South Western Railway celebrates heritage of Class 455 fleet with retro blue and grey repaint
NOW ENTERING the twilight period of their long operating lives, South Western Railway has celebrated the legacy of its Class 455 third-rail electric multiple units with a special retro-repaint into a compliant version of the classic British Rail blue and grey livery.
The remaining Class 455s operated by SWR are expected to be withdrawn over the coming months, to be replaced with the newly-introduced Alstom-built Class 701 Arterio EMUs that began to enter service earlier this year (Railways Illustrated issue 253). The special repaint to 455868 was carried out at Bournemouth Depot.
Since first being introduced into traffic by BR in 1982, the Class 455s have gone on to become the backbone of suburban commuter services in the Southern Region. 455868 was also chosen in 2002 to be the recipient of a special celebratory livery to mark the Golden Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Social media star and railway enthusiast Francis Bourgeois was invited by SWR to Wimbledon Depot to see the completed train on March 6 and record a video of his visit, ahead of 455868’s re-entry into passenger service with the operator the following day.
SWR managing director Claire Mann said: “The Class 455 fleet has worked tremendously hard over the last 42 years. As we look to the future with the introduction of our Arterio trains, we feel it’s only right that we celebrate their service and the people who have worked on them, and we were delighted to show Francis this very special livery.
“The livery was painted with a
