The best and worst liveries

Prior to privatisation in 1994 the railways were getting more colourful (in terms of liveries at least) although of course not as colourful and varied as they would become and are under the privatised area. One of my favourite liveries of old was the Network South East (NSE) blue, white and red, which was introduced from 1986 onwards, mainly for multiple units although some locos and coaching stock also received this attractive and striking colour scheme. I do admit some bias in my choice as I lived in the heart of the NSE operating area - Portsmouth - at the time so the colours were a very familiar sight. However, I am sure that no one envisaged NSE colours being a sight on Bulgarian railways! However, with the export of 87012 (formerly The Olympian) to Bulgaria along with other Class 87s, NSE livery has made it into Eastern Europe.

Back home, liveries have come and gone almost as quickly as the seasons - how many different schemes has FGW had now? I am partial to the current 'dynamic lines' scheme although I have to admit that almost anything looks good on an HST. Sadly though the rather pleasant GNER livery (dark blue with a red stripe and red doors) is going soon to be replaced on the HST fleet by an altogether more bland and rather colourless grey and white with blue/red National Express fleet names. A similar scheme has been unveiled for the Anglia operation currently running as the insipid 'one.' Whilst the name may be a bit daft, the current 'one' livery I like - its colourful and eye-catching and looks good on the 90s and MK3 stock.

The rebranding of Anglia and East Coast is the first time that National Express has introduced its own name and a corporate livery on its rail franchise operations. Apparently a similar rebrand is in the pipeline for c2c but nothing has been decided as yet. The main objection I have to the new scheme apart from its obvious blandness is that it isn't very practical. How long will it be before the white is covered in a thick film of grime and dirt and combined with grey will make the whole operation look rather less than sparkling. The visual appearance of trains is a key point; they need to look smart and be dressed in appropriately eye-catching and practical liveries if the railways are to have any chance of luring more people from their beloved cars.

London Midland (LM), the new local operator for where I live, has unveiled its new livery on three 350 Desiros and a couple of DMU's of its West Midlands operation. I have only seen one of the 350s albeit briefly in the new corporate scheme and it looks ghastly. Okay, so Silverlink's 'chocolate buttons' livery wasn't one of the best but it wasn't as off-putting as LM' curious mix of green, black and grey. It looks dreadful and not at all attractive on a Desiro. But at least with all the franchise changes and the seemingly endless rebrands and repaints, there is never a dull moment on our railways, at least where liveries are concerned.