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British Rail: History of a Design
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- Опубліковано 7 сер 2024
- Additional Credit to Lineside South East ( / linesidesoutheast ) for the video clip at 0:11
British Railways, or British Rail, BR for short, had a varied history over the course of its nearly 50 year existence. In 1948, after uniting 4 of the UK's biggest railway companies, British Railways was lacking its own unique image and had no fitting logo for its locomotives. It would take a handful of months until BR got their logo situation sorted out and found something that worked. However, in 1956, the logo was modified to have more detail, but looked more dated compared to the original 1948 version. With the Modernisation Plan beginning to take effect throughout the mid to late 50s, and BR looking quite old and out of date by the 1960s, a drastic facelift was needed. BR trains had mismatched coaches, locomotives were painted in pre-nationalization colors, and BR's logo was dated. Looking to Canadian National Railways for inspiration in 1964, British Railways embarked on an ambitious rebranding effort. Now known as British Rail, BR sought to modernize their appearance in hopes to gain back the respect of passengers. In this video, I talk about the history of British Railways' logos and discuss the rebranding project that brought forth the famous Double Arrows logo.
This is my first foreign-based video outside the United States and Canada so I apologize if I mispronounced or got any information wrong. I also decided to focus primarily on the main BR Rail Blue color scheme rather than also heavily discussing the sub-brands like Railfreight, Network, or other paint schemes. While I did showcase some clips of them, I probably will save those other BR brands for their own video. I also would like to point out that while I do have an interest in British trains, I'm not an expert and not as familiar with non-American or Canadian trains. What I'm getting at here is I hope my research proved accurate lol.
Music Used:
Jet Set Radio - Electric Toothbrush
A Hat in Time - Train Rush
Sonic Adventure - Fakery Way Twinkle Park
Jet Set Radio - Recipe for the Perfect Afro
Super Monkey Ball - Jungle
Sonic Colors - Area Planet Wisp
Sonic the Hedgehog (Sonic 06) - Soleanna Castle Town
Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
0:33 BR 1948
2:50 A New Look for BR
10:04 Conclusion
Links:
Instagram: / amtrakguy365
Twitter: / amtrakguy365
Flickr: www.flickr.com/people/1424538...
My Site: amtrakguy365.weebly.com/
Additional credit to Lineside South East (ua-cam.com/users/LinesideSouthEastfeatured) for the clip at 0:11
Thanks for watching the video! This is my first history video that focuses on a non-American or Canadian railroad so hopefully my research was adequate! While I have an interest in British trains, I'm not exactly an expert or as familiar with them so apologies for any potential inaccuracies, mispronunciations, or anything else. I didn't detail some of BR's other brands like Railfreight, Rail Express Systems, Network SouthEast, etc. as I mainly wanted to focus on the BR Rail Blue paint scheme when it came to branding. However, I may follow this video up with one focusing on the other BR brands/paint schemes and their histories that I just mentioned.
can the next video be a Mexican one?
Will you do other railroad logos too?
You know what would be interesting, doing some train stuff on the Export locomotives from ALCO, EMD/GMD Canada, and GE, for example the New South Wales Government Railways or NSWGR had the 44 Class which was basically a ALCO World model FA-2
You did your research right. Not only did you avoid any errors (or at least none were obvious to me), but you also comprehensively navigated the nuance and the full context, not leaving any 'gaps' as far as I am aware.
As a British rail enthusiast and also interested in graphic design, I have to say this video came across as very well researched and presented - a real joy to come across randomly on UA-cam! Well done sir, and thank you :)
The arrow is so iconic when it comes to rail lines, that even Lego Trains used it.
Yeah. But Lego has a circle with two arrows on both sides
@@MrJimheeren Yea. Just like the Dutch and Swiss train lines.
They included stickers for decorating 12v trains of several different European railway companies, including BR.
Two Lego trainsets I have also have the stickers with the arrows.
And yet not only they have buffers(British) they also have knuckle couplers(American)
British Rail Blue is one of the coolest shades of blue
Indeed it is
Interesting
And that’s a fact
Ikr
As seen on the carriage seats in the film ‘Dunkirk’, set in 1940! (Whoops).
