| 50th anniversary of the introduction of HST's on the route Posted by Mark A at 08:32, 4th October 2026 | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Can it be? Yes, apparently.
A link to the promotional video in this Bluesky post.
https://bsky.app/profile/joebrownlondon.bsky.social/post/3mwzjbw2rtx2z
| Re: 50th anniversary of the introduction of HST's on the route Posted by grahame at 08:48, 4th October 2026 | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Can it be? Yes, apparently.
A link to the promotional video in this Bluesky post.
https://bsky.app/profile/joebrownlondon.bsky.social/post/3mwzjbw2rtx2z
A link to the promotional video in this Bluesky post.
https://bsky.app/profile/joebrownlondon.bsky.social/post/3mwzjbw2rtx2z
The start of October seems to be a watershed for so many new innovations (well, they were at the time) and closures that are still missed / regretted to this day. I recall catching a train from Firsby to Lincoln full of holiday makers from Skeggy the summer before that line closed, and calling at already-derelict stations at places like Tumby Woodside where, already, "No passenger waits, no one departs, no one arrives" but at least that's not the case - as the song goes - from St Erth to St Ives.
Wonderful to see my data feeds "dripping" with the 2+7 HST run yesterday from Paddington to Swansea via Chippenham. Hope everyone had a good day.
| Re: 50th anniversary of the introduction of HST's on the route Posted by John D at 18:07, 7th October 2026 | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Whilst the HSTs were a big leap forward, and funding restrictions meant there was never enough of them nationally, it is also other anniversaries
45 years ago, France introduced the TGV, initially restricted to 260km/h (162mph), later increased to 270km/h (168mph), with later generations rated at 300km/h (186mph) and latest at 320km/h (199mph)
The HST was good at over 2 miles a minute, but nowadays seems slow with trains doing 3.3 miles a minute
| Re: 50th anniversary of the introduction of HST's on the route Posted by Electric train at 17:28, 8th October 2026 | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Whilst the HSTs were a big leap forward, and funding restrictions meant there was never enough of them nationally, it is also other anniversaries
45 years ago, France introduced the TGV, initially restricted to 260km/h (162mph), later increased to 270km/h (168mph), with later generations rated at 300km/h (186mph) and latest at 320km/h (199mph)
The HST was good at over 2 miles a minute, but nowadays seems slow with trains doing 3.3 miles a minute
45 years ago, France introduced the TGV, initially restricted to 260km/h (162mph), later increased to 270km/h (168mph), with later generations rated at 300km/h (186mph) and latest at 320km/h (199mph)
The HST was good at over 2 miles a minute, but nowadays seems slow with trains doing 3.3 miles a minute
The difference being the HST ran at 125 mph on existing mixed traffic track (with very little changes to the infrastructure) whereas the TGV for 186 mph required new dedicated track














