SWR in BR Blue Tribute

[Damo666]

At Waterloo lunchtime I saw this 4 car SWR in the old BR Blue livery attached to a 4 car in their previous livery.

 

Got off at Twickenham and grabbed a few more pics.

 

 

[hexagon789]

57 minutes ago, Damo666 said:

At Waterloo lunchtime I saw this 4 car SWR in the old BR Blue livery attached to a 4 car in their previous livery.

 

Got off at Twickenham and grabbed a few more pics.

 

 

455868, it was repainted by Bournemouth Depot and has been running around in an updated approximation of BR Blue/Grey since the 7th of March.

[Night Train]

Much better than the multicoloured monstrosity

[Wickham Green too]

... which, itself, is much better than the latest SWR drabness - which is unlikely to spread  to the 455s before withdrawal.

[phil-b259]

44 minutes ago, Night Train said:

Much better than the multicoloured monstrosity

I liked that ‘multicoloured monstrosity’ as you put it - commuting itself is a soul destroying affair and a splash of colour on a dreary day helps lift the mood.

 

I also liked the strategy of different liveries for long distance units - kind of marked SWT out as different from the other 3rd rail TOCs which come over as just boring commuter networks.

Edited April 11 by phil-b259

[Wickham Green too]

Yes an' no - the former home of the other half of the 455 fleet is certainly a one livery/one unit railway but the Networkers ( and 376 ) on Southeastern still carry a pleasant livery in contrast to the long distance drab and matching 707s which have flown in recently. ( can't comment on the current Mereseyrail situation )

 

Bromley South : 6/4/24

[melmerby]

2 hours ago, Night Train said:

Much better than the multicoloured monstrosity

Left over from Stagecoach's tenure

[DY444]

8 hours ago, Wickham Green too said:

Yes an' no - the former home of the other half of the 455 fleet is certainly a one livery/one unit railway

 

Not entirely.  Southern does have the red 387/2s operating on the GatEx/Brighton fudge and sometimes elsewhere.  Also, and depending on how you define "railway", the erstwhile Central Division sees 700s and 165s.

[phil-b259]

23 minutes ago, DY444 said:

 

 Also, and depending on how you define "railway", the erstwhile Central Division sees 700s and 165s.

Neither of which could be said to be inspiring - the former being a grubby white colour (particularly where the carriage washers seem to be useless at removing grime) and the latter being a dark depressing green….

[adb968008]

1 hour ago, DY444 said:

 

Not entirely.  Southern does have the red 387/2s operating on the GatEx/Brighton fudge and sometimes elsewhere.  Also, and depending on how you define "railway", the erstwhile Central Division sees 700s and 165s.

I’m sorry but 700’s are dull as ditch water..

 

going to London on a grey morning and seeing a grey unit arrive, rammed end to end is not exciting at all.

 

 

tbh the bland blue 701’s doesnt do much for me either…SWR will be duller without its vivid colours.

[DY444]

34 minutes ago, adb968008 said:

I’m sorry but 700’s are dull as ditch water..

 

going to London on a grey morning and seeing a grey unit arrive, rammed end to end is not exciting at all.

 

 

tbh the bland blue 701’s doesnt do much for me either…SWR will be duller without its vivid colours.

 

I agree.  However the point made was that all CD trains are the same type and colour.  Dull they may be but they aint Electrostars and they aint Southern Electrostar Green.

[Wickham Green too]

59 minutes ago, adb968008 said:

I’m sorry but 700’s are dull as ditch water.. ... going to London on a grey morning and seeing a grey unit ...

I think it's fair to say that Thameslink has NEVER had a pleasant livery on any of its trains since demise of the Network SouthEast toothpaste stripes !

[John M Upton]

Not entirely.  Southern does have the red 387/2s operating on the GatEx/Brighton fudge and sometimes elsewhere.  Also, and depending on how you define "railway", the erstwhile Central Division sees 700s and 165s.

 

387's also come in white...  Coming soon apparently once Great Northern get the ex Stansted Express 379's.  Until then from June the red Gatwick Express ones will be going as far afield as Southampton which ironically loses its direct trains to Gatwick at exactly the same time...

Edited April 12 by John M Upton

[Wickham Green too]

55 minutes ago, John M Upton said:

387's also come in white...  

... or drab green : - 

 

3/9/23

[adb968008]

8 minutes ago, Wickham Green too said:

... or drab green : - 

 

3/9/23

That one looks a bit lost.

 

But all this moving about only adds to justification of making an Electrostar in 00…. And you know someday they will eek out their last in the North West like everything else does.

[Wickham Green too]

5 minutes ago, adb968008 said:

That one looks a bit lost. ...

it was coupled to .174 and .172 was seen heading north through Ely later ..... that's all three ex GWR sets ! ( there's also a red ex Gatwick one around - according to Platform 5 )