Off-lease High Speed Trains running out of time to avoid scrap threat

[whole diary]

[grahame]

They can't go on for ever .. but .. I was up in the North East a coupe of weeks ago and found myself travelling on TransPennine 3 car trains that were crammed much of the time, and very busy at times I had thought "this will be a quiet one for a change".  And there were a number of locos spotted around - class 68 or 88 ?? - in TransPennine colours.    Now - Hull Trains, another First company, are borrowing HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) to cover until they're Azumaed and there's a good question to ask why the retiring HSTs can stay on network to cover where need is desperate and new arrivals are late or reduces.

Answering my own question - are we seeing the difference between an open access operator who has to complete for passengers and so they are king, and a franchised operator who has to compete for a franchise, so the DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) is king.

[Timmer]

You can make anything go on forever - just look at the Spitfires still flying, some of them even older than the oldest trains on our network. But you have to treat them nicely, and through lots and lots of money at them. Some say that it was wrong of the RAF^▸ (Royal Air Force) to stop using them, and that the seats in the new Typhoons and F35s are much harder, but you have to move with the times.

Stick a couple of HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) in museums, ask the heritage rail sector if they would like one or two to restore and run (at 25 mph) once or twice a year, and move on.

Absolutely Tony. I fully expect a fair number will be kept running and preserved but you can’t keep all the power cars and coaching stock; some will end up being scrapped as sad as that is.

[broadgage]

Perhaps some of the redundant HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) should be secretly stored in Box tunnel, instead of the steamers?
Not much point in storing steamers thus these days as few stations have coaling or watering facilities.

[Umberleigh]

Perhaps some of the redundant HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) should be secretly stored in Box tunnel, instead of the steamers?
Not much point in storing steamers thus these days as few stations have coaling or watering facilities.

Ha ha! Well the HSTs survived 40+ years of Dawlish so I can’t see a nuclear war stopping them...