Rail Blue
Eventually, it was decided to standardise on a colour which became known as Rail Blue. Introduced in 1965, and also known as "Monastral Blue", the colour was defined by British Standards BR28/6001 (Airless spray finish) and BR28/5321 (Brush finish). It was a dark, greyish blue tone which hid the effects of dirt well. The colour often appears inaccurately in photographs, generally appearing brighter and bluer than the real colour. In the early years the colour faded quite badly, becoming lighter and paler with time although this problem had been overcome by the late 1970s. United Kingdom paint code RAL5020 ("Ocean Blue") is a good match to Rail Blue. There is also a British Standard paint colour BS381C 114 called Rail Blue which was introduced in 1964. The new British Rail "double arrow" symbol on locomotives (or leading vehicle as was the case on multiple unit stock) and the vehicle number and other ancillary markings written in the Rail Alphabet typeface were other integral parts of the livery.
Read more about this topic: British Rail Corporate Liveries
Famous quotes containing the words rail and/or blue:
“If goodness were only a theory, it were a pity it should be lost to the world. There are a number of things, the idea of which is a clear gain to the mind. Let people, for instance, rail at friendship, genius, freedom, as long as they will—the very names of these despised qualities are better than anything else that could be substituted for them, and embalm even the most envenomed satire against them.”
—William Hazlitt (1778–1830)
“Sometimes we see a cloud that’s dragonish,
A vapor sometimes like a bear or lion,
A towered citadel, a pendant rock,
A forked mountain, or blue promontory
With trees upon ‘t that nod unto the world
And mock our eyes with air. Thou hast seen these signs;
They are black vesper’s pageants.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)