Where can I buy a replica British Rail Hi Visibility waistcoat from?

Question

OK, Firstly its for use on a preserved steam line. And not just any old vest will do, believe me I have googled and yahoo'd and I dont want a nylon one. They were made from polycotton, either plain or the later ones had two reflective strips on the rear and two making a V on the front, either with or without the BR logo. There is no security aspect to it - the GORT standard vests that all railworkers use now are freely available on e-bay and any potential lunatic can buy them easy enough. I want to recreate a look from the 70s.

Tried JN Beesley and TheSafetyGuy, they are leaning towards GORT standard vests now. Thanks anyway.

Tried (and keep trying) e-bay, it is rather hit and miss for this sort of item. Thanks for the link

Answer 1

I don't know, but the old style ones had problems.

They were buttoned up the front, but modern ones are all velcro or press-studs, with the advantage that if a passing train catches the vest, it will be ripped off you, rather than dragging you along with it.

For this reason, it may be difficult for you to source an original vest, as they became obsolete.

Answer 2

There's some bloke called "John Beesley" who advertises in the back of "Steam Railway" magazine, He makes and sells replica HV vests, without any reflective stripes on.

Answer 3

When I was working as the shop buyer at the Great Central Railway, I came accross two suppliers.

One was a corporate clothing company, whose name I forget, the other was Severnside Wholesalers.

Severnside supply goods to many preserved railway shops. Ask your shop manager for the contact.

Answer 4

Most tools supply stores will have the Hi Visibility coats in stock.

Answer 5

You would have a job getting a Railway one, just as you would getting a Police one, but you can get High Visi jackets from places like Car Accessory shops, Motorcycle shops etc.

There are Mail Order companies, get them on the net, that can supply.

Answer 6

I take it you want British Rail on the back if not you can get plain Hi Vis vest from Halfords or BBQ.

Answer 7

Have you tried hss? Or you could try contacting york's national museum. Because i think they moved collector corner from Euston to york.

Answer 8

Any safety workware retailer will supply.Try a search engine.

Answer 9

Try e-bay
here is their link: http://search.ebay.co.uk/British-Rail-Hi-Visibility_W0QQfromZR8QQssPageNameZRC0021

Answer 10

From a suspicious security point of view...........why would you want one?