Thank goodness the frontage of the former Leicester GCR station has been retained.There also used to be another line up from Rugby to Leicester which ran to the west of the GCR which closed in the early 60,s whereas the GCR frpm Rugby survived until 1969!
HST.... Rust in peace... Never drove one in my 40 years service... plenty of 37's, sprinters & pacers though... now happily retired. Anything over 60mph used to give me a nosebleed anyway...
The HST's actually ran regularly at 135mph and even on a few occasions to 140mph in '140 club' and drivers of old will tell you all about it. They were pinned back to 125mph due to limiters placed in them in the early 1990's. London to York on my HST journeys was twice achieved in 1hr 40mins. Newcastle in 2hr.39 and so on. No new trains have beaten the HST yet and it will be a long time before they ever will. Further, the HST coaches were quite than the new trains that have replaced them and far more plush in first class and much nicer lighting and seating in standard too.
I remember my very first ride on an HST, in 1979, from Kings Cross to Doncaster with my grandpa. It was his first time on an HST as well, and he'd brought along a stopwatch and a lookup table of speed versus time from one 1/4-mile post to the next. I quickly worked out that 7 seconds (1/4 mile at 125 mph) was prone to a large measurement error (ever the engineer!) so I timed over 4 posts for greater accuracy and estimated our speed at about 137 mph at one point - certainly a long way in excess of the nominal 125 mph. HSTs have by far the nicest carriages, in terms of ride, seat comfort and matching of seats to windows - all of which the HSTs' replacements don't do as well.
Recorded about 110mph behind Deltic Crepello north of York in 1962, timed using my schoolboy Timex wristwatch! I was in the third coach down from the loco, boy were those two Napiers noisy! Wonderful land by The Shadows number one as well. Halcyon days.
I bet you wouldn't get 40 years service with the state of the art 'Banger' trains these thieving train companies have acquired on the cheap. The HST is the best diesel trains ever to grace the railways solidly built with speed and comfort in mind
I had been on the stretch between the St Pancras - Bedford back in 2016 when EMR was known as EMT (Under Stagecoach). Never had gone past Bedford as I went to catch a pair of Class 387s to Brighton and subsequently hop on a Class 700/1 (700104) to London Bridge.
The Midland Main Line. It was my first intercity experience back in the autumn of 2003. Trains used to terminate where the Eurostar building is before the new location northwards. I went to Sheffield twice, that year and in 2009. I worked for a defunct entertainment chain that was on the brink of collapse due to the recession at about the time regarding the latter year.
Very good. Interestingly no mention, when referring to the Corby branch continuing to Oakham, of the original route to Nottingham via Melton Mowbray, which I remember trains taking in the 1960s.
That was the alternative route, not the original route. I used to travel to school on it. Part of it is now the Old Dalby Test Track. Lady Bay Bridge over the Trent in Nottingham was converted to a road.
The EMR HST's are also the last trains with slam doors on them while all other trains are sliding or plug. And also the last mainline trains where you can stick your head out the window. Once there gone you won't be able to look out the window on mainline trains anymore not even on rail tours. Also because of the lockdown, there is some talk of possibly extending the HST's beyond May, but we will have to wait and see.
I'm not sure EMR will need to keep any HST's passed May TT change. The 360's will be introduced on the Corby services, releasing the current 222 / 180 units that operate that route back to the Notts / Sheffield's. Although it seems the 360's will enter service in their current state, there should be sufficient in the pool to ensure 1 can be away for refurbishment whilst not affecting the timetables. Sadly with the covid-19 pandemic, it looks like they will slide away without a proper send off, although EMR could still run a special later in the year.
Love how you complained about the 30mph junction at Kettering ;) Indeed, rather than throwing money at new (cascaded from another operator) Class 360s, it would have been more beneficial to improve the junction speeds and improve the speed of the slows, especially with the new Corby services having to cross over at one of the slow junctions (25mph at Wellingborough or 30mph at Kettering). The slows are still only 50mph south of Wellingborough!
Good video, but the camera setup could have been better. The trouble with auto-focus is that if you get raindrops or dirt on the window, as happened not infrequently on the video, the camera will focus on that and the rest will be very blurry. It's better to use a long set focus to avoid that, and encourage the driver to keep the window clear of dirt and water.
