Above: The livery carried on the earliest Class 25s mirrored that applied to the Class 24, consisting of a drab, all-over green scheme, enlivened by an off-white horizontal band along the lower edge, as seen on D5162 at Middlesbrough in 1962. Although it’s now covered in a layer of grime, the roof was painted light grey. The cluttered bodysides left little room for the BR logos, so they were placed adjacent to the boiler compartment vents, while the ‘D’-prefixed numbers are carried on each cabside.
COLOUR RAIL
The BR/Sulzer Type 2 Bo ‐Bo locomotives, later known as Class 25, were built between 1961 and 1967, at BR’s Darlington and Derby Works, plus a portion of the final batch at Beyer, Peacock and Company in Manchester.
A total of 371 examples were eventually completed, being a progression from the earlier Class 24 design. Numbered in two series, D5151 to D5299 and D7500-D7677, the Class 25s later gained the TOPS identities of 25001 to 25327.
Confusingly, the class was not constructed in numerical order and a number of variations existed in appearance. The early Class 25s featured gangway doors in the cab fronts, as per the ‘24s’, while the later style omitted the doors in favour of three large windscreens, while the side grilles were moved from the body sides to the roof.
Only three main liveries were carried by the Class 25s during their BR careers: original green, two-tone green and Rail blue, although minor variations existed within those schemes in terms of yellow warning panels and a few customized adornments. Here’s a representative selection of the key liveries, with some interesting pointers in terms of logo and number positioning.