HST retirements and secondary deployments.

[westie7]

There was a training set departed Haymarket mid morning and a new livery power car on on of the shed roads. First coach set nearly there, by not up here yet

[ejstubbs]

I don't think its next month for Scotrail HSTs, isn't it May 2019 the HSTs come on strength ? They are just driver training at moment . I don't think any modified Mk3s have arrived yet

 

This Rail article says the first HSTs will be starting on the Edinburgh to Aberdeen service in May this year, with May 2019 to be when the full fleet is planned to be operational.  I'm not sure whether that schedule is still going to be met, but various threads on real railway forums seem to indicate that it's not far off.

 

There was a training set departed Haymarket mid morning and a new livery power car on on of the shed roads.

 

Sounds like the latter is likely what I spotted yesterday.  Almost tempted to take a trip up to Aberdeen later in the year!

Edited April 11, 2018 by ejstubbs

[Glorious NSE]

This Rail article says the first HSTs will be starting on the Edinburgh to Aberdeen service in May this year, with May 2019 to be when the full fleet is planned to be operational.  I'm not sure whether that schedule is still going to be met, but various threads on real railway forums seem to indicate that it's not far off.

 

 

Sounds like the latter is likely what I spotted yesterday.  Almost tempted to take a trip up to Aberdeen later in the year!

From memory it was only a matter of weeks between stock arriving and going into service on the GWR ones, though I guess lots of staff down here may have already been passed on HSTs and only needed to be trained on the coaching stock upgrades rather than from scratch?

[Pandora]

There is a rumour of an GW HST special working from Devon to Stratford-on-Avon on Saturday 14th.

does anyone have any details to post?

Edited April 12, 2018 by Pandora

[eastwestdivide]

There is a rumour of an GW HST special working from Devon to Stratford-on-Avon on Saturday 14th.

does anyone have any details to post?

Have a look at realtimetrains.co.uk

Nothing on 14th but there is an Okehampton-Stratford and return on 21st

http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/V23855/2018/04/21/advanced

[turbos]

I hadn't been following progress with the ScotRail HSTs at all closely but yesterday I had to make one of my occasional forays to Glasgow for work.  On the way home in the evening I was just emerging from a comfortable doze as we approached Haymarket when my brain registered a glimpse of an HST with a blue nose in Haymarket depot.  I dismissed it as a figment of my imagination once I'd fully woken up, but reading around today it appears that that could well have been what I actually saw, given that Edinburgh to Aberdeen HST services are due to start next month.

 

Notable, I think, how the profile of an HST was so instantly recognisable to my fuddled brain, compared to the much harder to distinguish square fronts of the stock I'm more accustomed to seeing there.  Nice to see some "proper trains" there for a change!

There have been HST vehicles on Haymarket depot for depot staff training since the 2nd December 2017, not always visible to the public, but they've always been there.

[Pandora]

Have a look at realtimetrains.co.uk

Nothing on 14th but there is an Okehampton-Stratford and return on 21st

http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/train/V23855/2018/04/21/advanced

Okehampton to Stratford-on-Avon on the 21st, matches  the rumour of the HST  working

[Ron Ron Ron]

A question regarding the small number of HST's in the GWR fleet, actually owned by First Group.

 

Are these particular sets the ones being turned into GTi's or are they off to storage/scrapping as well?

 

 

.

[Bob Reid]

I'm aware of the exemption Martyn and am strongly inclined to agree with you regarding the "we've always done it this way", not thinking about it attitude.

Why the practise was never strongly challenged is a mystery to me. 

Maybe that was one of the downsides of having an "at arms length' from political interference, BR ?

Then again H&S was in its infancy back then.

 

It certainly tallies with my recollection of the railway in the 70's and early 80's; an antiquated, backward looking, unkempt mess, with no particular direction or forward vision apart from some noticeable improvements (e.g. HST's and some new MU's).

 

 

Back on topic.

How many variations of power doors have now been fitted to Mk3 stock?

 

 

 

.