Very enjoyable, thank you. I lived in Bedford for many years, near the railway, and used to commute from the old station. I have a question though about the constant background chatter I could hear. I'm surprised that's allowed due to the distraction factor. Pilots, for example, are required to avoid unnecessary conversation during takeoff and landing for that reason.
"Pilots, for example, are required to avoid unnecessary conversation _during takeoff and landing_ for that reason." Similarly, unnecessary conversations shouldn't be had while running under the equivalent moments, such as cautionary aspects: th-cam.com/video/ehBfnKFPW_4/w-d-xo.html is an older training video mentioning this (can't speak for rules and right now, but unlikely to have gone backwards!) Note how for example that from 16:37 gets quiet after a double yellow signal!
@@christopherwright8388: Not sure about speed restrictions unfortunately, sorry! I could see the logic for both ways, but someone more informed should hopefully be able to answer that...
Thanks for this most informative journey! At last I get to see Leicester London Road Junction - but no S.B. What a change Leicester Station has had with the demolition of the overall glass roof! I looked out for the 99M.P in the beginning of 'The Tunnel' - but didn't see it. Maybe the replacement Motive Power will be steadier than this venerable HST - or doesn't the camera have 'Steady Shot'?
Hello Train_Paul. Is there any way that i can contact you? I would like to use some parts of that video for an comparrision video which i want to do for the midland mainline addon which DTG released for Train Sim World.
Point of interest..........Trent was one of the few stations where at one time you could depart in both directions on a train bound for London! Exeter St. Davids and Plymouth North Road being others.
As you head north from St Pancras the tunnel entrance to Camden tunnel has ornate brickwork. This was to appease the locals, concerned the 'new railway' wouldn't fit in with the area. The tunnel doe snot have ornate brickwork as you approach from the north. Haverstock hill still has a bricked up set of stairs visible, and a short section of platform on the up slow as you exit Belsize Tunnel. Incidentally, I had the pleasure of being the first to drive 43 274 in its short used livery of aubergine, on an ECS from St. Pancras to Cricklewood.
No wonder why they gave some of them to ScotRail. I know how important change is but I do believe that changes should happen at the right time as well.
The Midland Main Line is my local railway. Would love to see cab rides on either the West Coast or West Anglia Main Lines at some point on either Class 317, 319 or 350 rolling stock
So does that pretty much leave Scotrail and Cross Country as the only operaters still operating the HSTs once EMR retires them. And also what are EMR replacing the HSTs with?
For passenger use there will be GWR, Scot Rail, Cross Country & LSL (Midland Pullman Set), Network Rail will still run HST's for the Measurement Train. The Meridians (222's) that currently run the Corby services will replace the HST's. Corby will then see the new "EMR Electrics" service introduced using Class 360 Desiro units.
I haven't ridden on the new generation of IET but from what I have heard they represent a backward step from the HST. It was often said that HST saved British Rail but with no thanks from the Government. When introduced the drive to end BR taxpayer subsidy was at it's peak leaving the network in a sorry state. HST was a breath of fresh air but it's success probably helped scupper APT which with a little more development would have been a winner as well but at least the APT tilting design come back via Italy a few years later! Then privatisation...... pass my blood pressure medication. Good luck HS2 (what's left of it).
Very enjoyable and informative. Just before Loughborough, you mention the GCR extension to Nottingham. At 1 hour 15 minutes, that big green bridge is the start of this restoration - it was installed very recently as part of this connection of the two parts.
Thank you for all the information. However - 2 mispronunciations just before Kettering. The river pronounced "Neeeen" at Peterborough is pronounced more like "Nenn" in Northamptonshire. See Wiki article. Isham is pronounced "Eye sham" not "Iss sham".
The last time I travelled on this train I had a speedometer on my phone I was monitoring its speed and what i can remember of it was by the time we had reached the m1 after leaving London we had hit 100mph
@@tonybramley7649 That sounds typical. Brent Cross M1 junction is about 6 and a half miles out. HSTs took considerably further to reach 125. They could reach it briefly before having to shut off for the 95 over the St Albans curves, then only again after Leagrave and the long stretch to Bedford South.
