Provincial Sector 'Sprinter' livery

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156.448 at Carlisle

156.448 stands at Carlisle, August 23, 1997.

After a few years in service, units started appearing with unpainted cab window frames.

Photo: Ross Aitken

List of all 156s to carry Provincial livery

100 units 156.401-156.500
First 156.401 (November 1987)
Last 156.451 (March 2001)


Description of Provincial livery

The first 100 units built were painted in Provincial's Sprinter livery, the same style as applied to class 150/2 and class 155 units.

Base colour is beige (executive light grey), with a dark blue window band and white and light blue waist stripes.

Provincial livery first appeared on prototype sprinter 150.001 in June 1984, but different arrangements of the colours were used on the production 150/1s and class 142 pacers.

The livery disappeared with the repaint of 156.451 into Northern Spirit colours in March 2001.

Livery variations on class 156 units are described below.


156404 on SVR

Just months old, 156.404 shines in its original livery, whilst taking part in the Severn Valley Railway's Diesel weekend on 7 May 1988.

A thin pale blue stripe at cant rail level identifies the luggage van area.

Photo: Steve Jones

 
156411 07.May.88

The first 42 sets delivered carried 'Sprinter' branding.

Norwich based 156.411 photographed on May 7th, 1988.

Photo: Paul Stanford

 
Super Sprinter logo

Logos were applied with the running man and BR symbol towards the cab end of each vehicle.

 
156486 at Ely 28.Aug.89

Sets 443 to 500 had 'SuperSprinter' branding.

Norwich based 156.486 photographed on August 28, 1989.

Photo: Paul Stanford

 
156477 at Thurso

Five units to work the Far North line, were moved by lorry from Inverness to Invergordon following the collapse of the Ness viaduct in 1989.

Before they left Inverness they had the set numbers painted out, and these were not reapplied for several years.

156.477 on arrival at Thurso, 17 August 1992

Photo: Mark Chatwin

 
ScotRail logo

ScotRail was one of the 'fast track' shadow franchises, intended for early privatisation, and a new logo was unveiled in October 1994. This was uppercase openface lettering and a blue / red / yellow 'swoosh' symbol, loosely based on the shape Scotland.

 
156499 at Aberdeen

At first units received only a 'swoosh' symbol on the cab front, but by early 1995 all the ScotRail 156 units had their existing branding removed and the new logo was placed within the pale blue stripe.

Another detail of ScotRail's 156s at this time is the yellow painted step boards.

156.499 at Aberdeen in 1999.

Photo: Alex Lu

 
156496 at Glasgow Central

During the Summer of 1996 multiple unit trains based in Glasgow started to receive fluorescent yellow squares around the door buttons (or door handles in the case of slam door stock).

Corkerhill's 156.496 is seen arriving at Glasgow Central August 18, 1997.

Photo: Ross Aitken

 
156477 with Highland Rail stag

As a farewell gesture, the small fleet of Inverness 156s were adorned with 'Highland Rail' stag emblems on the cab fronts during the Spring of 2000.

They were reallocated to Corkerhill in June, and had been repainted into the new ScotRail livery by the end of the year.

156.477 is seen at the buffer stops at Inverness.

Photo: Roderick MacNeil