WM Travel - livery history

[Busmapper]

Would I be right that the West Midlands Travel Ltd bus fleet livery history can be summarised as follows:
1. Blue and cream  (2) [adopted from WMPTE 1986], disappeared ~1991?
2. Blue and silver/grey (2) introduced 1988/1989, disappeared ~1995
3a. Blue, red band, silver, blue (2) introduced ~1991, disappeared ~1998
3b. Blue, red band, grey/off white, blue (2)  [sky blue band in Cov] trialed 1990, introduced 1997 (grey) / 2002 (off white & seperate Cov branding), disappeared 2010
4. Blue and white with red and blue forward diagonal stripes and mostly red front (2/variant) [sky blue for red in Cov] introduced ~2000, disappeared ~2014
5. White with red front upper and curved forward diagonal red and narrow blue and white (or grey) [or just red and single blue] stripes (2/[variant]) introduced ~2004
6. Red front with back diagonal change to white rear (2) [sky blue front in Cov] introduced 2008

I was thinking the other day how the blue dating back to (Birmingham) Corporation days has subtly (or maybe not so subtly) disappeared in favour of NX red and white.

[Westy]

Didnt silver become gray at some point?

[D10]

Didnt silver become gray at some point?

Yes, in particular I can think of the Blue and Silver that was introduced on the Metrobus fleet new in 1988/1989. Of course prior to this Timesaver and Minibuses had been silver, but this was meant to be the start of silver for the whole fleet. After a period though the silver didn't seem to work on repainted vehicles so grey was introduced instead.

Sadly the grey looked very dull, so the standard bus livery was changed around 1990 to the one with the wide red band

[Stevo]

It goes back to the Maglev cars, which WMPTE painted silver with black skirts, being then used on the Tracline 65 Metrobuses. This was modified for the first Timesaver livery, with bands of red and blue, also appearing on minibuses. Then in 1988 came the silver with blue skirt livery for the main fleet. This was too close to the Timesaver livery so that was modified with more blue and red. The silver 'tarnished' so in 1989 grey was substituted. The fleet was becoming very drab in blue and grey so in 1990 a general fleet livery similar to the second Timesaver colours was introduced, blue, red and grey. It was quickly realised that with a much reduced area grey they could reintroduce silver, which was done after a few repaints. This livery lasted into the mid 90s, but the silver still tarnished, so grey was brought back in about 1997. A modified livery with lighter grey came about 2001. This lasted till the end of Metrobuses. Meanwhile a third Timesaver livery of overall lighter blue - the Central Coaches blue - had been used. In fact the fleet hasn't been in one consistent livery since 1986. Sorry if my dates are a bit vague.

[Busmapper]

Thanks for the replies.
I've not considered specialist liveries like Timesaver (2), but I think all of the six listed were fairly widely used - I've now added photo links to the opening post as illustration, plus dates as I understand them.

Regarding 'the fleet hasn't been in one consistent livery since 1986', certainly here's a photo of liveries ref 1, 2 and 3 coexisting, and here's one of liveries 3 and 6, but there must have been a time in the late nineties when all the fleet was in the blue, red band, silver or grey, blue?
Also, is it correct that by the time the off-white and the Coventry sky blue band were being added (to livery ref 3b), the newer blue, white and red livery (ref 4) had already started being introduced?

[Busmapper]

Another question, was this mostly light cream livery widely roled out or was it more of a trial? Was there a double decker equivalent livery? Thanks

[Tony]

Another question, was this mostly light cream livery widely roled out or was it more of a trial? Was there a double decker equivalent livery? Thanks

There is no cream there!

[Stevo]

That's the grey and blue livery introduced in 1989 and superseded in 1990. There was no time when step-entrance vehicles were in either one version of the blue, grey or silver and red (there were two versions of grey and the silver) or the red, white and blue 'low-floor' livery, and there have been three versions of that, too. Now there are five or six versions of NatEx livery - WM or NatEx fleetname, big or small stripes or none, fleetname in three styles, now a new red and white. They say variety is the spice of life!

[Gareth]

There are 7 West Midlands fleetname styles. (Not including Coventry)

[Busmapper]

Another question, was this mostly light cream livery widely roled out or was it more of a trial? Was there a double decker equivalent livery? Thanks

There is no cream there!

Are you sure? Here's another pic - looks more cream-like than grey to me.
Upon coming across these photo I had therfore assumed this (trial?) livery came between the WMPTE inherited one (ref 1) and the use of (proper) grey (ref 2). However based on the date given of 1989, am I right that this one came after the ref 2 livery had started to be introduced?

[busfan2847]

The Lynx's were all delivered in Grey. It isn't cream.

[paulb1973]

Lynxes 1067 onwards received the grey and blue livery - more matt grey as opposed to the silver finish which appeared in 1988 as the standard scheme.

[Busmapper]

Ok, I concede to 'matt grey'!
Many thanks for the responses.

[Tony]

PB and BC seem to have had a fleet name purge over the weekend I haven't seen a single double deck with the West Midlands part of National Express name on today from either garage

[Winston]

PB and BC seem to have had a fleet name purge over the weekend I haven't seen a single double deck with the West Midlands part of National Express name on today from either garage

Maybe that could also extend to eradicating the TWM fleetname as well, across all garages, it's long overdue