Irish Railway Liveries — A Modeller's Paint Guide

Pre-Grouping Companies

Before the 1925 amalgamation that created the Great Southern Railways, Ireland had dozens of independent railway companies, each with its own livery. The largest — the Great Southern & Western Railway, Midland Great Western Railway, and Great Northern Railway of Ireland — ran distinct colour schemes that are rich subjects for modellers of the Victorian and Edwardian eras.

Great Southern & Western Railway (GS&WR): The largest pre-grouping Irish company. Steam locomotives in dark grey-green, later plain black. Coaching stock in crimson lake (a deep red-brown) with white or cream upper panels. Characteristic brass-capped chimneys and copper-topped domes on passenger engines.

Midland Great Western Railway (MGWR): Locomotives in a dark blue-green. Coaches in varnished teak — a warm golden-brown that darkens with weathering. Characteristic ornate lining in gold and black on express engines.

Dublin & South Eastern Railway (D&SER): Locomotives in dark green, similar to GWR practice. Coaches in a golden-brown varnished teak.

GNR(I) — Great Northern Railway of Ireland

The GNR(I)'s sky blue coaching stock is the most iconic livery in Irish railway history. Running from Dublin to Belfast and across Ulster, the GNR(I) painted its passenger coaches in a distinctive pale sky blue — applied uniformly to the entire vehicle body, with cream or white roofs and black underframes. The effect was striking and immediately recognisable, setting the GNR(I) apart from all other Irish operators.

GNR(I) steam locomotives were finished in plain black with red lining on the buffer beams and running plate. Express locomotives carried gold lining on the splashers and cab. The combination of black locos and sky blue coaches made for one of the most visually arresting train compositions in the British Isles.

The company's diesel railcars of the 1930s–1950s wore a distinctive blue-and-cream livery that prefigured modern train design. These railcars — among the most advanced in Europe when new — ran the Belfast–Dublin Enterprise service before the GNR(I)'s dissolution in 1958.

Great Southern Railways (GSR)

The 1925 amalgamation united most southern Irish railways into the Great Southern Railways. The GSR standardised on lined black for steam locomotives, with red and white lining on passenger engines. Coaching stock went through several phases: early GSR coaches retained individual company liveries before a move to crimson lake (a deep red-maroon) with cream upper panels became standard.

The GSR's large steam fleet — inherited from the constituent companies — included a wide variety of locomotive types, eventually rationalised under CME Alexander Harty and his successors. The Woolwich Moguls and the later 800-class express locomotives (the "Queens") are the prestige modelling subjects of this era.

CIÉ — Early Era (Steam & First Diesels)

Córas Iompair Éireann was formed in 1945, taking over from the GSR. The early CIÉ period continued the GSR's plain black for steam locomotives — no lining, no embellishment. This austere look reflected post-war austerity and the company's difficult finances. The black steam locos of 1945–1963 are visually stark but historically authentic.

CIÉ's diesel revolution began in earnest in 1955 with the American-built A-class (001-class) Co-Co locomotives from General Motors. These appeared initially in black with silver/aluminium striping and yellow warning panels — the so-called "black and tan" scheme. This is an extremely popular modelling era: a black diesel hauling green-and-cream coaches on the 1950s Irish main line is a compelling prototype.

Coaching stock in the early CIÉ era was initially inherited crimson lake and cream, transitioning to plain dark green (sometimes called "CIÉ green") and finally to a green-and-cream livery in the late 1950s.

CIÉ Silver & Orange — "The Silver Era"

The early 1960s brought one of the most distinctive periods in Irish railway livery history. CIÉ adopted a silver/grey body colour — officially described as "silver" — with orange horizontal stripes. Applied to both locomotives and coaching stock, this created a cohesive, modern fleet appearance that drew comparisons with contemporary Scandinavian and German railway practice.

The silver/orange scheme was applied to the A-class, B-class, and C-class diesel locomotives and to the Mark 1 coaching stock. Photographs of a silver A-class hauling matching silver-and-orange Mark 1s through the Irish midlands are among the most evocative images of the post-war Irish railway era.

The silver was not a bright metallic — it was a medium grey with a slight warm tone, closer to battleship grey than chrome. The orange stripe was a warm, medium orange, not the bright modern IÉ shade.