When I worked on British Rail the symbol was known as "The Arrows of Indecision"!
I love that. Lol.
"This is the AGE... of the train"
"I dinnae care how old it is, just whether it's running!"
In accordance with the tradition of railway staff taking the piss out of everything.
I heard that Richard Branson was less than amused that his staff, were referring to the original Virgin trains paint scheme that he had just spent a lot of money on as Kit Kat livery. As it was thought to resemble a chocolate bar of that name.
LNER -- London & North Eastern Railway -- Late & Never Early Railway
GWR -- Great Western Railway -- Great Way Round or Gods Wonderful Railway
MS&L -- Manchester Sheffield and Lincolnshire -- Money Sunk and Lost
Which re-branded itself to the....
Great Central -- Gone Completely
As a British Person I have to say, this video is extremely well made and you do know your stuff, I’m very impressed
Amazing what can be found on the internet.
A thoroughly enjoyable video, very detailed and well researched, there's quite a few things I didn't know about our national rail logo that I've now learnt! :D
Yup. I joined British Rail in 1978 and have just retired (sort of) and its culture runs through my veins. Your analysis (that's Amtrak Guy) is spot on. So is that of Ruairidh MacVeigh. Have you ever thought of partnering in a video? You would be awesome.
There is something so dystopian about seeing a BR Crest on an ancient locomotive like a Terrier.
Complete with lining & smokebox numberplate, still chuffering about as ever they had done (looking a tad grubby, & approaching 90 years old, but lasting till 1963!)
There are even a few still around today. I think they are some of the oldest operational locomotives in the world.
So glad you didn't use any of the adverts for British Rail from the 1980s. They were fronted by a rather unsavoury character. And that's putting it mildly. Brits will know who I'm talking about.
As a person from England, I think this is the best video an American has done about British rail
Honestly, the BR logo still seems modern to anyone that hasn't grown up with it
@CrashChannel yeah the Lion on wheel looks way better and classier. But it would look silly on a modern locomotive or even the HST!
@CrashChannel well...I got a Photo of an HST and slapped the Lion on wheel symbol on it...I mean...It doesn´t look bad but the loco/Train still looks too modern and plasticy. With a few shining chrome parts or a nice shining paintjob it would probably suit the HST pretty well.
@CrashChannel it looks fancier. But as a clearly visible logo on signage? It would be difficult to see properly. Fine for a loco or rolling stock - but problematic as signage for train stations or tickets.
@@deutschevolksmiliz Have you tried turning it into a metal plaque of some kind. That might help.
Most of the minimalist 60s logo redesigns still look modern today! Especially with the 00s trend of trying to make them shiny or textured, since the trend is once again flatter colours and simpler lines. Check out how many logos Saul Bass redesigned, ~80% of them are still in use in some form or another!
I'm American, have never been to Britain but I knew the double-arrow by the time I was six.
As a brit with interest of railways both sides of the Atlantic, can I just say this is an excellent video. Very well researched and presented brilliantly.
I’ve always enjoyed the Cycling Lion logo. Seems like it’s a metaphor for the power and prowess of the railways.
5:00 - Put a red double-arrow on a blue background, and it recalls the Union Flag itself. I never noticed that before. What could have been.
Fun fact: The CN logo has always been known as "Worm" and is a close relative to the much maligned "mating worms" logo of Penn Central.
The CN logo looks suspiciously similar to NASA's 70s/80s worm logo too.
Never heard it called the Worm, I have only heard it called the Noodle logo.
Apparently the Government is planning to use that Union Jack logo if and when the privatised companies are re-nationalised into Great British Railways.
The visual communications design work of Jock Kinnear and Margaret Calvert deserves a video in itself! They were also responsible for the standardised font and symbols of the UK road network, much of which spilled over to other countries, and visual communication design in airports too. They had a massive hand in keeping people and vehicles informed and moving.
British person here...
