In 1986 the West of England Main Line came under the control of the Network SouthEast (NSE) sector, which saw the introduction of their bright blue, red and white livery. The first locomotive in this livery was again 50023 "Howe". The NSE livery had two versions; the original had upswept red, white and grey stripes at the ends, with white cab window surrounds; the revised livery introduced in 1988 had the red and white stripes continue to the body ends, with a blue cab surround. In the revised livery the blue became a darker shade.