Northern were pretty green, and that looked... Striking. And the pre-noodle Canadian National green was pretty nice (I think PRR also called their colour green, but you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference next to black).

Personally I reckon original BN green is something of a design classic, there can't be many liveries that are 45 years old (dates from 1970!) and don't look dated.

[Zomboid]

Armour Yellow will never date

I find it hard to believe that CN noodle is as old as it is, too. BN green has aged very well though, that's true.