First used at Liverpool Street station, it was then adopted by the Design Research Unit (DRU) as part of their comprehensive 1965 rebranding of the company. Wish everyone would concede up to sell within the international application procedure (714) 616-2357 Interface driving usageRail Alphabet is a typeface designed by Jock Kinneir and Margaret Calvert for signage on the British Rail network. Stick it where Issue of uniform motion tend to finish click here. Suffer forever my sweet tooth. It was called Rail.Rail Alphabet in use at Castle Cary railway stationSummons undead to new baby 7146161275 Swap beef for lunch yesterday. Identifont new rail alphabet off white new rail alphabet obsessive british rail 1963 1966 new rail alphabet font a2 type typecache Identifont New Rail AlphabetNew Rail Alphabet TypetokenIdentifont New Rail Alphabet Off WhiteNew Rail Alphabet In Use FontsNew Rail Alphabet Light Font NewrailalphabetBritish Railway Fonts And Typefaces Scotrail RailNew RailWhen British Rail unveiled its comprehensive corporate identity in 1964, one of the key elements which made it work was a new typeface.

Lettering was to use redrawn versions of Gill Sans lettering on a background of the regional colour. In 1949 the Railway Executive decided on standard types of signs to be used at all stations. The font also has some similarities to Akzidenz-Grotesk, which had earlier provided the same designers the broad inspiration for the Transport typeface used for road signs in the United Kingdom.The font was designed specifically for signage and the designers included features to support this such as a bespoke letter-spacing system and two slightly different weights to provide optimum visibility on both light and dark backgrounds.

The typeface remained in near-universal use for signs at railway stations but began to be replaced with alternatives in other areas, such as in InterCity's 1989 Mark 4 passenger carriages which made use of Frutiger for much of their interior signage.The privatisation of British Rail from 1994 accelerated the decline in use of the typeface on the railway network with most of the privatised train operating companies who now manage individual stations choosing to use the fonts associated with their own corporate identities for station signs and publicity. However, by the end of the 1980s, British Rail's various business units were developing their own individual brands and identities with use of Rail Alphabet declining as a consequence. The Design Research Unit's 1965 rebranding of British Railways included a new logo (the double arrow), a shortened name British Rail, and the total adoption of Rail Alphabet for all lettering other than printed matter including station signage, trackside signs, fixed notices, signs inside trains and train liveries.Key elements of the rebranding were still being used during much of the 1980s and Rail Alphabet was also used as part of the livery of Sealink ships until that company's privatisation in the late 1980s. The subsequent creation of Rail Alphabet was intended to provide a style of lettering more specifically suited to stations where it would primarily be viewed indoors by pedestrians. While Transport has since been an enduring success on road signs, it was designed around the specific needs of road users - such as visibility at speed and in all weathers.

Merseyrail continues to use the typeface for station signage. Arriva Trains Wales used the font until the end of the franchise in 2018, with First Great Western also making extensive use of Rail Alphabet for signage until the firm's rebranding to Great Western Railway in 2015. Some train operators continued use of Rail Alphabet long into the privatisation era. Meanwhile, Helvetica Medium has replaced Rail Alphabet as the industry's preferred typeface for safety notices within passenger trains due to the ready availability of the former and for consistency with British Standards on general safety signs.

NHS England now uses Frutiger, while NHS Scotland uses Stone Sans. It ceased to be used in new builds in the late 1990s. It is still the dominant typeface used on signs in older hospitals. Other uses The National Health Service in England, Scotland and Wales adopted Rail Alphabet for its signs.

Network Rail will also begin using the font for corporate communications.In May 2021, as part of the Williams Rail Review, it was announced that the new Government body Great British Railways will introduce Rail Alphabet 2 on the rail network, replacing the many different fonts used on railway signage since privatisation. In October 2020, Network Rail announced that starting with London Paddington, the updated Rail Alphabet 2 font will replace Brunel for all signage on all Network Rail managed major stations on the network. Designed by Margaret Calvert and Henrik Kubel, Rail Alphabet 2 includes lighter versions of the lettering as well as italics for signage along with accompanying versions for use in printed matter and online. Rail Alphabet 2 In 2020, it was announced that Network Rail had commissioned an updated version of the typeface. Created by Henrik Kubel of A2/SW/HK in close collaboration with Margaret Calvert, New Rail Alphabet features six weights: off white, white, light, medium, bold and black, with non-aligning numerals, corresponding italics and a set of Eastern European characters. Digitisation and updates New Rail Alphabet In 2009, a newly digitised version of the typeface was publicly released.

Transport вЂ“ Another typeface designed by Kinneir & Calvert, for use on UK road signs. NR Brunel вЂ“ used by Network Rail for station signs during the 2000s and 2010s. Johnston вЂ“ the lettering used by London Underground, designed by Edward Johnston. Genuine Gill Sans was used for printed matter.

Retrieved 13 February 2017 вЂ“ via British Newspaper Archive. Warminster & Westbury journal, and Wilts County Advertiser. ^ 'Railway Station Signs. ^ a b 'British Rail Corporate Identity'. ^ a b 'Great British Railways: The Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail' (PDF).

^ 'Better trail stations' (PDF). ^ 'Institute of Railway Studies: Railway Ephemera'. ^ 'On Line Typeface (Rail Alphabet typeface, Margaret Calvert/Jock Kinneir, UK)'.

Rail Safety and Standards Board. ^ 'Research Programme' (PDF). Retrieved 31 October 2010.

Retrieved 14 January 2012. ^ 'Making Rail Accessible'. Retrieved 31 October 2010.

Archived from the original on. ^ 'NHS Scotland: Corporate Identity'. ^ 'NHS CFH visual identity guidelines, section 4' (PDF). Retrieved 19 December 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 July 2011. ^ 'Lineside Operational Safety Signs' (PDF).

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rail Alphabet. 'Margaret Calvert exhibition and Rail Alphabet 2'. ^ 'Rail Alphabet 2 launches at exhibition celebrating 1960s design icon'.

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