Great Western Coffee Shop

“You’re going where?” a bemused rail passenger asks me as we’re standing at Bristol Parkway station on a Saturday morning; they’re waiting for a train to Swindon while I’m here for service that will take me into Wales.

Not for the first time in my life, I’ve had to explain to an inquisitive traveller what it means when a passenger information screen displays the message “charter train, calling at charter train only”.

Normally, I’d merrily say that I am off to York, Edinburgh, Stratford-upon-Avon or another picture-postcard destination for a day trip aboard a special train hauled by a steam locomotive. But, on this occasion, my destination is, er, a recycling centre just outside Newport behind a diesel locomotive that would normally haul freight trains.

Sims Metals is one of the largest recycling companies in the world – in 2023, the firm recycled eight million tonnes of metal globally – and operates 28 sites in the UK.

Its Newport Docks facility has a certain notoriety among railway enthusiasts as it scraps, among other things, surplu-to -requirement trains. Among these are the 70s-built InterCity 125 trains that, until they were replaced a few years ago, would operate services along the East Coast, Great Western and Midland main lines.

In early August 2023, three power cars and 11 Mark 3 coaches were exported to Mexico for use on the Tren Interoceánico.

Three of them did: from wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_43_(HST)), see


 :)

“Some people have quail books, which contain sidings and crossovers, but I just go to Baker level [named after Stuart Baker, who has published rail atlases since 1977] – lines only – and I come out for a nice day out and to see friends.”

And then a second shipment, so the total is something like nine power cars and 34 Mk 3s. And then there's Nigeria - eleven power cars and eleven Mk 23s there (don't ask). But that leaves loads of scruffier ones to scrap.

ROMIC Group has moved 465237 to Great Yarmouth from the Potter Group site at Ely, for it to be inspected and evaluated by a potential client

The company told RAIL: “The ‘465’ was moved from Ely by road. It’s in Great Yarmouth now for evaluation and inspection by a client. If it all goes to plan, then expect to see more moving.”

ROMIC says there is nothing planned yet in terms of further HST exports, either power cars or Mk 3 trailers, but it is still working on more vehicles being sent abroad. So far, several HSTs have been exported to Mexico and Nigeria.