KNOW YOUR… LIVERIES
PART 25: ex-LNER steam traction in BR days
Paul Chancellor examines the application of BR’s various early ‘standard’ liveries on the Eastern Region.
Once the decision was made to introduce a BR crest, there followed a brief period when the use of British Railways lettering was discontinued, pending the delivery of transfers, leading to a number of locomotives emerging from overhaul without branding. One example was ‘D40’ No. 62277, which was still missing a BR emblem when photographed in mid‐1953.
T. OWEN/COLOUR RAIL
Followingnationalisation in January 1948, British Railways began creating a ‘standardised’ set of colour schemes for its fleet. Pending the design of a new logo, many locomotives undergoing repair or overhaul received BRITISH RAILWAYS lettering. Soon, though, the ‘Lion & Wheel’ emblem was introduced (often referred to as BR’s ‘early crest’) and this would be applied to most locomotives up until 1957.