My final ride on a full length HST?

[whole diary]

[bobm]

Just bought my ticket and reserved my seat.

Secondman’s seat, leading power car. 

[JayMac]

I wish!

I did sit in the secondman's seat of a Class 57 used by GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) the other day. It wasn't going very fast though.

[Robin Summerhill]

Subject to confirmation

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) have just announced that if you want to travel on the Last HST^▸ (High Speed Train) from Paddington you will require a seat reservation ....

I can't find this information on the GWR website. Has anybody got a link to it?

[Rob on the hill]

Subject to confirmation

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) have just announced that if you want to travel on the Last HST^▸ (High Speed Train) from Paddington you will require a seat reservation ....

I can't find this information on the GWR website. Has anybody got a link to it?

https://www.gwr.com/about-us/media-centre/news/2019/april/the-time-and-date-of-the-last-high-speed-train-to-run?fbclid=IwAR13a_o6V1orAzjcoSPJo3i4pA5hx55gO4MA2kZa1jnI9xHQdWQPvrrB6io

The time and date of the last High Speed Train to run
   Wednesday 17th April 2019   
 

Bumper turnout expected for last High Speed Train Service from Paddington

With large crowds expected to watch the last, regular High Speed Train depart London Paddington, GWR has announced that seats on board the memorable service will be reservation only.

After over 40 years’ in operation on the Great Western network, the High Speed Train is being replaced with bullet-style Intercity Express Trains, and the very last regularly timetable service will be the 18:30 from Paddington to Taunton on Saturday 18 May.

The train is being extended to Exeter St Davids, and with demand to travel on board expected to be very high, the service will be entirely reservation only, and passengers will have to hold a valid seat reservation to be able to board.

Click here to book your ticket.

An additional 18:32 Intercity Express Train is also being provided for those who do not wish to be on the last regularly timetabled High Speed Train.
1832 Intercity Express Train
GWR Managing Director, Mark Hopwood said:

“The High Speed Train has served the Western region for nearly 43 years, making a major impact on Intercity travel not only here in the west but across the country.

This last train marks a major milestone in the transformation of the Great Western Railway, with the completion of our Intercity Express Train rollout, prior to timetable changes tomorrow (May 19th), and again in December which will see us deliver more seats, and more frequent and quicker journeys as we benefit from the modernisation of our network.”

Those opting to travel to Paddington to record the event will be able to do so and special designated areas are being set aside for enthusiasts to be able to photograph and film safely.

In addition to the 18:30 service, the 18:03 departure to Plymouth, the 18:15 departure to Cheltenham Spa and the 18:22 departure to Hereford are also due to be formed of High Speed Trains, subject to operational requirements, providing a unique, farewell line-up at Paddington.

The HST will make a return to Paddington for a special charity charter tour on 1 June which will be raising money for First Group’s chosen charity, Action for Children. Tickets for this special charter are available here.

[PhilWakely]

Just bought my ticket and reserved my seat.

Secondman’s seat, leading power car. 

You mean, like this 


and the view at the time..........


Thankfully, the arm and leg that were given to charity have since grown back 

[Bob_Blakey]

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) have just announced that if you want to travel on the Last HST^▸ (High Speed Train) from Paddington you will require a seat reservation ....

Compulsory seat reservations on a service that GWR know is going to be very busy? Who would have thought it! 

[Robin Summerhill]

That press release seems to imply that compulsory seat reservation only applies from Paddington and not from intermediate stops, or perhaps no-one thought of clarifying it. What do the members here think?

[Phantom]

That press release seems to imply that compulsory seat reservation only applies from Paddington and not from intermediate stops, or perhaps no-one thought of clarifying it. What do the members here think?

How would something like this be controlled?
Would be easy to get through the barriers at Paddington with a normal train ticket, surely there are not people checking at every door onto the train?

[Celestial]

That press release seems to imply that compulsory seat reservation only applies from Paddington and not from intermediate stops, or perhaps no-one thought of clarifying it. What do the members here think?

How would something like this be controlled?
Would be easy to get through the barriers at Paddington with a normal train ticket, surely there are not people checking at every door onto the train?

I bet they will be for that train. I would have thought there will be enough staff on board doing the trip that they could act as "door monitors".