BR Monastral Blue is truly one of my all-time fave liveries, despite never growing up with it. As for the double-arrow, what can I say that hasn't already been said? Truly a logo that has spanned multiple generations and has come to symbolize rail travel in this country. When you see it signposted, you instantly think 'that way to the railway station'. Simple, but so effective.
Superb vid BTW, very well researched and in depth; am well impressed. :) And I agree, sub-brands like InterCity, Network SouthEast, Railfreight, Regional Railways etc deserve their own videos.
Aaaand we’re back to nationalisation again! We welcome Great British Railways in 2023!
That's the way it should have stayed. (And . . . Beeching shouldn't have cut all those lines -- now you're going to be missing them as traffic goes back up and it will be very hard to get them back. Of course, we have the same problem on a much more massive scale in the US.)
The British Rail logo has gone through a lot. The British Railways has had a long and rich history. The wheel lion logo was scrapped in favor of the line logo. British Railways sadly no longer exists. RIP British Railways January 1st 1948- November 20th 1997. Thanks for showing the history of British Railways.
The "BBC" clip of the Great Western HST at 0:12 was actually filmed by me, the BBC purchased the clip via my Pond5 page. It also appears in one my HST tribute videos on my channel.
I think the genius of this logo is that it kinda doesn't look like a corporate logo at all, instead it just looks like a symbol used on signage that just means railway. You can imagine it being on a map to show that there's a railway or in a highway sign to show which exit to take to get to the railway station. It's not BR's logo it's the railway's logo and since BR ran all the railways in the country this was perfect.
Another great video about railway designs! I appreciate how most of your videos are based on your interest in graphic design.
Fantastic video, perfectly sums up what to me was a comforting, unchanging, unwavering look of authority that BR had then. Twinned with similar signage in hospitals and of course on the roads, it gave me the feeling that the country I was growing up in was in cool, calm, control and command in every crucial respect. My how that feeling eroded as I grew up.
2:23 the crown also featured symbolic plants for each nation of the island: the English rose, Scottish thistle, Welsh leek and British oak-leaf.
Nice observation. Shows the level of effort Charles Franklin put in 🤔🙂👌
The designer of the Rail Alphabet typeface, Margaret Calvert, is a fascinating character. As well as BR, she is perhaps best known, along with Jock Kinnier for designing the UK's road signs - all of them. They replaced a hodge-podge of antiquating designs with the sleek, easy-to-read signs we have today. Her typeface for that, called Transport, is also the one used on the UK government website. There was a terrific interview with her on Radio 4 a while back where she was talking about the 1950s commission to design signs for the new motorway network and she chose the blue shade because it was pretty, clear and not being used anywhere else.
Ms. Calvert aged 84, co-designed the new Rail Alphabet 2 being rolled out across the rail network right now. What a shame about the name of the company though - great British Railways - it's almost like they want to call it British Rail, but daren't.
I must say that i really enjoy watching these train related design videos. Such high quality editing, that must have taken a long time!
Helvetica is incredibly popular font, have it here in NYC in the subway
Ur here again woah cool
when ‘Great british railways’ comes into service, I rly hope they adopt the same logo+ blue, yellow and grey paint scheme! it looks modern even today
Top marks for an excellent video. And some great clips of blue diesels and the “Arrows of Indecision “
This was really well researched and put together. It's amazing how a logo can stir people's emotions but this one certainly does that for me, bringing back so many memories.
I've seen the BR double arrows countless times and never realised the zig zag lines get wider toward the end! It is indeed a trick of the eye, they appear perfectly parralel, but they are not! Clearly a lot more thought went into this iconic symbol than first meets the eye.
That said, I always have and always will love the elegance and grandeur conveyed by the old lion and wheel logos. The double arrows were very much a product of 1960's modern minimalism.
There was a quirk when the logo was used on Sealink ships. The logo was used in a reversed form on one side of the funnel. Excellent video by the way.
As an English Graphic Designer, this video perfectly sums up why I love the BR logo. Awesome stuff
Thanks for incuding a clip from The Railrodder - had to go and watch it again!
