When the LNER was formed in 1923, it introduced a color scheme for buildings of two light colors, stone & deep cream, either of which was used with a brown called ‘dark brown’, though, in fact, it was not a particularly dark shade. This remained in use until July 1937, and there is a clear color photo of the livery on page 81 of ‘Big Four in Colour’. The color scheme was not far removed from that already in use on the GER and the GNR.
A painting specification dated 1924 mentions a thin black line separating the brown & cream on timber buildings where the bottom 4′ 6″ of the walls were painted brown. Internally the brown was used up to nano level, above which stone paint or terra cotta or green distemper could be used on the walls. Station signs were black with white lettering. Interestingly, the specification refers to dark & light browns, so there may have been two shades in use but no other information on this is available to me. Poster boards were black other than a red heading plate with the company name in white, continuing the GNR color scheme. Quorn station on the GCR has just been restored to this livery and looks superb.
Footbridges were painted in the brown, as were metal handrails and the like. Fencing & gates were stone or cream.
In July 1937 a new schedule was introduced in which the brown was replaced with a mid-green (‘Buckingham Green’) which brightened things up considerably. The deep cream and stone were used on large areas of planking, canopies, etc. and the green was used in place of the brown on doors, metalwork, framing, etc. with a slightly lighter shade of the green used for door panels and other small details. A much lighter green called ‘Sea Green’ was used for canopy brackets & ironwork above the capitals of the columns. Poster boards continued to be painted as before.
Timber footbridges were painted stone or cream, but metal footbridges were painted green, as were water tanks and water columns.
A 1936 copy of the Railway Magazine mentions the first experimental application of this livery; it was proposed to repaint 354 passenger stations and depots together with adjoining signal boxes and offices. Among those treated were Leicester, Chesterfield, Colchester, Ely, Frinton, Felixtowe, Lowestoft, Dinsdale, Eaglescliffe, Thornaby & Hornsea Bridge, presumably all stations in need of a repaint at the time. Some branch lines were to be given special paint schemes, though no details of what these were are given; Newcastle to Carlisle (hardly a branch!), Alston, York to Harrogate & Scarborough to Whitby are mentioned together with the Riverside branch on Tyneside.
Lineside cast iron notices seem to have been red with white lettering for ‘Beware of Trains’ and ‘No Trespassing’ and white on blue for others, though white on black and black on white has also been noted; it may have varied with the area of the LNER, or have been pre-group signs that had not been repainted. As far as I know, colors did not change in 1936.
Color References
Deep cream BS381C 353 Light stone BS381C 361 Buckingham green BS381C 227 Light Buckingham green BS381C 225 Sea Green BS381C 217 Dark Brown BS381C 412
Colour photo’s showing the green livery in the 1950s are very common; most stations carried it until they closed. The green faded rather with age; see the comments in the BR (E) section below regarding the possible reason for this livery lasting so long.
PAINTS FOR MODELLERS
Deep cream – Precision SR buildings cream. Stone – Humbrol enamel no. 71 Green- Precision SR Middle Chrome Green for when new, if faded Tamiya flat green mixed with a touch of white. Brown – Precision LMS buildings brown or Tamiya flat brown. Sea green – Precision LNER loco green.
BEST PLACE TO SEE IT
Pickering station for the green & cream, Quorn station for the brown & cream.
Thanks to David Chappell & Bill King of the GERS, and to Andy MacIntyre and Mike Bootman for helping with information. Thanks also to Jonathan Clark for telling me about Tynemouth station.
THE GREEN & CREAN LIVERY REPRODUCED TO PERFECTION AT PICKERING ON THE NYMR; THE KEY IS TO USE MATT PAINT, NOT MODERN GLOSS.
HOLT ON THE NORTH NORFOLK IS LESS SUCCESSFUL; EVERYTHING IS TOO BRIGHT & COLOURFUL, THOUGH IT MAY FADE WITH TIME. QUAINTON ROAD IS IN GREEN & STONE.
QUORN SIGNAL BOX ON THE GCR IN GREEN & STONE COLORS.
THE REAL McCOY AT WORMHILL STATION, LNER GREEN PAINT ON THE OLD WEIGHBRIDGE IN 2009. QUORN STATION NEWLY RESTORED TO LNER 1924 COLOURS IN MARCH 2013. PHOTO BY MATT BAKER.