 

The development and improvements from the BR Mk1's through to the Mk4's was hardly backward looking but as always the government imposed financial restrictions tempered a lot of what was needed.  The Mk3's were built with space within the modules at one end for toilet retention tanks though of course it was never taken up and remember the Mk3 sleepers were designed from the late 70's an built in the early 80s with C.E.T. (with a prototype on a mk1) so you can hardly say they were backward looking nor blame the designers.  Forward vision is laudable and they could (and did) come up with all the grand schemes of the day but when no one would pay for it (the Sleepers themselves were coming in at around £250k apiece)...

[159220]

A question regarding the small number of HST's in the GWR fleet, actually owned by First Group.

 

Are these particular sets the ones being turned into GTi's or are they off to storage/scrapping as well?

 

 

This might help: 

 

GWR HST GTi ‘ Castle’

 

Class 43 ROSCOs:

 

Angel Trains: 005/016/024/040-042/170/186-189/192. 

 

First Group Rail Holdings: 092-094/097/098/122/153-155/158/194/198.

 

Mk3 ROSCOs all Angel unless noted First Group Rail Holdings (FG) or Porterbrook (P) - I understand the Porterbrook are being purchased by FG/swapped, but no one shall confirm!: 

Formation TGS, TS, TD, TS - GW01 currently has TGS, TS, TS, TS due to no build on TD.

 

GW01. 

49101 FG 44055

48101 FG 42168

48102 FG 42177

48103 P 42218

 

GW02. 

49102 P 44101

48104 P 42102

48105 P 42224

48106 P 42222

 

GW03. 

49103 P 44090

48107 P 42101

48108 P 42317

48109 P 42315

 

GW04. 

49104 P 44083

48110 P 42365

48111 FG 42093

48112 P 42266

 

GW05. 

49105 P 44097

48113 P 42258

48114 P 42174

48115 P 42085

 

GW06. 

49106

48116

48117

48118

 

GW07. 

49107

48119

48120

48121

 

GW08. 

49108

48122

48123

48124

 

GW09. 

49109

48125

48126

48127

 

GW10. 

49110

48128

48129

48130

 

GW11. 

49111

48131

48132

48133

 

Spares: 49112 (TGS) P 44079, 49113 (TGS), 48134 (TD), 48135 (TD)

 

First Group Rail Holdings Mk3s are: (sorry if some missing, I did this research some months ago)

 

LA Sets 60-64

40900       TRFB

40901       TRFB

40902       TRFB

40903       TRFB

40904       TRFB

41059       TFD

41160       TFD

41162       TFD          

41166       TFD

41167       TFD

42092       TS

42093       TS   - Now in GW01

42094       TS

42095       TS

42103       TSD

42105       TS

42108       TS

42167       TS

42168       TS   - Now in GW01

42169       TS  

42175       TS  

42176       TS  

42177       TS - Now in GW01

42231       TS

42232       TS  

42233       TS

42302       TSD

42303       TS  

42304       TS

42305       TS

42353       TS

42563       TS  

42565       TS      

42566       TS    

42570       TS

42582       TS

44055       TGS - Now in GW01

44068       TGS    

44074       TGS              

44076       TGS    

44081       TGS    

44100       TGS  

Edited April 13, 2018 by 159220

[Ron Ron Ron]

 

This might help: ......

 

 

Muchas grassy a*se amigo.

 

[ejstubbs]

A couple of not-very-good photos of HSTs at Haymarket depot, taken on a mobile phone last week from a passing Helensburgh-Edinburgh service.  First up is power car 43148 in the new ScotRail livery:

 

 

Second is what I think is a de-branded FGW HST set (the coach still seems to have the First "dynamic lines") which I'd hazard a guess is the training set referred to by westie7 above.  Sorry, the last digit of the power car's number is obscured by a bit of lineside infrastructure!

 

Edited April 24, 2018 by ejstubbs

[Nearholmer]

I was looking to find out which routes ‘recycled’ HSTs are likely to appear on over the summer, but got lost in the discussion of horse manure.

