Book excerpt: Railway liveries play an important role in establishing much-valued recognition of the many operating companies through the variety of colors worn by their trains which ply our British railways. These reinforce the pride that their “uniform” bestows. This is demonstrated by the immaculate designs which adorned the Pre-grouping steam locomotives through to the stamp of Network South East which certainly raised the profile of many ordinary commuter trains, at least around London and the Home Counties. Similarly, it is a quality which is especially evident in the ubiquitous all-pervading British Railways blue era, which now features as an essential ingredient in diesel preservation, as also in a multitude of colors and futuristic designs bestowed by the contemporary privatized passenger and freight companies. Furthermore, consider the appeal of “retro” liveries which decorate some of the locomotives hauling charter trains, a trend which reinforces the popularity of liveries which were once merely part of the mundane everyday scene. Any glimpse through the news reviews and photographs published in monthly railway magazines will reveal such a kaleidoscope of colors adorning the locomotives and rolling stock which traverse the UK’s modern and preserved railways. This book endeavors to facilitate a brief overview of some of these liveries in the hope that it will whet the readers’ appetite to explore their own world of railway liveries.