Bristol/ECW railbus colours

[stewartingram]

I have an ex-MTK kit on the go, does anyone know the correct colours for this railbus? I have a number of articles and books that cover the subject, but no definite info on the colour. The green is ofton mentioned as 'standard BR green' but some refer to it NOT being the standard colour. Also the stripe around the middle - is it grey/cream/light green? I know I've read it somewhere that ECW are believed to have used 'in stock' colours that they used on bus builds, (possibly for an operator in the SE ?), but I now can't find that quote.

[Mike_Walker]

A couple of colour images here.  It looks to be the standard later BR dark green for the body but as always, colour films can be deceptive.  As can be seen the waist band is definitely light green.  If this is a "bus company" colour my best suggestion would be the light green used by LT for the relief paint on its Green Line coaches, ECW had built one of the prototype Routemasters which was a Green Line (CRL4/RMC4) so they may have had some paint to use up.  Otherwise at that time ECW was only bodying vehicles for the BTC and SBG companies and it's certainly too pale for either Tilling green or that used by Eastern Scottish .

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

SC79958 Aviemore 9/58  (Colour-Rail)

 

Sc79959 Perth 9/8/63

 

For comparison here's the restored RMC4.  The light green looks pretty similar and it is possible they used the "Country Area" Lincoln green for the main body.

Edited March 29, 2023 by Mike_Walker
Colour improved in photo 1.

[Nearholmer]

The dark green looks like Maidstone & District, rather than London Country, to me. A horribly dark/dull colour that always looked depressing!

 

 

Another thought is CIE ‘flying snail’ livery, which used a dark green with pale green accent and logos. https://thetransportlibrary.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=98673&search=Leyland+OPD2&category_id=0&page=1

 

 

 

Edited March 29, 2023 by Nearholmer

[Mike_Walker]

The problem with that is: ECW didn't build any buses for M&D after 1950.

[Nearholmer]

Vehicles for CIE?

[Mike_Walker]

No.

[Clive Mortimore]

3 hours ago, Mike_Walker said:

A couple of colour images here.  It looks to be the standard later BR dark green for the body but as always, colour films can be deceptive.  As can be seen the waist band is definitely light green.  If this is a "bus company" colour my best suggestion would be the light green used by LT for the relief paint on its Green Line coaches, ECW had built one of the prototype Routemasters which was a Green Line (CRL4/RMC4) so they may have had some paint to use up.  Otherwise at that time ECW was only bodying vehicles for the BTC and SBG companies and it's certainly too pale for either Tilling green or that used by Eastern Scottish .

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

SC79958 Aviemore 9/58  (Colour-Rail)

 

Sc79959 Perth 9/8/63

 

For comparison here's the restored RMC4.  The light green looks pretty similar and it is possible they used the "Country Area" Lincoln green for the main body.

Hi Mike

 

I think your first suggestion of BR green for the main body and a light green similar/the same as used by LT country area buses is the closest.

[stewartingram]

Colour photos of the railbus are quite rare, but of those that I have seen (trying to allow for film variation, screen colours etc, quite a minefield I admit), I am of the opinion that it probably wasn't the same as BR green. I think that this was a statement that the 'they were painted in the standard green used by BR', in other words a generalisation. The fact that I know I have read the bus colour story somewhere, is possibly a 'no smoke without fire' type of thing, that could be true, has had me searching for a while. The colour pics I have nudge me towards a variation of dark green, and the Maidstone and Irish examples could be right. The lighter green also, not a railway colour, but very like the London Country or CIE shades to my eye. Not working in the railway industry, but in the commercial body building side, ECW perhaps had colour charts from that source, and was it a standard paint shade of the time from that source? Maybe they didn't normally use anything apart from Tilling Green, so went for a close match from the trade? Who knows.

I've just had a thought! Somewhere in my loft I have my Grandad's paint cards from the 50s & 60s, the sort of thing I was hinting at that ECW might work from. I shall have to have a search.