LNER Class 91

[Hilux5972]

LNER Class 91 No.91127 has been unveiled in a brand new livery. 

[Bucoops]

Just saw this - very nice.

 

Oxblood though? Surely maroon sounds better :D

[toby_tl10]

Seems like quite a lot of effort to repaint the entire fleet if they are only going to last until 2023 or 2024. Nonetheless, it looks superb.

[Purnu]

https://mobile.twitter.com/LNER/status/1536317566402146304

 

Edited June 13, 2022 by Purnu

[Bucoops]

3 hours ago, toby_tl10 said:

Seems like quite a lot of effort to repaint the entire fleet if they are only going to last until 2023 or 2024. Nonetheless, it looks superb.

 

More use than the HST set repainted entirely for 3 days of railtour then dumped.

[Davexoc]

7 hours ago, Bucoops said:

Just saw this - very nice.

 

Oxblood though? Surely maroon sounds better :D

 

Colour matched by Doc Martin perhaps?

[Legend]

I think it looks pretty good . Obviously a nod to the original Inter City livery .  Its difficult to see in the above pic but I do like the "Ox blood" (surely claret would have be better !) that replaces the original Executive Dark Grey . Seems a good way of maintaining the LNER brand while just making it different enough to distinguish between Azuma and 225.

 

Just sorry none of the 225s will get to Scotland

 

One for Hornby perhaps ?

[andyman7]

19 hours ago, toby_tl10 said:

Seems like quite a lot of effort to repaint the entire fleet if they are only going to last until 2023 or 2024. Nonetheless, it looks superb.

From what has been published, it looks like the remaining fleet require a repaint, hence the relivery. The modern train leasing environment is quite prescriptive about the intervals and maintenance requirements - it's not like the 70s where shabby green Class 40s were still wandering around in the mid 70s a decade or more beyond their last repaint.

[MarkC]

Very smart - and as has been said, a nod to their heritage

[russ p]

8 hours ago, andyman7 said:

From what has been published, it looks like the remaining fleet require a repaint, hence the relivery. The modern train leasing environment is quite prescriptive about the intervals and maintenance requirements - it's not like the 70s where shabby green Class 40s were still wandering around in the mid 70s a decade or more beyond their last repaint.

 

I don't know look at some ex EWS 66s and they are even worse inside 

[andyman7]

4 hours ago, russ p said:

 

I don't know look at some ex EWS 66s and they are even worse inside 

Are the 66s owned or leased? I think they are owned, hence no requirement to meet cosmetic maintenance cycles.

[JDW]

Very smart, I like it. But what's with the fad for painting the bottom fairings of HSTs and 91s/DVTs in a dark colour? The Virgin/LNER 91 that acquired a white one looked much sleeker than hiding it with black. The same here, the original white one on the Intercity livery was much nicer and showed off the shape better. 

[russ p]

10 hours ago, andyman7 said:

Are the 66s owned or leased? I think they are owned, hence no requirement to meet cosmetic maintenance cycles.

 

I have a feeling they were leased originally but no6t sure about now . Scarily the oldest 66s are over 24 years old now with is the age the youngest 47 were that they were acquired to replace! 

[hmrspaul]

15 hours ago, andyman7 said:

Are the 66s owned or leased? I think they are owned, hence no requirement to meet cosmetic maintenance cycles.

Certainly leased originally, like Russ P I'm unsure now, I would guess still leased. 

This doesn't seem to be updated but gives the original leasing owner of each loco http://class66.railfan.nl/?utm_source=pocket_mylist

Paul

 

[Steadfast]

This tallies with what I remember.

Leased and now owned

 

https://www.mainlinediesels.net/index.php?nav=1000603&lang=en

 

Jo

[phil-b259]

17 hours ago, JDW said:

Very smart, I like it. But what's with the fad for painting the bottom fairings of HSTs and 91s/DVTs in a dark colour? The Virgin/LNER 91 that acquired a white one looked much sleeker than hiding it with black. The same here, the original white one on the Intercity livery was much nicer and showed off the shape better. 