The GWR class 800 and 802 are crap. Terrible build quality and you would be better off sitting in a piece of plywoid than what they call a seat cushion. They have made the Pacer of intercity long distance trans.
Thank goodness the frontage of the former Leicester GCR station has been retained.There also used to be another line up from Rugby to Leicester which ran to the west of the GCR which closed in the early 60,s whereas the GCR frpm Rugby survived until 1969!
Well done for the stream, very interesting loving the information you are giving ❤❤❤
I love to hear the two drivers griping.
Excellent presentation. I particularly like the way that outside train views interspaced with the main cab views.
Very informative describing things as the train passes various locations, can't wait to see more videos.
HST.... Rust in peace... Never drove one in my 40 years service... plenty of 37's, sprinters & pacers though... now happily retired. Anything over 60mph used to give me a nosebleed anyway...
Have fun crossing the rainbow bridge, HST!
The HST's actually ran regularly at 135mph and even on a few occasions to 140mph in '140 club' and drivers of old will tell you all about it. They were pinned back to 125mph due to limiters placed in them in the early 1990's. London to York on my HST journeys was twice achieved in 1hr 40mins. Newcastle in 2hr.39 and so on. No new trains have beaten the HST yet and it will be a long time before they ever will. Further, the HST coaches were quite than the new trains that have replaced them and far more plush in first class and much nicer lighting and seating in standard too.
I remember my very first ride on an HST, in 1979, from Kings Cross to Doncaster with my grandpa. It was his first time on an HST as well, and he'd brought along a stopwatch and a lookup table of speed versus time from one 1/4-mile post to the next. I quickly worked out that 7 seconds (1/4 mile at 125 mph) was prone to a large measurement error (ever the engineer!) so I timed over 4 posts for greater accuracy and estimated our speed at about 137 mph at one point - certainly a long way in excess of the nominal 125 mph.
HSTs have by far the nicest carriages, in terms of ride, seat comfort and matching of seats to windows - all of which the HSTs' replacements don't do as well.
Recorded about 110mph behind Deltic Crepello north of York in 1962, timed using my schoolboy Timex wristwatch! I was in the third coach down from the loco, boy were those two Napiers noisy! Wonderful land by The Shadows number one as well. Halcyon days.
Thank you 🙏 a brilliant ride I love all the information when riding so many stations 🚉 not around that’s DR beeching for you
All the best paul in Kent
Now this is a very interesting video, well done
Great commentary! Going to miss these. XC still running them on the Plymouth to Leeds and Edinburgh routes for now.
Great video. Great locos. Will miss them.
I bet you wouldn't get 40 years service with the state of the art 'Banger' trains these thieving train companies have acquired on the cheap. The HST is the best diesel trains ever to grace the railways solidly built with speed and comfort in mind
I had been on the stretch between the St Pancras - Bedford back in 2016 when EMR was known as EMT (Under Stagecoach). Never had gone past Bedford as I went to catch a pair of Class 387s to Brighton and subsequently hop on a Class 700/1 (700104) to London Bridge.
Fantastic drivers eye view of the HST from London to Nottingham farewell to those trains with East Midland Railway
HST are so beautiful trains 💎💯
A great video. Very enjoyable thanks.
The Midland Main Line. It was my first intercity experience back in the autumn of 2003. Trains used to terminate where the Eurostar building is before the new location northwards. I went to Sheffield twice, that year and in 2009. I worked for a defunct entertainment chain that was on the brink of collapse due to the recession at about the time regarding the latter year.
Very good. Interestingly no mention, when referring to the Corby branch continuing to Oakham, of the original route to Nottingham via Melton Mowbray, which I remember trains taking in the 1960s.
Ahhhh stay tune for that, might have something available 😉
That was the alternative route, not the original route. I used to travel to school on it. Part of it is now the Old Dalby Test Track. Lady Bay Bridge over the Trent in Nottingham was converted to a road.
Nottingham the capital of East Midlands? Leicester and Derby might have an opinion on that!
No it's NOTTINGHAM
The EMR HST's are also the last trains with slam doors on them while all other trains are sliding or plug. And also the last mainline trains where you can stick your head out the window. Once there gone you won't be able to look out the window on mainline trains anymore not even on rail tours.
Also because of the lockdown, there is some talk of possibly extending the HST's beyond May, but we will have to wait and see.