I love these British trains, what really got me into them was Thomas the Tank Engine.
I remembered watching The original classic TV show, and then years later I collected all of the Railway series books. In which the show is based on. So the show and all of the books really got me into British trains and railways.
Because if American trains and railroads are really fascinating and part of my life here in America, then the British trains and railways are a second passion for me and a new thing in railroading to become part of my life as well
One of the cleverest logos ever designed
"cleverest" 🤨
I remember when the double arrow logo first appeared. It was also known as the arrows of indecision.
Gosh that corporate design was soooo ahead of it's time back in 1965. I can't fathom how revolutionary and modern it was.
This was amazing! I'm so glad you made this video.
The double-arrow also kind of resembles a stylized letter "R"--do you think that was intentional?
never even noticed that before!!
The Symbol is still used as the symbol of “national rail” today which is the association of train operators in the UK! It is also expected to be used on the new great British railways company branding.
He said all that in the video.
We called that logo The Arrows Of Indecision.
I started in 79. Did 35 years.
I believe the early logos had a number of nicknames - Lion on a Unicycle, followed by Lion with a Dart Board being ones which I was aware of.
The reason that a lion was used in earlier logos for BR was because lions were used as a symbol to represent Britain. Moreover, because Canada is a member of the British Commonwealth, it was natural for Britain to share ideas with it's dominions. Notwithstanding, one point that you missed was that the State Rail Authority of NSW, Australia modelled its 'L7' logo directly off the British Rail logo in the 1970s. Whenever looking at history in regards to Great Britain, always look to it's Commonwealth for clues, otherwise it is a good video.
BR Transitional will always be my favourite. The bold and simple look of “BRITISH RAILWAYS” on the side of a loco is just beautiful.
Even when it appeared on the tenders of ancient, outside framed goods engines, it still looked proud & plain, stating firmly & indisputably that the engine was property of 'British Railways.'
Interesting fact when nationisation occurred BR came under ownership of a narrow gauge steam railway called the Vale of Rheidol railway from Aberystwyth to Devil's Bridge, meaning in the 1960s you had the funny sight of a narrow gauge steam loco with the modern paints scheme and the double arrow logo adorned on the side, as per the documents request
the color scheme and logo still looks ultra modern in 2021... a very informative video clip, thanks...
I love that you used buster keatons film railrodder for this, it to is now fantastic
*noicc! didn't expect this, but suspected who made it based on the thumbnail*
The BR and CN logos are so simple they could have just STAMPED them onto the respective companies' locomotives
Excellent, informative, well researched video. You are spot on in stating the logo/totem still survives today and could well make a complete comeback now the railways are being effectively re-nationalised.
A derogatory term often used to describe BR's logo was "confused arrows", because it was said that BR had no real aim and just plodded on as usual. This led to the government breaking up BR into sectors and then selling the sectors off to open access operations and/or franchises (when you look into the history of those early privatisation days, particularly at the infrastructure owner Railtrack, it's quite scary...).
Nicknamed 'arrows of indecision' due to transport policies
As someone who took up an interest in the British Rail network over than what we have here in the US, I find it funny that I never took the time to actually look into the logo itself! Ended up checking my bookshelf after watching this to find that out of everything I have acquired, none of my Working Timetables (employee) had the Double Arrow, and only a 2002 National Rail Timetable had it. Nice video :)
Excellent mini documentary really well put together. :)
as usual, this is absolutely brilliant. "engines of British Rail" for us Limeys perhaps? 9F? class 55? we can only hope....
thank you AG365 for another great production!
Oh, I love how they used typographic design principles to adjust the width of the arrows. I’d often wondered why many recreations looked off. So good.
I very much like the old heraldic coats of arms used by the pre-grouping railways, but this is a keen insight behind the modern motifs of today’s railways in Europe and America. Great video!
The BR login is still used to denote stations on maps and the station itself.
I always favored the "Ferret & Dartboard" logo for BR. One can say it looks "Old", but I say when combined with proper lined out Brunswick Green livery it looks "Classy"; it says "Yes, this railway does have a proud pedigree behind it that you can rely on, and it will treat you like a prince for every moment of your journey."
