Class 52 Western in Black?

[BurtonWetmore]

I've heard a rumour from a few people that there was one western that was painted Black (ex Works) but it did not enter into service in Black. Can anyone tell me if this is true and what the loco number and name was?

[Rugd1022]

Well until any concrete evidence turns up that it actually happened it'll remain a rumour for a long time yet... in the meantime have a read through from post #89 in this link....

 

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/61611-Dapol-western-breaks-cover-at-steam-swindon/page__st__75

 

;O)

[BurtonWetmore]

Thanks for that, I don't know how I missed that topic.

[BernardTPM]

As I said in the other thread, the only written evidence I've ever come across was in Modern Railways for April, May and June 1962. It's probably too late now to find out who the 'corresponent' who actually paid the visit to Swindon Works was, unless Ian Allan still have files from that period.

[Downendian]

Yes it's an interesting one.

I will reach for my reference books on Western liveries by Adrian Curtis, "Western Mythology" and "cast of thousands" .

Unfortunately they are 127 miles away at the moment in my cottage, will look it up next week. Have vague recollections though that Misha Black had suggested (and preferred) a dark livery, and disliked the desert sand livery intensely.

 

Neil

[Rugd1022]

Yes it's an interesting one.

I will reach for my reference books on Western liveries by Adrian Curtis, "Western Mythology" and "cast of thousands" .

Unfortunately they are 127 miles away at the moment in my cottage, will look it up next week. Have vague recollections though that Misha Black had suggested (and preferred) a dark livery, and disliked the desert sand livery intensely.

 

Neil

 

I wouldn't rush if I were you Neil, you won't find any solid evidence in either of those two (fine) volumes that a black one existed, inside the Works or outside!

 

Misha Black's preferred colour scheme for the Thousands from new was a torquiose-ish blue, not too far in fact from the eventual BR blue they all wore later on, although the detail treatment he had in mind at the time was rather different, as he wanted the window frames to be painted white and the buffer beams to be red.

[steam-driven boy]

Hi,

Hard to keep up with multiple topics, I posted a little earlier on the Dapol Western topic that Brian Haresnape states in his British Rail Fleet Survey on D-H's that drawings were

"...prepared to show alternative liveries as follows: desert sand, turquoise blue; geranium red; black and silver and (at the BTC's request) maroon."

with no suggestion that overall black was applied, he was involved in the selection of liveries and he suggested the golden ochre livery.

 

Regards, Gerry.

[coachmann]

Black is in the eye of the beholder.....A true Wessie

[BernardTPM]

Very like my Lima repaint except I went with the yellow apron. An indulgence was the cast crest like D1000 - very unlikely. Had they done D1003 in black, it's quite possible the nameplates may have had red backgrounds like the green ones, though I went minimalist black too. I guess they're all as accurate or inaccurate as each other!

Now, how about adding in the proposed Armstong Whitworth articulated diesel for the FR next to it?

[steve1]

Would look even better with silver sideframes.

 

steve

[R A Watson]

As I said in the other thread, the only written evidence I've ever come across was in Modern Railways for April, May and June 1962. It's probably too late now to find out who the 'corresponent' who actually paid the visit to Swindon Works was, unless Ian Allan still have files from that period.

 

Interesting that the first mention in is an April dated copy of the mag.

[Silver Sidelines]

You might be interested in this link which has some bits of Brian Haresnape's articles from 1961 / 1962.

 

Ray

[Cornish Triang Paul]

BTC black and silver on the Ficticious Liveries website.

[BernardTPM]

Interesting that the first mention in is an April dated copy of the mag.

You don't run an April Fool joke for three months in a row. Have you ever known Modern Railways to go in for such things? I had it regularly for 30 years and don't recall one.

[SRman]

Black with LNWR (BR mixed traffic) lining could have looked quite good on a Western (perhaps sacrilege to any GWR fans though!). Pete Waterman's black class 20 with the same lining looked good, IMHO.

[R A Watson]

You don't run an April Fool joke for three months in a row. Have you ever known Modern Railways to go in for such things? I had it regularly for 30 years and don't recall one.

 

I must admit I have never (that I can remember) bought a copy of this mag, but I do remember the fuss when one mag ran the story of the S V R painting City of Truro in black once, complete with a photo.

 

That rumbled on for a long time and the reaction even led to people resigning their membership in protest!

 

[Silver Sidelines]

The 'offending' pages. It doesn't look out of place. The Section on Motive Power Miscellany was always gossip anyway.

 

Regards

 

Ray