NORTHEASTERN RAILWAY
The NER used an attractive livery of creamy buff and a bright reddish-brown, using more of the brown than was usual on other lines and also using the buff on window frames & glazing bars. Almost the same colors were used on station signs & notices, except that cream was used in place of the buff. In practice, this was almost the same color, though there was some variation.
Poster boards could be painted in the brown & lettered in cream, or painted cream & lettered in brown – both have been recorded.
PAINTS FOR MODELLERS
Buff – Precision SR buildings cream.
Brown – Tamiya red-brown.
BEST PLACE TO SEE IT
Goathland station, North Yorkshire Moors Railway; Beamish museum.
THE NYMR STATIONS ARE ALL ACCURATE REPRESENTATIONS; GOATHLAND IS A PERFECT RECREATION OF THE NER.
THE NER WAS ANOTHER LINE VERY WELL SERVED BY THE POSTCARD PUBLISHERS.
GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY
Thanks to Michael Dunn & Alan Sibley for help with this section.
This information is taken from official GNR painting specifications issued in March 1899 & March 1915, so it is accurate and comprehensive for the full documents, see the ‘GNR SCHEDULE’ page.
The main two colors used were ‘Light Stone’ and ‘Dark Stone’, the former a light buff color & the latter a darker buff. There is also reference to ‘Light Brown’ & ‘Dark Brown’ which were not the same as the stone colors. The light stone was used on planking, panels, canopies etc, and the dark stone on station ironwork, wooden framing, etc. Canopy support pillars were dark brown for the bottom 5 feet, light brown above with a one and a half-inch wide black band between the two. Canopy girders were painted, Light Brown. Valencing on station canopies was often picked out in stripes of two colors, probably light & dark stone.
In 1899 and presumably up to 1914, window sashes were painted light green, as were skylights. For the fully detailed painting schedule see the ‘SPECIFICATIONS’ page.
Doors were described as ‘combed light oak’, with door & window frames ‘combed dark oak’, presumably a varnish rather than a paint. However, ‘dark oak’ could have been a darker brown paint, as it was also used for seats, on which the ironwork was painted black…..in practice ‘dark brown’ and ‘dark oak’ would have been very similar. Lettering on seats was white.
Station signs & name boards were black with white lettering poster boards are described as ‘headings & ground, red, letters in white with the remainder black’, the remainder presumably being the beading. In 1899 notices had the outer beading picked out in red, with the inner beading in white. Station fencing was white if wooden paling or dark brown if metal, all gates being dark brown.
Inside buildings, the ceiling was white distemper & the walls were light green distemper, but there is a note saying that discretion was allowed with regard to interiors, especially if the room was likely to be dark. Corrugated iron roofs were to be painted ‘dark brown’ , and ‘light stone’ on the inside.
Signal boxes when all timber were painted dark brown up to 4′ from the ground, then a black band one and a half inches thick, with light & dark stone above. Inside they were dark brown up to dado level & stone above. Steps were light & dark stone, and the name board was white on black. Signal box windows were finished ‘as for stations’, which means in ‘light oak’ which in practice would have been very similar to light stone, but may indicate a varnish rather than a paint.
Cranes were dark brown with black ironwork; water cranes were painted in the same way as canopy support columns. Iron or steel bridges were painted ‘light brown picked out in dark brown’, including footbridges. Water tanks were light brown picked out in dark brown.
PAINTS FOR THE MODELLER
- Light Stone- Precision LMS buildings cream
- Dark Stone – Precision SR Dark Stone.
- Light Brown – Precision GWR Dark Stone
- Dark Brown – Precision LMS Buildings brown.
Many thanks to Michael Dunn of Kidderminster Railway Museum & Allan Sibley of the GNR Society for passing on to me copies of these specifications.
HIGHGATE STATION IN 1866.
GREAT EASTERN RAILWAY
The GER used a very pale stone color for the bulk of the woodwork, with a reddish mid-brown, (Brown Oxide), for ironwork, etc. and some smaller items picked out in black. Unusually doors seem to have been painted in the lighter color, as were window frames. It seems that the District Engineer had considerable leeway when deciding on painting schemes; there are references to signal boxes being painted brown all over, though happily, this should be obvious from a black & white photograph, as should the colors of station doors.
