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I knew it!!

 

Some time ago, someone posted a pic of a model 121 (and an excellent job it was too); I questioned the fact that the logo transfers for this were edged in black, as my recollection was that they should be white. A white-lined "snail" and numerals would have a very different look to a black lined one.

 

I went off delving and found a photo of a loco in this livery with very very fine black edging to the yellow logo and numerals. The above shows white. Thus; we have not one, or two, but THREE variations of this grey and yellow livery. We have photographic (and in the case of white, eye-witness) evidence of locomotives having numerals and snails lined black, and also lined white! This in addition to the already-known variation which was that at least one or two of the class had the grey buffer beams repainted standard red, which, having seen it in a colour photo, I personally think looks a bit odd.

 

A quick look at what photos I can find suggests that most of the class, or perhaps for more of the time, white edged lettering was the norm. What makes it so unusual is that they only wore this livery until first repaint. They were delivered in the early 60s, yet by 1969 all were black and tan. Thus, it's not as if they were repainted several times in grey, allowing variations to creep in: the variations were concurrent.

 

Imagine an exhibition layout with three 121s, each with a different variation on grey..... three shades, though, not fifty.

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Hi

 

Check out http://eiretrains.com, they have a number of photos of the grey 121 livery with a dark line around the logo and the number on the front n' back, but not on the side.

 

The Tom Ferris 'Irish Railways A New History' has a photo of 121s on plate 76- you can view this book on Amazon, in the photo again there is a dark line around the logo and number on the front.

 

This was the way they were delivered it seems, no black line on this one;-

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIE_121_Class#mediaviewer/File:GM_diesel_locomotive_B124_being_unloaded_from_a_ship_at_the_North_Wall_in_Dublin.jpg

 

Eoin

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This pic turned up on another site this morning

What a stunning pic

Original Livery, probably snapped in La Grange, Illinois?

 

B123%20Original%20Livery_zpsrwc3jkll.jpg

 

That was an elegant livery for the early 60s. It looks like an evolution of the 'silver' livery that the A & C classes had. Wonder if CIE were considering moving to that light grey livery but during delivery phase CIE branding were already up for review resulting in B&T. It would have looked ok hauling snail green coaches. Agree the light lettering and logo was crying out for definition either by contrast or outlining.

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There you have it. I'm inclined to think that they were delivered with white, but Inchicore possibly decided that due to the obvious lack of definition, black lining ought to be added. That would make perfect sense. I can't remember offhand which one (or maybe two) got red buffer beams while carrying grey livery, but this would again indicate experimentation to get the right look. Around the same time, an "A" and a "C" class received, experimentally, a yellow © and orange (A) buffer beam. This was in the early days of black'n'tan.

 

So perhaps, mystery solved.

 

We'll all have seen a picture of 019 in Inchicore in the mid 90s with just one end done up in an experimental orange, black and yellow livery which was to become the basis for the initial 201 livery, and in more recent times a Mk 3 with one end in two tone green - experiments for the Drogheda railcars. It's a bit like modelling - you can paint something to see how it looks, but in case it's going to be wrong it's maybe better to practice the colour on some old vehicle body first!

 

The UTA, in their very early days, painted a number of steam locomotives in differing shades of green to see what they'd be like, before settling for lined black. One "Jeep", I think it was No. 5, ended up in a shade not unlike that applied in more recent times to locomotives in the Isle of Man. I always wondered how that would have looked on the few GNR 4.4.0's they repainted, or on a BCDR tank, let alone a Jeep!

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[/quote=Warbonnet;65509]Sensational pic. I saw a picture of one of the NIR 111s at La Grange in blue with no yellow end somewhere on the internet years ago. Cant for the life of me find it now!
I think this might be the picture. <img src="http://irishrailwaymodeller.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=17885"/>

 

The very one! Well played sir! :)

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