doublearrow.co.uk

You’re right but it’s a totally unnecessary discrepancy, no reason why the white stripe can’t be deeper and the #NSE logotype shifted upwards :)

Will never understand why the stripes are a different depth on locomotives #NetworkSouthEast #NSE

I can forgive that, partly because silver (‘Argent’) and white are equivalents in heraldic terms) 😬

Spectacular; a simple, single, white double arrow is so effective; only muppets would want this to be red on that backdrop

Colour photo of the concourse at Manchester Piccadilly station taken in 1986 and fromt he Manchester Libraries collections. People millinga round inc. a couple with a baby buggy pushed by a man in a blue coat on the left. In the foreground three women, two with carrier bags. There's a poster for the Manchester Pullman on the right and on the Train Information board in the background a 'Speedy Gonzales" travel poster. Above is strung a slightly sagging banner for the 'Peak Wayfarer' day runabout ticket for buses and trains with the logo/symbols for Great Manchester Transport, the BR 'double arrow' and the National Bus Company 'N' symbol.

Three transport logotype/symbols in a row at Manchester Piccadilly station in 1986 on a saggy banner. #logo #manchester #transport @doublearrow64.bsky.social @richardprice.bsky.social #transport #manchester

There was an article about him in the modernist (#44, September 2022) with some photos too IIRC
www.unitedcattleproducts.co.uk

it was a Norman Wilson creation and that is the domain of @richardprice.bsky.social

Innit

I keep reading it as ‘co-wheels’ 😬

Mmmm, tripe :)
@richardprice.bsky.social

And of course because I like to have a bit of fun....

One for @doublearrow64.bsky.social - extant Rail Alphabet usage in Denmark

I wonder if there's a Dansk wayfinding/publicity specialist tearing their hair out considering DSB have their own set of specific, bespoke (and quite attractive IMHO) fonts/typefaces.

Happy 50th birthday Birmingham International!

I know the GLA, who issued this, don't use TfL's Johnston - but boy, this shows why TfL do. Talk about looking 'wrong'. #typography #design @doublearrow64.bsky.social

I gather Gerry Barney wanted the symbol to be massive on the sides of locomotives from day one but was overruled; not clear who was responsible for it but it was first seen on a locomotive in 1978 on 56036.

And there was this which was earlier still…
(Photograph: Alan Harrison)

Hard to argue with…
#LargeLogo #RevisedBlue

Who is propagating this nonsense? Apart from always having been distinctly nondescript, those Network Rail major station icons are now obsolete and bear absolutely no relation to the new wayfinding design idiom

Some sort of love/hate button?

A screenshot from a 1979 video of Eastern Scottish buses in the Airdrei/Coatbridge area. a line of contemporary cars wait at traffic signals whilst in the distance a green double deck Eastern Scottish bus moves away. Behind it, to the left, a BR parcels van in large logo livery. (RBache on Facebook)

No missing the BR van @doublearrow64.bsky.social - from a video on FB about Eastern Scottish buses & in the very year, 1979, I was conductor Ashworth of New St garage who worked duties on this type of bus through this type of town!

(Richard Bache/Facebook)

The same arrangement was used on Mark 2 Pullmans in Executive InterCity livery, this example not having any typographic descenders (cf the ‘g‘ in the example above which gets pretty close to the lower edge of the red stripe
flic.kr/p/aFyiok

Intercity Pullman carriage names were aligned very oddly; the Flame Red stripe was 180mm deep, the x-height was 80mm, the gap below was 35mm and the gap above 65mm and I have absolutely no idea why, text was usually centred on x-height
flic.kr/p/2jjGiEj (Michael J Collins)

I think there was probably a small but reliable pool of suppliers (e.g. Doric Signs) who were carefully supervised to ensure high standards

There is a desire to improve things but there is very little buy-in; the railway is too fragmented now to achieve anything of worth when it comes to wayfinding

Admittedly this is only temporary but “We’ll do our own thing, thanks” is the scourge of wayfinding across the British rail network…

No, hadn’t seen them and they’re not very nice for various reasons, not least the use of symbols/roundels with the original thin arrow which was addressed in the most recent Wayfinding guidance; I also don’t like ampersands much

Morning all. A bitterly cold morning as I recall, as 37408 ‘Loch Rannoch’ traversed the Oban line with the Grangemouth to Connell Ferry oil train. Another service that was lost to road transport shortly after. Hope you all have a great day.
#Class37 #Tractor #LargeLogo

Amaryllis, amaryllis
Amaryllis
Amaryllis, amaryllis
Amaryllis
Amaryllis, amaryllis
Rock me amaryllis

So these numbers are definitely Rail Alphabet, albeit incorrect positive weight and very tightly spaced
flic.kr/p/2qKY3Ak

Yes, probably the ones repainted at Crewe with knock-off Rail Alphabet, Crewe Works-style, but certainly not Helvetica

Yes, very unusual, they were usually Rail Alphabet

Prototype InterCity version on 73123 had Helvetica numbers…