I'm not sure EMR will need to keep any HST's passed May TT change. The 360's will be introduced on the Corby services, releasing the current 222 / 180 units that operate that route back to the Notts / Sheffield's. Although it seems the 360's will enter service in their current state, there should be sufficient in the pool to ensure 1 can be away for refurbishment whilst not affecting the timetables.
Sadly with the covid-19 pandemic, it looks like they will slide away without a proper send off, although EMR could still run a special later in the year.
Know the service well as I used to live in Loughborough but based in Essex (nearest stop to St Pancras is London Liverpool Street)
Love how you complained about the 30mph junction at Kettering ;) Indeed, rather than throwing money at new (cascaded from another operator) Class 360s, it would have been more beneficial to improve the junction speeds and improve the speed of the slows, especially with the new Corby services having to cross over at one of the slow junctions (25mph at Wellingborough or 30mph at Kettering). The slows are still only 50mph south of Wellingborough!
Great video as always. Not sure you can call being cut up for scrap as a 'well deserved retirement' 😂
Good video, but the camera setup could have been better. The trouble with auto-focus is that if you get raindrops or dirt on the window, as happened not infrequently on the video, the camera will focus on that and the rest will be very blurry. It's better to use a long set focus to avoid that, and encourage the driver to keep the window clear of dirt and water.
Smart arse
Very enjoyable, thank you. I lived in Bedford for many years, near the railway, and used to commute from the old station.
I have a question though about the constant background chatter I could hear. I'm surprised that's allowed due to the distraction factor. Pilots, for example, are required to avoid unnecessary conversation during takeoff and landing for that reason.
"Pilots, for example, are required to avoid unnecessary conversation _during takeoff and landing_ for that reason." Similarly, unnecessary conversations shouldn't be had while running under the equivalent moments, such as cautionary aspects: th-cam.com/video/ehBfnKFPW_4/w-d-xo.html is an older training video mentioning this (can't speak for rules and right now, but unlikely to have gone backwards!) Note how for example that from 16:37 gets quiet after a double yellow signal!
@@fetchstixRHD Makes sense. Thanks.
I wondered that - but also, what was the conversation about? Sounded interesting ! (ha ha)
@@fetchstixRHD What about speed limit changes, especially TSRs? Don't they need vigilance?
@@christopherwright8388: Not sure about speed restrictions unfortunately, sorry! I could see the logic for both ways, but someone more informed should hopefully be able to answer that...
Thanks for this most informative journey! At last I get to see Leicester London Road Junction - but no S.B. What a change Leicester Station has had with the demolition of the overall glass roof! I looked out for the 99M.P in the beginning of 'The Tunnel' - but didn't see it. Maybe the replacement Motive Power will be steadier than this venerable HST - or doesn't the camera have 'Steady Shot'?
Hello Train_Paul. Is there any way that i can contact you? I would like to use some parts of that video for an comparrision video which i want to do for the midland mainline addon which DTG released for Train Sim World.
Point of interest..........Trent was one of the few stations where at one time you could depart in both directions on a train bound for London! Exeter St. Davids and Plymouth North Road being others.
Nice Video 125 style.
The M25. The meme. I love it.
Hi! I'm travelling from Heathrow to Nottingham for university with two big luggages. Are there any lifts/ escalators available at the station? Thanks
Damm This is mad 😂😁😁 I Would love this
As you head north from St Pancras the tunnel entrance to Camden tunnel has ornate brickwork. This was to appease the locals, concerned the 'new railway' wouldn't fit in with the area. The tunnel doe snot have ornate brickwork as you approach from the north.
Haverstock hill still has a bricked up set of stairs visible, and a short section of platform on the up slow as you exit Belsize Tunnel.
Incidentally, I had the pleasure of being the first to drive 43 274 in its short used livery of aubergine, on an ECS from St. Pancras to Cricklewood.
1:26:08 Entrance to SIMS NOTTINGHAM - as pointed out in the video, a number of the MK3s sadly met their fate here.
I suppose they won't sell the HST's to another country. To the Scrappers!
(Save, as it were, museums.)
great video interesting to see nottingham station from drivers view hope they save a hst set be sad to see them confind to scrap heap
No wonder why they gave some of them to ScotRail. I know how important change is but I do believe that changes should happen at the right time as well.
