GWR/WR Autocoach Livery

No it's not another livery debate, but a request for info.

I've been looking at autocoaches as used on the GWR/WR.

I have seen in preservation, and with models available,
autocoaches in chocolate and cream, carmine and cream and all over maroon.

What I'm interested in is the time periods when these liveries were used.

Any ideas?

Thanks

 

Some Great Western auto coaches eg 92 were painted crimson in Edwardian times but the majority were in chocolate & cream up to Nationalization in 1948 - these would all be timber framed with wooden,beaded panelling. The last design of steel panelled cars although designed by the GWR weren't built until 1951/4. These could only be correctly painted in BR livery, carmine, carmine & cream and then from 1956 all over maroon. Hope this helps. Ray.

 

To expand on Ray's post...

c1900-1912 - Brown & Cream, all mouldings lined, cream panels lined 1/8" Indian Red. Dean monogram followed by Garter (c.1906)
1912-1923 - Lake, all mouldings lined. Garter crest.
1923-1927 - Brown & Cream, all mouldings lined, cream panels unlined. Garter crest.
1927-1933 - Brown & Cream, either no lining (1927), or double waist lining. Panelled coaches treated as if they had no mouldings. Double Shield crest with 'GWR' above.
1934-c1940 - Brown & Cream, single waist lining. Roundel.
c1940-c1945 - 'Wartime Brown' - sometimes lined in orange, lettering dependent on what was left in the stores.
c1945-c1949 - Brown & Cream, double waist lining. Double Shield crest with 'Great Western' to either side.
c1949-withdrawal - the full gamut of BR corporate liveries from lined crimson & cream, lined crimson, unlined crimson & all over lined maroon. W231 at Didcot carried at least 3 of these & is currently wearing the earliest variant of Blood 'n' Custard with one large number at the RH end of the bodyside.
1985 - Brown & Cream. Applied to 'Test Car 1' at Derby for GW150. No other trailers are recorded wearing Brown & Cream during BR ownership.

For more details on these, I can recommend John Lewis' excellent 2-volume work on Autotrailers published by Wild Swan.

Pete S.,
C&W Dept.,
GWS Didcot.

 

Wasn't 'Test Car 1" also in research centre blue and orange at one time? - truly horrible! IIRC it is at the Midland Rly Centre. Ray.

 

Thanks for the info guys

 

Indeed Test Car 1 did have research centre livery. I have a picture of it behind 87101 during tests. The original GWR bogies from Test Car 1 are currently under 231 at Didcot

 

Test car 1.

Test Car 1