"...The font of the white digits matched that of the black digits on 158797, and this font was different from the one used forward from the next repaint..."
En route to Hereford on 22nd December 2003, 158783 calls at Worcester Foregate Street.
It’s surely best remembered by railway enthusiasts for its joyous, bright green livery. But Central Trains has also come to stand as a fascinating transitional entity, which evolved Central England’s local and mid-distance operations away from nationalised mediocrity, and into a new era where even bog-standard multiple units could entice our cameras out of our bags or pockets.
A short while back I celebrated Central’s Class 310 electrics, but the post you’re reading now has proved even more interesting to put together. This is a spotter/modeller-focused, image-rich summary of the Class 158s in use with Central Trains between 1997 and 2007. I must warn you that its gets pretty seriously nerdy regarding the Central Trains livery detail. But if train fanatics can’t get nerdy, who can?