No more yellow ends ?

I really disliked yellow panels on green locos, I have to say.

 

Beg to differ ! When Class 150/2 Sprinters were introduced in February 1987 they came without yellow fronts as it was thought that the silver front + high density lights would be sufficiently visible; I have images of 150223 on the crew training runs at Southport confirming this..

 

Pity -- I'd hoped the 5BEL would make it back into traffic first.

 

No yellow end, but horrendous garish modern spec headlights. Give me a small yellow panel and a battery headlight on a lamp bracket over those monstrosities any day.

 

Once they started painting the cab window surrounds a different colour it was much improved. For example, the original HST livery was excellent.

It's not the yellow that I objected to, but the lack of any styling.

 

I've only just caught up with this thread. Ixion attended the open weekend at Bournemouth T&RSMD in may 1998.

 

A Hymek in blue, small yellow panel, and white cab surrounds is for me one of the best applications of Rail Blue, I also like the Finsbury Park white bits on a Deltic, it breaks up the drabness of the blue slightly. Same as the duck egg stripe and cream engine room panels on the Peaks, and Warships and small yellow panels on the 20's. I find all over BR Green a little drab, a few little embellishments can make a difference.

 

I agree with the above. Absolutely agree how good the Hymeks looks in blue with small panel.

In terms of styling, I think that horizontal lines on the bodyside give an impression of sleekness, whereas vertical lines suggest bulkiness. The Deltics looked sleek in two-tone green, although the sleekness was blunted when a full yellow end was applied. In all over blue they certainly looked impressive and powerful, but you couldn't describe them as sleek.

 

Lovely example of how the small yellow panel could be styled around existing features such as the marker lights and headcode panel.

 

I think spicer21 meant what has happened to Ixion now, not over 19 years ago...?

Which is precisely why a number of British Railways green-liveries were deliberately designed with horizontal lines. It wasn't just a lucky coincidence...!

Unfortunately 'corporate identity' and the 1960s desire for everything to look 'modern' (i.e plain) drove a truck through the niceties of such aesthetic considerations.

The decision to chuck blue and yellow paint over everything coincided with the heyday of brutalist architecture in this country, let's not forget. Once upon a time it was actually thought to look good.

 

For a glimpse of what one of SWT's class 450's would look like take a look!

Look beyond the Res liveried 47 and 450012 is seen as delivered new in 2003 stabled at Ropley. It arrived with no yellow ends and quite frankly looked hideous! (Not a great res shot as downloaded via a mobile from my flickr account).

 

When I looked at my slides taken at the time I saw that the other end of the unit already had the yellow end.

 

There's a picture in the latest issue of Rail of 68021 in TransPennine Express livery, with no yellow panel.

 

Personally I rather like seeing stick without the yellow panel. Although the more 'minimal' recent version is ok, the older 'full' version was rather ghastly in my view.

Sent from my SM-J330FN using Tapatalk

 

This is because the headlighting fitted is compliant with the mandatory requirements for visibility so no yellow needed.

 

It`s a bit strange ,but yellow front ends was somthing i disliked when I first get my interest in british modern traction ,later it has to me been a typical sign of a british locomotive versus the continental locomotive stock . That being said,I find the class 68 in this livery really cool! https://i2.wp.com/railcolornews.com/wp-content/uploads/stadler_uklight_drs01tpe.jpg

kind regards

Knut

 

Completely off topic. Why are the buffers on the Class 68 that particular shape? Is it for a technical reason or was the designer being a bit eccentric/having a brain f**t?

 

I have no idea but if you look at class 92's they have something similar, must say the buffers on 68's do look rather styled into the appearance of the loco.

 

No idea, but they do help give the 68 a rather menacing appearance!

 

You thinking of that trapezium shape? I have also wondered why they had such form, not only of the 68 but as well on modern locomotives/ coaches in general.

Knut