One main criticism of the "Double Arrow" logo, especially around the 70's when BR was facing some pretty dark times was the common joke that "It makes it look like they don't know if they're coming or going!" Not helped by the advertising slogan "We're getting there", which could be satirically read as "We're trying our best, stop yelling at me!"
Yeah, "We're getting there" was not of of BR's proudest moments!
I do think they made the right call ditching the greens and maroons etc. as they were way too reverential toward the old days. In the 60s BR was getting accused and derided on all sides as being an embarrassing Victorian relic totally irrelevant to the modern world.
There was no way to combat that accusation by dressing their rolling stock and stations up in olde worlde colour schemes. I agree they had a wonderful aesthetic, but just wrong for the era.
@@CountScarlioni Weird that people want that "outdated" style back.
@@HattieMcDanielonaMoon Hmm, I don't think it's weird. If anything I think it's finally safe for historical aesthetics to return.
We live in a very different era to the 60s and 70s. Rail modernisation is a distant memory and trains have found their role in the 21st century - something that was far from certain 50 years ago.
And what with bicentennial celebrations being around the corner, I think it's definitely the right time to look back to our rail heritage for inspiration again.
@@CountScarlioni Basically, a lot of people are starting to feel like they've seen the future and the future sucks, so let's look back at when things were nice. Like how folks hardly shrug at bright clashing colors like a lot of modern TOCs use, but they'll come out in droves to see the lined out Burgundy & Cream of the "Northern Belle", or why they repainted a retired HST set into the "Blue Pullman". Even among enthusiasts there's debate over which is better on heritage steam: BR Black or Pre-Nationalization Color.
Patrick McGuiness was really into modern sort of eccentric branding, he was the president of New Haven and then he moved to the Boston and Maine where he came up with the baby blue with the interlocked B and M which I believe is the best modern railroad logo.
Went from the lion to the arrows of indecision
I've always thought of them more like arrows of opportunity.
Good video and you made it complete by the segue to the branding of the Dutch and Swiss railway happening at the same time. Which symbols are just as iconic in their respective countries. And I know that at least the NS had a very similar issue as the BR before the adoption of the current branding.
Superb video, I must say. I can recommend a book covering this in more detail; British Rail, 1948-78 - A Journey By Design or the later 1948-83 edition. It includes an interesting illustration of possible alternatives to the 'arrows of indecision'. Copies can be picked up on Amazon for the matter of a few £/$, though shipping to the US might be extortionate.
Loved it thank you for showing our fantastic trains :)
Who misses the loin on the weel it was just iconic on the tenders on GWR SR LNER and LMS locos?
Very informative. Thks for sharing.
Love the bold geometric shape of BR. I think the DfT stated although BR ended in '96, the logo is reconised as railways and must still be used on certain products, signage/tickets etc. although TOC's use their own branding too. Inter-city and new emu's called PEP's came into effect too about the time of the logo inception all part of modernising the rail. In time the logo was known as the 'arrows of indecision' for time expired trains, infrastructure and politics. Sealink was the ferry interest operating from 1970, the logo was reversed on the port side. We now know BR was quite cost effective and better than privatisation.
So informative, as a British person, I didn't know that they hired a Canadian to design the British rail logo!
They didn't. The designer was British, but he was "inspired by" the CN logo.
British Railways was always cool to me. Double arrows, Rail Blue, and Class 37s. You did them good in this.
An interesting point about the BR steam loco crests. The 'early' version was still left in stock at most workshops until about 1960, & was still being applied. Despite the late crest being official, nobody bothered using it until they'd run out of the old 1948 logos. The result was a hodgepodge, early & late crests scattered all over, some small shunting engines still in their grouping liveries, the grime covering all hope of clear identification!
Will there be more “Trains Of” series? Either way keep up the good work!
Thanks! And yeah i do plan on some more episodes of that series like Trains of the GTA series, Trains of Red Dead Redemption 1 & 2, and possibly more if i can find more games with a decent amount of trains in them
One thing which appeared in the video but was not mentioned was that the Shipping and International Services division of BR (Sealink) reversed the double arrow symbol on its ships to reflect the fact that ships pass Port to Port.
