Czech rail travellers are being treated to the sight of a liveried locomotive rumbling into the station looking more like Noah’s Ark than the 9.52am for Bratislava!
The Union of Czech Zoos commissioned the vehicle graphics to heighten public awareness of its international programmes for the preservation of endangered species. It collaborated with Safex, the official partner of Kay Premium Marking Films in the Czech Republic, to achieve the first full wrapping exercise of its kind in the country.
It took a team of four people nine days working in an average temperature of five degrees to complete the project. Whilst the locomotive’s relatively straight lines presented only minimal challenges, the area of the engine was quite daunting at 120m² - the printed graphics accounted for a quarter of this space. The engine body was covered in K50000 calendered vinyl and K70000 cast vinyl by VWSII which printed them on a Solijet pro111 XJ-640, using Permacolor. For the train’s windows, the choice was VistaView, printed in the same colour as the rest of the engine and laminated with Ultra Clear K70005.