Great video. I will miss the EMR HSTs but at least CrossCountry HSTs are still safe which is good 👍.
The Midland Main Line is my local railway. Would love to see cab rides on either the West Coast or West Anglia Main Lines at some point on either Class 317, 319 or 350 rolling stock
Great video
There goes another piece British engineering history,
Excellent compilation and commentary.
Though I note the closing title 1:32:29 included an unfortunate 'blooper' typo.
Agree!. But it took me 2 goes to see that! You see what you expect to see.
So does that pretty much leave Scotrail and Cross Country as the only operaters still operating the HSTs once EMR retires them. And also what are EMR replacing the HSTs with?
For passenger use there will be GWR, Scot Rail, Cross Country & LSL (Midland Pullman Set), Network Rail will still run HST's for the Measurement Train.
The Meridians (222's) that currently run the Corby services will replace the HST's. Corby will then see the new "EMR Electrics" service introduced using Class 360 Desiro units.
@@bus131 Where does GWR still operate the HSTs and do u know if that HST painted in the original British Rail livery is being preserved?
@@joshuastanbury3166 GWR operate them in Cornwall as “Castle Sets” in 4 car formations. I believe that 43102 is being preserved but not 100% sure
Great video , thanks. Was the last HST yesterday or is it today (15/5/21)?
Did he have the engineroom door open ?
I haven't ridden on the new generation of IET but from what I have heard they represent a backward step from the HST. It was often said that HST saved British Rail but with no thanks from the Government. When introduced the drive to end BR taxpayer subsidy was at it's peak leaving the network in a sorry state. HST was a breath of fresh air but it's success probably helped scupper APT which with a little more development would have been a winner as well but at least the APT tilting design come back via Italy a few years later! Then privatisation...... pass my blood pressure medication. Good luck HS2 (what's left of it).
Very enjoyable and informative. Just before Loughborough, you mention the GCR extension to Nottingham. At 1 hour 15 minutes, that big green bridge is the start of this restoration - it was installed very recently as part of this connection of the two parts.
Thank you for all the information. However - 2 mispronunciations just before Kettering. The river pronounced "Neeeen" at Peterborough is pronounced more like "Nenn" in Northamptonshire. See Wiki article. Isham is pronounced "Eye sham" not "Iss sham".
Also "Hathern" 1:16:21 is pronounced with a soft "th" like "rhythm". But that's probably splitting hairs.
Can you do from Birmingham new street to Newcastle central? If you able
I will do my best and see what I can do. Stay tuned for future videos 🤞🏻
Don't say good bye to the h s t . Say a big hello to the h.s.t. keep them in service. Elvis
Goodbye Class 43 HST. 😭
just wondering what speed you where doing .
Max 125mph
The last time I travelled on this train I had a speedometer on my phone I was monitoring its speed and what i can remember of it was by the time we had reached the m1 after leaving London we had hit 100mph
@@tonybramley7649
That sounds typical. Brent Cross M1 junction is about 6 and a half miles out. HSTs took considerably further to reach 125. They could reach it briefly before having to shut off for the 95 over the St Albans curves, then only again after Leagrave and the long stretch to Bedford South.
London Gateway was always Scratchwood in my day. Doesn't look any less ugly despite the name change!🤣
I still refer to it as Scratchwood.
Excellent commentary as usual but let down by poor video quality.
I’ve seen a lot worse
I miss the hst 125
I grew up with these. Mostly the blue FGW ones
All these new trains,Hitachis and Azumas are falling apart.Its going to cost millions to repair them,should have kept these HSTs.
Lovely to see the MML from a HST, hopefully we’ll be allowed to travel before the last HST gets withdrawn from EMR
Has it now been withdrawn? Is the last HST to run today(15/5/21) Thanks.
Good video, thanks. Two more minor pronunciation issues! Erewash is eh-ruh-wosh not ear-wosh and Toton is Toe-tun, not Tot-tun.
SAD
Popular at school were you.
My house at 35:21 😅
The GWR class 800 and 802 are crap. Terrible build quality and you would be better off sitting in a piece of plywoid than what they call a seat cushion. They have made the Pacer of intercity long distance trans.
Williamweller
My house at 35:21 😅