Stations rebranded to Great British Railways design / Rail Alphabet 2

[LNW-GW Joint]

‍ Tell that to Network Rail.

That's how NR use it in their national timetable (as for other London termini).

BR used to have variations in the branding for its sectors (red lamp-posts in NSE for instance).
Before that the BR Regions each had their own colour scheme for running-in boards and sausage symbols (and canopy supports).
GBR will probably adopt Regional variations when they are finally decided.
Wales and Scotland will probably adopt the same underlying scheme but definitely with local branding.

 

[matt_world2004]

Doesn't look that had simple and clear to understand, consistent and can be read more easily by the partially sighted

 

[DerekC]

I suppose at least it isn't red, white and blue.

 

[Meerkat]

Why the obsession with universal signage - is this just BR/nationalisation nostalgia/ideology?
As long as the signs are clear and the symbology is universal why can’t we have variation rather than boring plainness?
Personally I really like the white on dark blue signs - they look clear and elegant.

 

[fgwrich]

Why the obsession with universal signage - is this just BR/nationalisation nostalgia/ideology?
As long as the signs are clear and the symbology is universal why can’t we have variation rather than boring plainness?
Personally I really like the white on dark blue signs - they look clear and elegant.

Like this? (Albiet this is the Southern version). I too like this style, recently rolled out over the last few years across the South Western network. Nice, simple, you could have the "regional" brand forming the background colour as it pretty much is now on the Southern Region (Green for Southern, Blue for South Western).

Bognor Regis Railway Station Platform Sign

The 'running in board' platform sign to let you know you've arrived at Bognor Regis Railway Station in West Sussex (UK). The Total Operations Processing System (TOPS) code for Bognor Regis Station is 'BOG'. Photograph taken by fellow enthusiast and my regular photostream contributor David...

www.flickr.com

For reference, this is the version used on the South Western:

South West Trains 450036 & 450545 - Chessington South - 8th August 2014

Explore 159jim's 758 photos on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

 

[Grumpy Git]

Not sure what age a lot of the posters are on this thread, but for me as someone approaching 60, the easiest to read are black on a white background

Dark backgrounds tend to "get lost" within their surroundings. They are signs remember not ornaments!

 

[Trainfan2019]

Why the harking back to the past (and, particularly, a part of the past that was seen as a necessary evil at the time)?
(not a personal dig at you, Trainfan2019).

I wasn't into trains back in British Rail days, buses instead. So it's a personal nostalgic trip for a period I've missed out on.

I've always liked rail alphabet, the double arrows logo and try and look for any remaining examples when I'm at stations.

Personal reasons aside, the new signs are clear and to the point without any fancy colours and graphics e.g Avanti West Coast.

 

[Grumpy Git]

Try reading a station name from a non-stop Pendolino, its almost impossible when they are white letters on a black background.

 

[WAO]

I think that the general signage looks crisp and sharp, similar to pre-sectorisation BR.

I think that the station name signs should be in upper case as they were in BR totems, as they need to be read from a distance in poor light.

WAO

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Why the obsession with universal signage - is this just BR/nationalisation nostalgia/ideology?

The Southern Region was the first to include advertising panels in their station name board structures.
So the "standard height" for name boards which were level with train windows as you rolled into a station, didn't work on the Southern, which were a few feet higher.
Your eye was turned to the advert rather than the station name - no doubt that was the point.
Now every station in the land seems to use the space on name boards to advertise local institutions, if not commercial adverts.

The Southern was also first with things like gate lines when all other stations had become "open" as a BR policy. Now gate lines are all the rage.
I'm not sure BR branding was ever completely universal, though Rail Blue on every piece of rolling stock came pretty close, even on the "green" Southern Electric.
The first BR station to have black-and-white rather than Regional branding was I think Newquay, which was like that when I first visited in 1964.
Plus ça change...

 

[py_megapixel]

I think that the general signage looks crisp and sharp, similar to pre-sectorisation BR.

I think that the station name signs should be in upper case as they were in BR totems, as they need to be read from a distance in poor light.

Mixed case is actually easier to read in my opinion and I read that it's been proven less likely to cause confusion to those who suffer from e.g. dyslexia.
In reality what's really need is bolder type and increased spacing between the characters.

 

[Gathursty]

Please someone do all the stations in Wingdings font?

