Just been following the "early electrification" thread digression on the main forums.

I tend to be regarded in some quarters as something of a Luddite, having been generally deeply unimpressed with BR era diesel locomotives and the service they provided, and I'm certainly no great lover of MUs of various descriptions for similar reasons.

I was a great fan of the original 125 HST, which seemed a Great Leap Forward. However I find that I'm unable to take pleasure in the subsequent electrified 225 designs. I suppose that they look much the same externally, are contemporary with rapidly escalating fares and the general Balkanisation of the network with its attendant inconveniences, and the interiors appear to be constructed from random combinations of cheap-and-nasty furnishings and fittings, unrelated to and largely unfit for purpose.

Rather a shame, but so it goes..