Does anyone else miss the NOISY old HSTs?

[whole diary]

[Don]

Yes please don't post any more of these, they remind me of hellish loco-hauled "intercity" cross country trips.

You obviously don't travel on the current cross country "voyager" offerings. 

Oh, how I wish for the old loco-hauled days.... space to sit down; tables; no engine vibration; no smell of toilets; and cross-country trains that stop at Worcester and Gloucester.

[thetrout]

Oh, how I wish for the old loco-hauled days.... space to sit down; tables; no engine vibration; no smell of toilets; and cross-country trains that stop at Worcester and Gloucester.

I will second that any day

Loco Hauled stock/HST^▸ (High Speed Train) is the way forward IMO^▸ (in my opinion).

Oh the delights of not having to look like a pillock standing in "the rubber bit" on a voyager to make a phone call...

[John R]

Yes please don't post any more of these, they remind me of hellish loco-hauled "intercity" cross country trips.

You obviously don't travel on the current cross country "voyager" offerings. 

Oh, how I wish for the old loco-hauled days.... space to sit down; tables; no engine vibration; no smell of toilets; and cross-country trains that stop at Worcester and Gloucester.

I think Not From Brighton is actually quite a fan of such trains. But irony sometimes doesn't come out well in print....

[inspector_blakey]

 
I_B remembers with utter shame the time circa 2001 when he was pleased to see 1V59 OXF^» (Oxford - next trains) - PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) (a Vermin XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) service in those days, think it started in MAN) was a Voyager and not one of those lovely class 47s.

I got better though. Somewhere around the avoiding line at Didcot the novelty wore off, deep vein thrombosis set in and I started thinking that a bit of 47 thrash and a threadbare mk 2 (because let's face it, they were looking a bit rat-infested towards the end) would be muchly appreciated. Especially as the Voyager sounded like it was trying to shake itself to bits every time a power notch was selected.

The Class 47s always seemed like proper, dignified, heavy duty trains and were a welcome relief from the non-stop stream of plastic (i.e. Turbos) we had serving Oxford around then. They made the ground shake as they rolled in and made a superb noise as they pulled out. Still, at least now we have lots of nice HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) which not so long ago were rare beasts indeed.

[thetrout]

I_B remembers with utter shame the time circa 2001 when he was pleased to see 1V59 OXF^» (Oxford - next trains) - PAD^» (Paddington (London) - next trains) (a Vermin XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) service in those days, think it started in MAN) was a Voyager and not one of those lovely class 47s.]

I'm afriad you have just plumetted down in my demeanor I_B

[Not from Brighton]

Yes please don't post any more of these, they remind me of hellish loco-hauled "intercity" cross country trips.

You obviously don't travel on the current cross country "voyager" offerings. 

Oh, how I wish for the old loco-hauled days.... space to sit down; tables; no engine vibration; no smell of toilets; and cross-country trains that stop at Worcester and Gloucester.

Ok, just to clarify, I prefered the space available in the Mk2s^▸ (Mark 2 coach) with lots of tables, but I was never a fan of the speed they seemed to travel at.  The voyagers are a lot faster, especially at accellerating, which is important because they've always got time to make up.  I also recall having to travel in the guard's van on a number of occasions as there weren't any seats.  Whilst the voyagers may not have been an improvement on the HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) they replaced, they were deffinately better than the 47 + 4Mk2s + van formation.
They turn around at Reading a lot faster too.

[stebbo]

Oh yes, yes, yes........

Some more Mark 2 fans - thank you for declaring yourselves. Decent carriages with tables and a class 47 or 57 would be fine

[devon_metro]

The fgw loco hauled set has a table at every seat!

[stebbo]

Yes but, sadly, it doesn't do Hereford or Cheltenham to Paddington, so it's back to airline seats with rows of pink Mickey Mouse ears

[inspector_blakey]

I'm not sure I completely subscribe to the "table good, airline bad" theory. Certainly if I'm travelling with a group of friends it's nice to be able to sit round a table, although that often wasn't possible even in the "old days" when HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) had more tables per carriage because they tended to get taken up by people travelling individually.

However, if I'm travelling by myself then give me an airline seat any day. No jostling for leg/foot room with the person sitting opposite, and equally you don't have to stare at their ugly face/watch them picking their nose/put up with them dumping their laptop on the table, taking up all the space and shoving it under your chin (all of which have happened to me in the past  )

That's why, slightly controversially, I'm a fan of the refurbed HSTs: lots more legroom on the airline seating  than there used to be, and I also find the seats more comfortable.

Suppose I'd better take cover now and await the barrage of abuse!

[moonrakerz]

What I think is amazing about the HST^▸ (High Speed Train) is that it has 2 Power Cars that are over 70 Tonnes. It then has 8 Carriages, Passengers, Luggage etc. The HST is capable of 125MPH. For a design in the 70's to achieve that speed with the shear weight of all the power cars and carriages, I think, is Pretty Impressive

On Topic, Yes I missed the noise of a good old Paxman Valenta. Although it's bad for the enviornment, I think the thick black smoke really showed just how hard these magnificant trains work

IIRC^▸ (if I recall/remember/read correctly) they are capable of 140+ and still the holder of the world speed record for diesel powered passenger train.

"When first introduced test runs where made which set a world record for a diesel train, 143 mph (230 km/h) and this record was broken in 1987 when the train set a record of 148 mph, which makes this the fastest diesel train in the world."

At one time it also held the world record for a scheduled point-to-point run. This was from Paddington to Chippenham at 116mph (IIRC !), the only "special" preparations for this run was to put inspectors in the cabs of preceding trains to ensure that the track was clear as far ahead as possible.  It was reported that many passengers complained when the train sat at Chippenham for nearly 20 minutes to get back to the timetable !

[Chris from Nailsea]

That's why, slightly controversially, I'm a fan of the refurbed HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) ...

Well, it may be a minority view, inspector_blakey, but I have expressed a similar opinion here, nearly a year ago!  See http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=2621.msg19798#msg19798 

[caliwag]

Someone else will confirm the details but there was a period when two 125s started from York (one from the Hull bay and one from the "slow to Leeds" bay, timed to leave 4 minutes apart. But because the "slow to Leeds" train went down the old line, and the other set off down the ECML^▸ (East Coast Main Line), they sometimes spectacularly set off together...screaming down to Colton Junction, both at line speed. Even standing at the end of platform 3 it brought a tear to the eye, and that at 07.40...I'd be waiting for the 08.00 non-stop (sadly) 225 to the Cross.
Sorry, not South West material but screamers non the less...