 

[bnc2018]

On page 104 of the NR Wayfinding Design Guidance manual, there's some examples of platform station identifiers, and they have the double arrow in front of the station name, rather than just plain text.
Wayfinding Design Guidance design manual NR/GN/CIV/300/01 (networkrail.co.uk)

 

[py_megapixel]

On page 104 of the NR Wayfinding Design Guidance manual, there's some examples of platform station identifiers, and they have the double arrow in front of the station name, rather than just plain text.
Wayfinding Design Guidance design manual NR/GN/CIV/300/01 (networkrail.co.uk)

Indeed. They also have a black border though I am unsure whether that is intended to appear on physical signs or whether it's just to represent the edges of the sign for the purpose of the diagram.

 

[Meerkat]

For reference, this is the version used on the South Western:

That’s the ones - best and clearest name boards I have ever seen.

Try reading a station name from a non-stop Pendolino

Don’t think I have ever successfully read a name board from a fast moving train! Maybe occassionally worked out if it or isn’t what I am expecting (from length and shape which is why mixed case is far far easier to read).

 

[Tio Terry]

Please, please, please consider those with Visual Impairment as part of the PRM's requirements. Lot's of colours don't help those with visual impairment.

Please look at the legal requirements for signage.

 

[crablab]

On page 104 of the NR Wayfinding Design Guidance manual, there's some examples of platform station identifiers, and they have the double arrow in front of the station name, rather than just plain text.

Indeed. As mentioned up the thread:

I'd suggest that these platform signs might not actually be the final signs. They don't seem to match the Design Guidance in either layout, size or logo:

View attachment 100194

They also have a black border though I am unsure whether that is intended to appear on physical signs

It's on the physical sample sign I've seen (and included a photo of earlier)
It would require more than just vinyl to implement, obviously!

 

[43096]

Dark backgrounds tend to "get lost" within their surroundings. They are signs remember not ornaments!

Network Rail commissioned research into signage and that reached the same conclusion. Hence the return to black on white.

 

[Non Multi]

Where's the branding then?

 

[Sprinter156]

Please someone do all the stations in Wingdings font?

Yes please

 

[urbophile]

When you're travelling in an unfamiliar part of the country and want to find out where you are, it is helpful if the station name board is immediately recognisable. Most travellers aren't nostalgic rail fans relishing quirky styling of companies long gone, they just want straightforward information clearly presented.

 

[Meerkat]

When you're travelling in an unfamiliar part of the country and want to find out where you are, it is helpful if the station name board is immediately recognisable. Most travellers aren't nostalgic rail fans relishing quirky styling of companies long gone, they just want straightforward information clearly presented.

What else would you mistake a station nameboard for?!

 

[urbophile]

What else would you mistake a station nameboard for?!

Well if you are instinctively looking for a sign of a certain shape and colour, it is distracting to be confronted with something different. Especially if it is surrounded by advertising. The brain has to work quickly when one is on a fast-moving train.

 

[DerekC]

Why the obsession with universal signage - is this just BR/nationalisation nostalgia/ideology?

Because GBR, like any new broom, wants to show that it's doing something. The real problems are too difficult so let's tackle something easy - and it's only public money so who cares if it's unnecessary.

 

[Agent_Squash]

I believe signage at Grange-over-Sands has been changed - not certain though.

 

[Irascible]

Please someone do all the stations in Wingdings font?

Comic Sans, shurely

( god the idea of that hurts )

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Why do you need to read station signs from a train doing 125mph, btw?

 

[birchesgreen]

Comic Sans, shurely

No that font needs to be restricted to where it is best suited, such as funeral service notes and nuclear power station warning signs.

I like the new signs though think a bolder version of the font would be better.

 

[Bletchleyite]

On page 104 of the NR Wayfinding Design Guidance manual, there's some examples of platform station identifiers, and they have the double arrow in front of the station name, rather than just plain text.
Wayfinding Design Guidance design manual NR/GN/CIV/300/01 (networkrail.co.uk)

Is that not just for the running in board (the large one you get at the end of the platform mostly in the South East)?

Edit: the design guide indeed seems to imply all of them, though I wonder if this may be an error.

 

[Grumpy Git]

Comic Sans, shurely

( god the idea of that hurts )

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Why do you need to read station signs from a train doing 125mph, btw?

You don't, but it's a good yardstick for how clear the station signs are.

 

[Mat17]

Glad it's not all capitals, lower case is much more instantaneous to read.