Rail Blue
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rail Blue was one of British Rail's corporate colours. It was a dark, greyish blue tone which hid the effects of dirt well. Blue was introduced in various experimental forms ('Chromatic Blue' and 'Electric Blue') and with various stripes before settling down to a standard colour scheme known as 'rail blue' in 1966. Rail Blue is a difficult colour to photograph correctly, and often appears differently in photographs than the colour really appeared. Generally it shows up brighter and bluer than the real colour. Formally Rail Blue is defined by British Standards BR28/6001 and BR28/5321. 'RAL 5020' (sometimes known under the shadename 'Ocean Blue') is also a good match to 'Rail Blue' and is easier to order through ordinary paint stockists with a paint matching system (in the UK anyway).
During the Rail Blue period, locomotives were painted in a solid Rail Blue with warning yellow ends. Carriages were painted in Rail Blue with a pale grey area at window level, separated by a white band. Multiple units were originally painted like locomotives, but later like carriages although not all areas made the transition.
Up until 1977 the livery and standard were tightly enforced. In 1977 two locomotives were painted with silver roofs and other decorations including a Union Jack flag for the Queen's silver jubilee celebrations. Such was the popularity of these variants that the British Railways Board began to relax the strictness of the livery.
In 1978 the board began planning a new livery for the future. In August 1978 the first locomotive appeared in a modified livery with the entire cab in bright yellow to improve visibility and the locomotive numbers painted far larger on the sides. This livery was known as Large Logo by enthusiasts.
A grey livery was introduced for freight locomotives soon afterwards and rail blue gave way to intercity and other branded liveries in the early 1980s - see British Rail brand names.