White is a bad colour for trains* - particularly the bits close to track as they get dirty very quickly and mechanical washing plants don’t reach below solebar level. As such painting the lower fairing black is a very sensible move.

 

* Many of the Thameslink fleet look positively filthy.

[great central]

1 hour ago, phil-b259 said:

White is a bad colour for trains* - particularly the bits close to track as they get dirty very quickly and mechanical washing plants don’t reach below solebar level. As such painting the lower fairing black is a very sensible move.

 

* Many of the Thameslink fleet look positively filthy.

 

That depends to an extent on the company,  LNER Azumas, although I don't like them, look pretty clean.

When Stagecoach had EMT the white fleet always looked very presentable but deteriorated noticeably after the Abellio take over.

The Meridians are now, at times, disgraceful and show a lack of proper cleaning even when they have been done. 

[Ken.W]

On 13/06/2022 at 14:25, toby_tl10 said:

Seems like quite a lot of effort to repaint the entire fleet if they are only going to last until 2023 or 2024. Nonetheless, it looks superb.

 

Well, as l posted on the class 91 thread last month, driver reviews at Newcastle are being planned for them to resume running through to here from next May

[97406]

It looks really cool. It’s quite strange seeing such a modern looking locomotive near the end of its life. I remember them being built in Crewe. Where did the last 30-odd years go? 👴

[phil-b259]

One question that springs to mind is whether the Mk4s will be getting a refresh too.

 

’Celebrity’ repaints are one thing but if the 91s are expected to be around for another couple of years then having them match the Mk4 fleet would present a much better image to the travelling public.

 

And yes I know you need colour contrasting doors - but painting them the same colour as the red body side stripe would meet that objective

[4630]

12 minutes ago, phil-b259 said:

One question that springs to mind is whether the Mk4s will be getting a refresh too.

 

’Celebrity’ repaints are one thing but if the 91s are expected to be around for another couple of years then having them match the Mk4 fleet would present a much better image to the travelling public.

 

And yes I know you need colour contrasting doors - but painting them the same colour as the red body side stripe would meet that objective

 

It would seem so.

 

I can't post the full article here, but to quote from the release;

 

"Work on the first locomotive and coaches to carry the new livery has been completed at Wabtec’s Doncaster works as part of a scheduled essential maintenance programme. The fleet, leased from Eversholt Rail, will receive a full repaint and rebrand during the coming months as the rolling stock is brought in for maintenance.

 

John Doughty, Director of Engineering at LNER, said: “The new livery is not only essential for the upkeep of the fleet but also brings it into the LNER family. It is the first time in many years that the fleet has been fully repainted. The livery was inspired in part by the popularity of the original InterCity 225 design, and we’ve kept the sharp lines and red and white stripes famously associated with the trains which have a place in the hearts of many people.”

 

 

[woodenhead]

It's odd isn't it, the government back in the 90s were keen for us to get as far away from BR as possible 'it was bad, it was inefficient, it had to be replaced with private enterprise'

 

And here we are in 2022, same flavour of government and now they are using a late BR InterCity design to remind us of the romance of BR and on a whole fleet.

 

If it was so bl**dy bad you had to sell it off, why do you need us to remember it now and forget about GNER, National Express, Virgin etc

[Steadfast]

29 minutes ago, phil-b259 said:

One question that springs to mind is whether the Mk4s will be getting a refresh too.

 

’Celebrity’ repaints are one thing but if the 91s are expected to be around for another couple of years then having them match the Mk4 fleet would present a much better image to the travelling public.

 

And yes I know you need colour contrasting doors - but painting them the same colour as the red body side stripe would meet that objective

Pdf on this link reveals all. (Short answer is yes)

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/new_225_livery_designs

 

Jo

[Reorte]

1 hour ago, woodenhead said:

It's odd isn't it, the government back in the 90s were keen for us to get as far away from BR as possible 'it was bad, it was inefficient, it had to be replaced with private enterprise'

Still had a good InterCity livery though.

[Stuart A]

I wasn't too sure on the oxblood, but I think once the whole set is viewed together it will work.

 

Better photos below from James Glossop on Twitter