JR West's new colors

[miyakoji]

Hello everyone.  Just discovered this board, appears that it may be the greatest forum on the web.  How I've missed it for years is beyond me.  Anyway...

 

Did a quick search on this topic but didn't find anything, so I've gotta ask: what's the consensus on JR West's new liveries?  Some areas, Kanazawa I believe, got assigned a tasteful deep blue, but Okayama/HIroshima got this:

 

 

That I can handle (somewhat), but this I just can't accept:

 

 

The beautiful 117 in solid... school bus yellow?  I don't know what to call it, but it makes me slightly ill.  JRW/JNR has been somewhat challenged in 117 liveries I'd say (I will not go into JRC's orange sherbet), only the original tan/brown and Fukuchiyama green/white were decent.  They've got that screaming aqua/pink dispatched from Oji Station, I guess they're just perpetuating it with this.  And to think that the cafe au lait 113/5s will get this too...

[ToniBabelony]

Miyakoji, first of all, welcome to the forums! Secondly, what a topic to start with! Thanks for bringing up the subject on the new liveries, as I haven't noticed this yet (since I'm not a JRW fan).

 

The gold-colour is really an abomination to the design of the 117 and any train at all. It's just too in-your-face and IMHO it needs some other coloured accents to break this, as we say in Germany, augenkrebs (eye-cancer). Now they do remember me a bit of very very dirty 'Sprinters' from the Dutch railways in their old livery:

 

 

Anyways, it's a shame of the paint, really. The design of the 117's is very attractive, it is however very hard to find a good matching livery to the design... I agree the old-fashioned crème-brown was one of the best ones. Maybe a blue stripe or other blue accents would improve a lot I think...

[scott]

I'm pretty tired of blue, so I'm glad not everything got that, but you reach a point where there's just too much yellow--and they went screaming past it. 

 

At least some bands or stripes to break it up would have been nice.

 

And yeah -- welcome to the forum!

[CaptOblivious]

Looks too much like a Dr Yellow. Could use some stripes and blocks of color like JRE's 185's.

 

[Fat Al]

I don't know, but I kind of like it....

 

(Awaits the beating that is coming in his direction.)

[miyakoji]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

 

very very dirty 'Sprinters' from the Dutch railways in their old livery

Yeah, looks very similar.  The 105 series in my OP doesn't look too bad, but it's clean.  I'll be interested to see it when it's dirty.  Shouldn't take too long.

 

CaptOblivious, yeah, I like the 185 scheme, I'd like to see something equally good for these JRW local trains.  Expresses always get something a little more interesting though, don't they?

 

So, here's the rest of the bad news from the Sankei News-- http://sankei.jp.msn.com/photos/economy/business/100108/biz1001081417019-p1.htm

This is meant to reduce cost.  The Chugoku Region gets "sunlight."  I get it, Okayama's slogan is "hare no kuni."  The rest of the collection doesn't look too bad.  Wakayama will get blue-green, for the color of the sea.  I'll be interested to see their 117s in that, it might work.  Kyoto is green for matcha and for "wa," and Kanazawa gets red on the Nanao Line for Wajima's lacquerware while the rest of the area will get blue for no apparent reason, heheh.

 

Fat Al, no beating coming your way, at least not from me.  Maybe this livery will grow on me.  After all, there's the JNR orange that some KiHa40s still have, and I don't find that objectionable.  As another thread mentions, JR Hokkaido just repainted one or a few in that.

[quinntopia]

Yikes, now that you said "Doctor Yellow" and its stuck in my head, now when I look at that photo, it seems like a JRW has a whole line of MOW equipment to me!

[bikkuri bahn]

IMO, and discounting personal tastes, whether a livery "works" for a type is heavily dependent on the shape and angles present on the rolling stock in question.  So solid colors look good on the relatively blocky design such as the 105 series (or the 101/103 series).  But on the 117, with its curves, well, I share your feelings.  Another example is the 700 series Shinkansen- the standard, rather monotone scheme doesn't complement its rather polarizing shape much, but the Railstar version gives it some appeal.  I do like the move towards simpler designs which echo the JNR era color categorization albeit w/o the stripes (as you say, probably a cost cutting move more than anything else-JR West has alot of loss making rural lines).  But I especially applaud the move beyond splashing white on everything, which unfortunately remains the standard.  As for dirt being more visible- as long as they run these through the washer regularly, it shouldn't be a problem- anyway I think white schemes show staining and cracks more visibly than other colors.

[KenS]

The first train (103?) looks pretty good actually, but I agree the color just looks wrong on the 117. "Dr. Yellow" sticks in my head now too, although I hadn't thought of that at first glance.

 

Welcome to the board by the way.

[Guest ___]

Meh, doesn't bother me in the least. Glad I got two shoots in Kansai when I did with the old colors while I Was able to.