The BR rebranding was, as you said, something which inspired many other railway administrations to do something similar. Clean and strong but still simple.
The original BR emblem (1:30) was also known as, "Ferret on a mangle".
4:36 One of the Corporate Blue livery's features was that it would not show dirt so much if the train hadn't been cleaned.
Can I join in the deserved praise for your excellent film? Fascinating. May I ask where you acquired the archive footage?
The scene at 4:05 is from a short film named the rail rOdder (your gonna want to spell it right) staring none other than buster Keaton.
It was his last film and fitting to his nostalgic comedic style, entirely absent of dialogue only including sound effects and one hell of a soundtrack.
Though i like the Early BR Crest i gotta say the Arrows are timeless! They look magnificent
I think those work for the modern trains more than the Early Crest while the Early and Later Crests work more for old steamies.
I'm quite surprised at the amount of thought put into the design of the logo. I had no clue about that there was a specific font for it too, I always just assumed it was a generic Sans-Serif one. Really great vid (also nice use of SEGA Franchise music)
There's always a specific font and, really, no such thing as "generic sans serif".
@@beeble2003 That's a pointlessly pedantic comment. I'm saying that I was unaware that they had a specific font they created for their brand.
@@Acrolvm You said you didn't know that there was a specific font. I had no way of knowing that you meant something completely different.
It was also nicknamed the Unicycling Ferret, which was replaced by the Ferret and Dartboard before we got the Arrows of Indecision. The Unicycling Ferret did indeed come facing in both directs until it was realised that they could only have one heraldic device and ax the one facing right hadn't been approved by the College of Heralds it was dropped.
Most enjoyable video, thanks.
Its nice to see a mix up and love the music
Honestly its right up there with the RFFSA logo for me.
your knowledge is great !
5:00 How have I never seen the BR logo in union jack colours before? It now looks like it was inspired by the flag.
Neither have I
It was never really used, I think it was planned to be for 'BR International' for branding on brochures etc, but I don't think was ever used.
The different and changing liveries for the locomotives and rolling stock were also interesting. "Blood and custard" coaches with black steam engines from 1948, and then in 1956, olive green locos with maroon coaches. But with Southern region keeping with its grass green livery until the 1965 changeover to blue. A detailed video about these and the many other aspects of the liveries would be nice to see too.
Excellent video. Well researched.
New Zealands Railways during the 80's had a very modern looking logo, looks similar to the BR loco all be it without some lines, worth checking out :)
This video is both nostalgic and also fascinating as I have previously studied graphic design.
Nice concise story. I am impressed how an American has researched the BR logo. It is also worth studying the logos of Northern Ireland Railways and CIÉ, now Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail).
I actually own one of those Corporate Identity manuals, perfect designs throughout.
I found this video very interesting I'd like to see more of it in the future
Cool video! Really enjoyed watching it. Please do more videos about graphic design in Europe railways.
As a British person who loves American trains, I am glad to see this video uploaded.
Wow
Really great video!
I personally think of the old LNER logo when I think of British trains, but now I’m gonna think of this. Thanks a lot! Lol
No complaints. This was an interesting mini documentary on this subject of BRITISH. RAILS. I learned something from watching this.
Nice little watch, would love a video on the history of Scotrail
Interesting story. Didn't realise that a piece of Canadian design inspired many of the world's major railway logos. It's not often that Canada is known for it's design heritage!
This logo is actually still used at many stations in London and across the UK aswell as it being the logo of National Rail
It is also used on road signs to indicate where railway stations are.
Brilliant video it was intresting to hear how the logo evolved over the years. As a video idea you can gdo the same thing about some Australian railways.
I find it kinda sad how, for such a beautiful aesthetic of BR in the 60s and 70s, it was ultimately lipstick on a pig with how badly the system's modernization plan went.
Very good video well done
i think the double arrow is quite possibly minimalism at its absolute best.