[Robin Summerhill]

That press release seems to imply that compulsory seat reservation only applies from Paddington and not from intermediate stops, or perhaps no-one thought of clarifying it. What do the members here think?

How would something like this be controlled?
Would be easy to get through the barriers at Paddington with a normal train ticket, surely there are not people checking at every door onto the train?

I bet they will be for that train. I would have thought there will be enough staff on board doing the trip that they could act as "door monitors".

Clearly the idea at Padington is that those without a reservation will be directed to the 1832 relief that is also running.

The relief is booked to overtake the service train at Reading, and actually run in the path of the 1830 from that point onwards. So from Reading and beyond, any "ordinary" passenger that turns up for the train will get on the relief, blissfully unaware that the train they are actually on is the relief and not the service train (and I very much doubt that the average passenger would give a hoot anyway, let alone two... )

For anybody interested, I show below the intermediate timings currently showing on RTT^» (Real Time Trains - website) as far as Chippenham:

PAD» (Paddington (London) - next trains)                 18:30   18:32   - RDG‡(resolve) arr          18:55   18:57   <------ RDG dep           ---->   18:59   19:03 DID» (Didcot Parkway - next trains) arr                           19:12   19:21 DID dep   -                   19:14   19:27 SWI» (Swindon - next trains) arr   -                   19:30   19:45 SWI dep   -                   19:32   19:47 CPM» (Chippenham - next trains) arr   -                   19:45   19:58 CPM dep   -                   19:47   20:00

I bought my ticket and reservation this morning, not that I really wanted to do it this early. This month's Visa bill is horrendous because I've booked to go to Ogden, Utah, on May 8th to see the Union Pacific's "Big Boy" no 4014 on its first outing after restoration, and going that far doesn't come cheap...

_{Oddited for teepees again...}

[grahame]

Not a ride ... but surprised to see an HST^▸ (High Speed Train) calling at Swindon at 20:05 last night ... next stop Bristol Parkway, then Bristol Temple Meads.

[Kernow Otter]

Thinking of it more in terms of 'last pint in the buffet car' these days.  Hoping for an HST^▸ (High Speed Train) to Tuckers Maltings Beer Festival on Friday 12 April......

Managed it last week.  HST buffet car PLY^» (Plymouth - next trains) to NTA^» (Newton Abbott - next trains), with a Tribute, followed by a beer festival.  What's not to like !

A great final ride.  Happy days.

[martyjon]

When HST^▸ (High Speed Train)'s were introduced on XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) services were they 8 or 7 carriages. If 7 then I had a ride on two types of full length XC HST'S to NTA^» (Newton Abbott - next trains) for the beer festival last Friday. BRI^» (Bristol Temple Meads - next trains) to NTA on a XC slam door 7 carriage HST returning NTA to BRI on the 1, so far, 7 carriage sliding door XC HST.

I didn't know XC had a converted HST set, might be news to other forum members too.

One adverse comment on the sliding door set, the scrolling display in the centre of the carriage is, I assume, fed by cabling contained in a plastic conduit pipe from the carriage floor to the display unit which is attached to a partition inserted between two back to back central seats. I would have thought this cabling could have been routed via the overhead luggage racks with the wiring for the overhead seat lighting and the electronic seat reservation.

I did note that the seat reservation panels on the luggage racks were illuminated but not whether they were actually displaying 'seat reserved' because in our case blank 'seat reserved' tickets were inserted in the reserved seats.

On the whole though the refurbishment has certainly given a new lease of life for the 40 odd year old stock   

[Rob on the hill]

Not a ride ... but surprised to see an HST^▸ (High Speed Train) calling at Swindon at 20:05 last night ... next stop Bristol Parkway, then Bristol Temple Meads.

That would have been 1U28 1912 from Paddington non-stop to Swindon. This diagram is normally worked by an IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train), but a HST was substituted to cover for the day.

[REVUpminster]

Saturday 27 April the 16.03 Paddington- Plymouth was a full length HST^▸ (High Speed Train). Buffet was advertised on the indicator board. Train had two café workers (hosts?); one provided the at seat service in 1st class, but they had no hot food or sandwiches. I suppose it was a last minute change although it arrived in passenger service full of rubbish that the cleaners had to clear before it left.

At Newton Abbot in the morning the 05.24 Bristol- Penzance was a short HST (I been on it when it was a two coach 150) but I don't  think this one was with sliding doors.