There is a reference to the painting of Hertford station in 1886 when Dark Sage Green was used on metalwork & the woodwork was Varnished Oak, exterior & interior alike.
Poster boards were black with a blue top panel, probably enameled metal lettered ‘GER’ in white. Station name boards had a blue background with white lettering, as did station signs.
Photographs suggest that a lot of GER station poster boards did not have any company identification at the top of the board.
PAINTS FOR THE MODELLER
- Buff/stone – Humbrol enamel no. 71.
- Brown – Tamiya red-brown.
BEST PLACE TO SEE IT; North Woolwich Museum, London.
Thanks to Bill King of the GERS for helping with this information.
GREAT CENTRAL RAILWAY
The GCR began life looking rather dull, but ended it as one of the brightest lines in the country.
The original livery for buildings was inherited from the Manchester Sheffield & Lincolnshire and used the cream for the bulk of the woodwork with the framing etc in a light brown similar to GWR dark stone. A much darker reddish-brown was used on the lower part of the walls of signal boxes & possibly other buildings, maybe as a preservative.
In 1912, however, a new color scheme was introduced. This used two shades of green, the lighter one replacing the buff and the darker both the browns of the old scheme. Window frames were painted white. The underside of a station canopy was painted light cream, including the ironwork & the inner face of the valencing, no doubt to make the platform lighter.
Poster boards before 1912 were painted black with a blue top panel lettered in white, but with the green livery, the boards were painted green and lettered ‘ G.C.R.’ in an unusual serif script. Station signs became white on a green background.
PAINTS FOR MODELLERS
Pre 1912
- Cream Precision SR buildings cream
- Brown – Precision GWR dark stone.
- Dark brown – Tamiya Hull Red.
Post 1912
- Lighter green – Precision SR Middle Chrome Green
- Darker green – Tamiya XF-70 dark green
- Chrome Green. Darker green – Tamiya XF-70 dark green.
BEST PLACE TO SEE IT
Rothley station, Great Central Railway – no surprise there!
METROPOLITAN RAILWAY
There is a color photograph in Railway Archive 24 showing Waddesdon Manor station in 1910. This shows the woodwork to be painted buff & a lightish brown, and the poster board to be black with the company name on the heading panel in white on blue, probably an enameled plate.
By the 1930s Metropolitan stations were painted in attractive light green and cream as shown in the painting below which is set in 1932. The green is lighter and has more yellow than the LNER shade. Poster boards, station signs and running in boards were painted ‘Derby Red’ which wasn’t a crimson lake but more of a scarlet shade, with black beading around the edges.
Lettering in all cases was white, and it was shaded in black where the lettering was painted rather than cast iron letters screwed in place. Station seats were painted green, as were metal footbridges. Station trolleys were red. Lamps on stations were painted black. Many Met. stations had diagonal fencing similar to that used on the Midland, and this was creosoted, never painted. Small poster boards were lettered ‘METROPOLITAN’ while larger ones had the full ‘METROPOLITAN RAILWAY’.
THIS POSTCARD ISN’T OF A MET STATION, BUT IT SEEMS THE BEST PLACE TO PUT IT.
PAINTS FOR MODELLERS
- Cream – Precision SR buildings cream.
- Green – Precision LNER locomotive apple green.
MIDLAND & GREAT NORTHERN JOINT RAILWAY.
The M&GN did not copy either the MR or the GNR, but devised its own color scheme for buildings, using a pinkish cream similar called confusingly ‘stone’ with a very light yellowish-brown color called ‘tan’ by the railway. Window frames were white. Some stations used a darker brown based on iron oxide in place of the tan, similar to the M&GN wagon color, and the use of this should show in a B&W photograph use of the darker brown gradually died out and the tan became the standard darker color. From around 1914 the tan was a slightly darker shade than that used hitherto.
Door panels, finials & the boarding on wooden buildings were usually creams, with the remainder of the woodwork in the darker color. Valences could use alternate colors as shown at Weybourne. The repainting period for buildings was ten years.
After 1923, M&GN stations when repainted followed the LNER color scheme.