CIÉ Black & Orange

By the early 1970s, CIÉ had moved away from the silver scheme. The new standard became black body with orange and yellow horizontal stripes — sometimes called the "black and orange" or "bus livery" period (as it mirrored CIÉ's bus fleet colours of the same era). This scheme was applied to the 071-class (the Bo-Bo General Motors locomotives delivered 1976–1977) and to some older diesel classes repainted in this period.

The 071-class in black and orange is a particularly popular modelling subject — Accurascale and Irish Railway Models have both produced RTR models of this class. The 071s were the prestige Irish mainline locomotive from delivery until the arrival of the 201-class in 1994, and they remain in service today.

Iarnród Éireann — "Supertrain" Livery

When Iarnród Éireann was separated from CIÉ in 1987 (though the rebranding began with the "Supertrain" marketing campaign in 1984), the railway adopted the livery that defines Irish trains to most people alive today: a bold orange body with black below the solebar, and a white horizontal band separating the two. The orange is vivid, warm, and unmistakably Irish.

The Supertrain livery was applied to the 071-class (repainted from black/orange), the 201-class (delivered 1994 in this scheme), the Mk3 coaching stock, and the CAF ICRs (diesel multiple units delivered from 2004). It has remained essentially stable for over four decades — a remarkable consistency in an industry prone to rebranding.

The exact shade of orange has drifted slightly between applications and eras — early Supertrain orange is marginally deeper/brighter than the more recent applications. The Humbrol 18 / Vallejo 70.851 pairing is widely accepted as the closest commercial match, though some modellers add a touch of red to deepen it.

Modern Iarnród Éireann (2016+)

A 2016 corporate identity refresh brought a refined version of the Supertrain scheme. The orange is slightly darker and more burnished than the original Supertrain shade. Charcoal grey replaces pure black on many vehicles. The white band remains, and the IÉ logo has been updated. The 22000-class (Commuter) and 29000-class (InterCity) rail cars carry this refined livery, as do newly-delivered vehicles.

For modellers, the 2016+ scheme is currently only achievable through custom painting — no RTR models in the refreshed livery yet exist at the time of writing. The differences from the classic Supertrain scheme are subtle at arm's length.

Northern Ireland Railways (NIR)

Northern Ireland Railways was established in 1968, inheriting stock from the Ulster Transport Authority. The defining NIR livery is royal blue — a medium-to-dark blue applied to the class 80 DMUs, class 450 push-pull coaches, and early diesel locomotives. Blue and cream was used on some stock, transitioning to all-over blue by the mid-1970s.

The Enterprise livery — applied to the cross-border Belfast–Dublin service operated jointly by NIR and Iarnród Éireann — is distinctive: silver body with a broad red diagonal band and gold/yellow accents. Both the Caf-built Enterprise coaches (2019+) and the earlier Mk3-based sets carry versions of this joint identity.

More recent NIR Translink liveries use a dark navy blue with silver and teal accents on the class 3000 (Siemens Desiro) and class 4000 (CAF Civity) units.

Irish Narrow Gauge Liveries

Ireland's numerous 3ft narrow gauge railways each had their own livery traditions. The main OO9/009 modelling subjects are:

County Donegal Railways (CDR): Steam locomotives in plain black with red buffer beams. Early coaching stock in teak. Later coaches in a distinctive reddish-brown ("chocolate") with yellow lining and "County Donegal Railways" lettering. CDR diesel railcars in silver and red — a highly modern appearance for the 1930s. The railcar livery is the most widely photographed CDR image and should be your reference for these vehicles.

Cavan & Leitrim Railway: Steam locos in black. Coaching stock in dark green — a similar shade to standard Irish mainline practice. Goods wagons in grey or weathered natural wood.

West Clare Railway: Locomotives in black. Open summer saloons (the iconic bogie vehicles) in a distinctive cream/off-white. Closed coaches in green. The combination of small black locos and cream open coaches is extremely photogenic.

Tralee & Dingle Light Railway: Locos in black; coaches in green and cream.

Donegal Railway (before CDR): Earlier liveries used dark green for some passenger stock.