British Railways carriage liveries

First maroon corridor stock was SKs M24937 and M24941 in March 1956. The official announcemnet about the new liveries was in April, and complete sets on front line services appeared on the LMR in late May 1956, but not until September on the ER. Maroon suburban stock appeared in late summer 1956.
David

Maroon was introduced from 1956. Before that, Mk 1 suburban stock after nationalisation was in crimson.

What about the "crimson" livery? Was that different to the maroon?

The crimson livery had no horizontal lining. I assume it was the same colour as in "blood & custard". Bachmann makes both versions in 00.

Thanks David and Roderic.
The info is exactly what I need and luckily enough it suits my layout's timescale almost exactly!
-- Enzo
I wear the cheese. It does not wear me.

In message , Mart>> gwr4090 wrote: Depends what you mean by colour. As I understand it, the crimson they used for the early BR liveries did not stay crimson very long, as it faded in the light.

Probably why they changed to maroon.
BTW I don't know why the NYMR always seems to use their blood & custard rake and not their maroon one on Heartbeat, which has been set in the mid 60s for 11 seasons now! And they are still running steam, so it can't be later than 1968.
Also I see that filming for Born & Bred Series 3, set in the 50s, has been taking place on the KWVR, whose Mk 1 stock is all lined maroon.

"John Sullivan" wrote
Just trying to clear something in my own mind here. Is the early crimson to which you refer the same colour as the *carmine* used on the mainline stock (usually referred to as crimson & cream or blood & custard).
John.

My understanding is 'yes', irrespective of any definitions of 'carmine' and 'crimson'. Looking at photos however suggests that the plain red used on non-gangwayed stock is not necessarily the same as the 'blood' in gangwayed stock. This could be due to any or all of the following: perception of the viewer, lighting conditions of the photo, age and condition of the paintwork on the stock concerned, original mix of the paint and variations in undercoat, varnish, etc etc etc.
What is clear is that carmine/crimson/blood is lighter and more orange than maroon. What you use in a model is very, very subjective, and at the end of the day the only answer is what looks right to you, but for me the Phoenix/Precision 'BR Crimson (Faded)' is a good starting point.