Wrap artists

For the launch event in March, Stewart Signs had to de-brand and then apply interim branding to as many of the Class 43 HST power cars, Class 91 locomotives and Driving Van Trailers as possible, with the basic Virgin branding to ensure the new brand was communicated to customers. 

“We successfully interim branded most of the fleet in this fashion over the first weekend at depots across the country, in time for the franchise launch on March 2,” says Stanley.

At the same time, Stewart Signs was secretly applying the two launch liveries at Bounds Green, ready for the high-profile event at King’s Cross. It then began the rollout of the main launch brand wrap on the Mk 4 fleet from mid-April. 

At Bounds Green, Project Manager and Co-ordinator Claire Maney is overseeing the finishing of Mk 4 set BN23 as well as 91107 Skyfall - the locomotive at the head of the train promoting the most recent James Bond film.

“I walk about 45 miles a week,” says Maney, who begins the cycle by checking the work of the preparation team whose job is to prepare the surface of the train and the areas that need painting. 

“If it’s not prepared properly, paint won’t stick to the surface,” she explains. With adequate pressure applied to the surface, the adhesion of the vinyl becomes stronger and stronger.

A fair bit of trimming takes place, as the long sheets of vinyl are applied to the sides of the train in what basically amounts to a giant wallpapering operation - cutting around windows and ventilation grilles, and so on. In hard to reach areas, paint is applied that matches the design of the vinyl. Edging tape is also applied to prevent dirt getting inside and underneath the surface of the vinyl. On a clean train, the effect should be that you can’t see the join. 

Maney gets help on a Wednesday and a Thursday (the busiest days for applying vinyl to the train). That leaves Friday as insurance - the day on which she likes to have everything done by, giving her time to resolve any outstanding problems. Rectification work may also be needed, which can increase the amount of time it takes for vinyl to be applied.

On the day of RAIL’s visit, the completion of work on 91107 Skyfall has been held back especially, to allow the application of the final few panels - it would normally have been completed the previous day. 

This will be the eighth ‘91’ to be completed, although by the day of the visit ten Mk 4 sets had already been completed (RAIL 778). 

Guy Allen and John Duckett are the two experienced men working on 91107 Skyfall, which itself carried a promotional wrap for the film some months back before briefly reverting to East Coast grey. 

Allen has worked on projects for First Great Western and Merseyrail, and even on vinyls for a train promoting a Harry Potter film, while Duckett wrapped the first train in England at Old Oak Common depot some ten years ago. If anyone is an expert on wrapping trains - a precise art involving concentration, Stanley knives and a squeegee (to rub down air bubbles) - it’s these two men.

“It’s nice to see the difference between one train and another,” says Allen from the top of a platform alongside the locomotive. 

Duckett prefers the exterior work to the interior work - Stewart Signs works on all aspects of train branding, and has even brightened the insides of those essential on-train conveniences. “It’s not so nice being stuck inside a toilet!” he explains.

When all of the fleet has been reliveried, VTEC will turn its attention to the interiors - this includes the recovering of seats, carpets and cushions to a new design, and work on the toilets in both Standard and First Class. 

While most of the Class 91/Mk 4 fleet (and all of the HSTs) will be replaced by 65 five-car and nine-car IEP trains (the new Class 800/801s) from 2018 onwards, between six and eight of the older trains are being retained to work Anglo-Scottish trains between London and Edinburgh. 

It’s therefore important that the interior and exterior appearance of the train continues to set a high standard. 

https://www.stewartsigns.co.uk/ 

• This feature was published in RAIL 779 on July 22 2015