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Strangest livery/train combination?

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GrimsbyPacer

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Can we include trams? As the 1930s Blackpool Balloon-Tram in the new livery of the Flexity Trams looks strange, and ugly. Also any tram with that advert stuff over the windows.

On trains, I was going into Liverpool and saw a freight engine painted up with a London Underground map on it! That was cool.
 
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Strathclyder

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For those who have mentioned 57601's original Porterbrook livery (image copyright Martin Loader)...


Certainly contrasts wildly with the FGW 'Fag Packet'-liveried Mk2s it's hauling there!

Sticking with 47s/57s, 6 47s received Freightliner's Green/Yellow livery, which made them virtually indistinguible from the company's 57/0s. Apart from the number, the only way you could really tell the difference would be the markedly different engine soundtracks; not to mention the level of smoke/clag!

You then of course had the FL 47 (47114) in the BR-esque two-tone green livery with the Freightliner triangle logo on top (copyright again goes to Martin Loader) and the Freightliner Bulk nameplate.


Yes, it was real - National Express sponsored it for a while.
Aye, I knew they had done, I just worded my original post poorly lol Still, looks a tad strange seeing such a logo on a steam loco's tender!

Or a Crompton....with non-original bogies too!
This was part of the Eurostar bogie high speed test train; 33115 was renumbered 83301, was fitted with Eurostar bogies & current collection equipment (copyright Martin Loader).


connex tried out a blue upper band at one point.....
probably to see if they could save money but just repainting the bottom of nse livery :lol:
Near knew any of the slammers had ever received the Networker-style Connex livery. Looks a tad strange, but rather smart overall I think.

Sticking with Southern 3rd-rail EMUs, the first two SWT Class 455s (455711 & 455904) to be refurbished emerged with black cab window surrounds as opposed to the later examples having the blue swoosh wrapping around the cab windows (image copyright with Flickr's Ryan Tranmer & Matt Taylor respectively). I personally prefer the black surrounds, though I suspect I'm in the minority there lol


 
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VEP3417

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For me, the early years of privatisation with the combination of new liveries mixed with Intercity branded stock, such as Virgin/Intercity, or even when operators changed their liveries with trains running a mixture of old/new liveries.
or just sticking the branding on over the old livery :lol:
 

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Towers

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Can we include trams? As the 1930s Blackpool Balloon-Tram in the new livery of the Flexity Trams looks strange, and ugly. Also any tram with that advert stuff over the windows.
Absolutely agree! The first Balloon car, 700, was an odd choice to put through the 'wide door' modernisation programme, given that previously it was in full heritage spec and still retains a lot of those features beneath the new livery!
 

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pdeaves

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dosxuk

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For me it's got to be the half vinyls on the ex-Arriva Trains Northern transpennine sets when they went over to First Group in 2003/4.

The top half in the original maroon livery of Northern Spirit with the top of the italic N still showing, the bottom half with purple vinyl.
Even better after they'd pulled the purple stripe off, leaving a different shade of maroon behind, had the Central Cc's added and then EMT logos added on top.


(Image from wikipedia)


The Thai 158's in regional railways livery always amuse me too.
 

Mothball

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The foreign livered class 90's were an interesting combination, and while it made complete sense the GNER class 373's always seemed strange to see for me.
 

Towers

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Even better after they'd pulled the purple stripe off, leaving a different shade of maroon behind, had the Central Cc's added and then EMT logos added on top.


(Image from wikipedia)


The Thai 158's in regional railways livery always amuse me too.
First Great Western of course inherited some of these, and continued to run them for quite some time without repaint, including proudly retaining the TPE branding as seen here at Gloucester!

And not forgetting 158750, which had the TPE vinyls slapped over its original Regional Railways livery.

(Not my pics).
 

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61653 HTAFC

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Can't find a photo of it, but I was watching some old train vids on YouTube a few weeks back which showed a "hybrid" 3-car 150 formation... the outer cars in the original Provincial livery, the middle (/2) car in Sprinter. Looked very odd!
 

norbitonflyer

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A rather unfortunate design choice was the original "poppy" livery applied to one of SWT's 455s.(The British Legion's poppy factory is on SWT/R's home turf at Richmond). Each door had a poppy emblazoned over it, but unfortunately when the doors opened the impression was of something a little more X-rated. (It wasn't just me - my wife remarked on it unprompted by me)
2014-11-02_00013.jpg (1600×900) (bp.blogspot.com)
 

Peter Mugridge

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A rather unfortunate design choice was the original "poppy" livery applied to one of SWT's 455s.(The British Legion's poppy factory is on SWT/R's home turf at Richmond). Each door had a poppy emblazoned over it, but unfortunately when the doors opened the impression was of something a little more X-rated. (It wasn't just me - my wife remarked on it unprompted by me)
2014-11-02_00013.jpg (1600×900) (bp.blogspot.com)
I think that was 455 864, if you mean the one that was generally brown all over except for the poppies?

The revised livery on 455 869 was generally all over white except for the poppies.


Edited to correct the number of the second unit.
 
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Mollman

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There were some interesting 158 internals for a while with Northern on the outside but retaining a mixture of Regional Railways and Central Trains on the inside.
 
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