Livery Changes

Another quiet period for locomotive repaints saw just two Class 66s outshopped from Toton in DB red to join the attention-grabbing 69004 in its BR Research colours.

The fourth Class 69 has attracted a lot of attention following its repaint, with rumours that the next locomotive to be completed, 69005, is also expected to emerge in a special one-off livery.

The interim West Midlands Railway orange and grey livery is now extinct on the Class 170s following the repainting of 170505 into EMR purple, even if a number of the class have yet to make the transfer from west to east.

Fresh from Wolverton, 156422 is now in Northern blue and white but with EMR branding, while the former 156922 awaits release to its new operator.

Scott Paddington Released from Arlington Fleet Services paintshop at Eastleigh just as the last issue was dispatched to the printers, GB Railfreight’s 69004 emerged in a GBRF variation of British Rail’s Research Department red and blue livery, similar to that carried by 97201 (24061) and 97403 Ixion (46035) during the 1980s. The newly completed locomotive is pictured at Eastleigh on February 17, before entering traffic with GBRF.