 

Is there a summary available anywhere? I’m not looking for unit numbers or anything, just ‘to and from’, with a view to planning the odd grand day out.

 

Kevin

[turbos]

I was looking to find out which routes ‘recycled’ HSTs are likely to appear on over the summer, but got lost in the discussion of horse manure.

 

Is there a summary available anywhere? I’m not looking for unit numbers or anything, just ‘to and from’, with a view to planning the odd grand day out.

 

Kevin

The Edinburgh to Aberdeen route should be the first to get the ScotRail HSTs, It's the route that crew training is currently taking place on. They should start in May or June but this is dependant on the delivery of the modified vehicles, no trailers have arrived in Scotland yet so it is still a case of wait and see. They need to be operating by July as that's when the next ScotRail to Northern DMU cascade is due.

[Nearholmer]

Hmmm ....... I just checked, and it would be a very grand day out, involving c16hrs of riding on trains.

 

Aberdeen is interesting, but can I see all the best bits in 52 minutes, between arriving and leaving? I think not.

[Ken.W]

43318

 

 

This month marks 40 years of ECML HST operation

[rodent279]

43318

 

C79C86CF-177C-4828-B396-03C71FF99C61.jpeg

 

This month marks 40 years of ECML HST operation

 

Longer than a certain green water boiling device, if I'm not mistaken. Not far behind at any rate.

[sem34090]

1923 - 1963?

 

40 Years.

 

Bet the NRM won't be spending >£4,000,000 on 43002's overhaul. I am a pre-grouping steam loco fanatic, but the way they treat F****** S******* is just ridiculous.

 

They could've at least restored it to GNR Condition!!!
 

Anyway, I digress...

 

The reason I entered this topic was to ask if we may see 5-car HST's along the West Coastway to displace 158/9's which are not going to be able to cope with the extra class-313/2-worth of passengers that will  be boarding them each morning?

[Wild Boar Fell]

I've not got the link, but on Twitter earlier there was some renders from Porterbrook doing the rounds of the proposed parcels HSTs. Intermediate vehicles converted to look very similar to 325 vehicles with 1/3 and 2/3 doorways. Hopefully it will go ahead and the Mk3s will stay in service for a good while yet.

 

Wild Boar Fell

[stewartingram]

I've not got the link, but on Twitter earlier there was some renders from Porterbrook doing the rounds of the proposed parcels HSTs. Intermediate vehicles converted to look very similar to 325 vehicles with 1/3 and 2/3 doorways. Hopefully it will go ahead and the Mk3s will stay in service for a good while yet.

 

Wild Boar Fell

 

I bet they would still be more comfortable than modern stock even after conversion!

 

Stewart

[Re6/6]

As an aside (or  !)

 

Here are a couple of shots taken a few years ago.

 

Running through Totnes. Note the down bay and the crossover on the main. The first long gone and the second moved up past the river bridge when MAS work was done in the 80s

 

Running into Liskeard. I think that the sidings are now long gone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bgman]

As an aside (or  !)

 

Here are a couple of shots taken a few years ago.

 

Running through Totnes. Note the down bay and the crossover on the main. The first long gone and the second moved up past the river bridge when MAS work was done in the 80s

img114.jpg

 

Running into Liskeard. I think that the sidings are now long gone.

img102.jpg

 

Thank you for posting those John, nice bit of local-ish interest.

 

G

[rab]

Sorry if this has already been discussed,

(Yes I'm too lazy to scroll back thro 10 pages).

 

As the HSTs are being shortened, what's happening

to all the spare coaches!

[Ron Ron Ron]

Sorry if this has already been discussed,

(Yes I'm too lazy to scroll back thro 10 pages).

 

As the HSTs are being shortened, what's happening

to all the spare coaches!

 

 

Stored initially.

Very likely most will be scrapped in due course.

 

Anecdotal reports suggest some are suffering from corrosion, but I've no idea how accurate that is.

 

.

[westie7]

Corrosion amongst other things the reasons for the problems fitting sliding door modules