Poster boards on the M&GN were black, lettered in white. Station name boards were also white on black.
PAINTS FOR MODELLERS
- Cream – Humbrol enamel no. 71.
- Brown – Precision GWR dark stone.
BEST PLACE TO SEE IT
Weybourne Station, North Norfolk Railway
Information from the M&GNR Circle courtesy of Roger Kingstone.
HULL & BARNSLEY RAILWAY
The H&BR painted the woodwork on buildings in a cream & brown color scheme, and the doors & metalwork were also painted brown. Buildings interiors were brown up to dado level, and cream above with brown doors.
Station fencing was painted cream.
Station name boards were brown with the raised lettering in cream or white.
PAINTS FOR MODELLERS
- Cream – Precision SR buildings cream.
- Brown – Precision LMS buildings brown.
FURTHER INFORMATION: North Eastern Record, HMRS.
MID SUFFOLK LIGHT RAILWAY
In independent days the MSLR painted buildings in cream and a mid-brown as seen on the restored examples below :
BRITISH RAILWAYS
The former LNER area was divided into the Eastern & North Eastern regions. The official regional colors were dark blue & tangerine.
EASTERN REGION
On the Eastern Region, the blue was used for signs, poster boards, etc, but does not seem to have been used at all with the standard cream for the buildings themselves. Most still carried LNER livery when they closed. I don’t know what the official policy was, and why unlike the W, S & LMR regions every building wasn’t quickly repainted in the new scheme, but the following sounds possible. The LNER green/cream colors were only introduced in 1937, and between then and 1948 almost all buildings seem to have been repainted. Allow for the war, and most would have been painted in the 1945 – 1948 period. That being the case when the BR colors were introduced in 1951 the ER Civil Engineer no doubt thought that there was no point repainting buildings on which the paintwork was only a few years old and had plenty of life left in it. That being said, no other region followed this course, and it would have applied just as much to the (ex LNER) NE region which repainted everything very quickly. It did result in a lot of shabby-looking stations by the 1960s.
There is another thought – the regional blue was official ‘Oxford Blue’ can you imagine anyone being brave enough to paint Cambridge station that color?!
I have seen photos of signal boxes still in LNER green & cream at Histon in 1980 and at Sudbury in 1981, which surely must have been the last survivors in BR use.
There is a suggestion that some signal boxes in the March area were painted in cream & blue in BR days, but I have no confirmation of this other than the mention of a piece of cine film showing the colors. Does anyone know any more?
BS381C references seem to be shade 381 Biscuit for BR cream and 108 Aircraft Blue for the regional blue used on signs – follow the links on the ‘Colours’ page for BS color patches.
THIS IS HISTON STATION, AND IT IS PRETTY TYPICAL OF THE CONDITION OF THESE STATIONS IN LATER YEARS. ONLY THE POSTER BOARDS ARE IN THE REGIONAL OXFORD BLUE.
NORTHEASTERN REGION
The North-Eastern region was even stranger; the official regional color of Tangerine only appeared on the signs and poster boards, while the buildings themselves were painted in a very attractive livery of light grey officially called Ivory and sky blue officially called Oriental Blue. Sky blue was the Scottish regional color! The new colors began to be used in the mid-1950s, so there was a gap between the official colors being introduced in 1951 and the ivory/blue livery appearing. I wonder
If the Civil Engineer spent the period in between arguing his case? After all, Tangerine & Cream would have looked a bit like a trifle!
Whatever the reason, the NE region ended up with a very attractive color scheme which looked best on timber buildings, where the bottom three feet or so of the walls was blue, along with the doors, ironwork, etc, and the top part of the wall was in the ivory. The Oriental Blue was used for lamp posts, signal box steps & the like, the only Tangerine saw being on station name boards & the enamel notices. These complemented the Ivory & Blue paintwork quite well, though wooden boards painted in Tangerine did tend to fade rather.
The Tangerine seems to be BS381C 592 International Orange.
PAINTS FOR MODELLERS
- Tangerine – Tamiya flat orange.
- Ivory – Tamiya ‘Ivory’ acrylic.
- Oriental Blue – no match at present; possibly Tamiya sky blue lightened with white.
BEST PLACE TO SEE IT
The NE regional colors have been used at Grosmont station on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.
