A privilege to be on the final train
At 11 years old, I was not worldly enough to fully appreciate the significance of what was going on at the end of steam in August 1968. And while fully familiar with the photography of the day, I have often wondered what it felt like. Now I know.
Yes, we’ve had plenty of class farewells over the years that prompted enormous lineside interest - the Deltics in 1982 is the one most commonly talked about.
But this wasn’t just the end of fewer than a couple of dozen albeit very impressive and much-loved locomotives which had ruled for more than 20 years, LNER’s pre-Christmas four-day farewell tour for the East Coast IC125 fleet was the end of the East Coast Main Line’s fleet of 125mph trains which had run millions of miles over the thick end of half a century, ending their days as they started in 1978 - as the fastest diesel trains on the planet. This was a major fleet handover and it really did have a very special feel.
Great Western Railway had bid farewell to its main line long-haul fleet back in May 2019, leaving only its short-form four-coach ‘Castle’ HSTs running on South West regional services.
Scotland is also slowly (very slowly, owing to a massively delayed conversion programme by Wabtec) introducing its Inter7City HSTs north of the border.
Withdrawal of the last LNER HSTs leaves only the nine-train East Midlands Railway fleet and five CrossCountry sets still working in frontline 125mph express service. Considering the HST was developed by Derby engineers in the early 1970s as a stopgap, in anticipation of national squadron rollout of the Advanced Passenger Train, its near half-century of near faultless service is the best tribute to those men and women who designed, built and introduced this very successful train.
It absolutely saved BR’s long-distance express business when its 125mph services replaced locomotive-hauled stock previously operating at 80-90mph. The service accelerations and improvements it made possible were a major step change.
Following in the traditions of generations of East Coast operators, today’s LNER did a fantastic job of retiring its HSTs from normal service with dignity, respect and affection. Superb use of Twitter led to a stream of informative releases about which trains were HSTs in their last few weeks, enabling those who held the train in such evident affection to take a last trip and bid their own farewells to this iconic design. It was really good to watch and ratcheted up the company’s good reputation another few notches.
Then the phone rang: “We’re painting a full HST set in its original BR InterCity blue and grey livery and taking it on a four-day tour of our network. Would you like to join us?”
“Really? Wow… sounds great. For which part?”
“All of it, if you like…”
Having been lucky enough to have seen and done lots of things over the last 20-plus years, I now usually leave the outside visits to the RAIL writing team of Richard, Paul and Stefanie to savour and write about these experiences - but there was no way I was letting this experience slide past me.
The HSTs have been a fixture on the ECML since I moved to Peterborough (March 1992) and I wanted to bid my own farewell. And to have the chance to do so aboard the blue and grey set, with varying groups of fellow fans and an LNER crew, was too much of a privilege to miss.
The tour started at Edinburgh, at Platform 2 on Wednesday December 18, departing at 0946. The platform was cordoned off and so I was able to shoot an unobstructed video of the empty coaching stock arriving from Craigentinny.
It looked absolutely superb. This was no quick once-over of paint - it was a beautiful, deep, top-quality job. The Mk 3 coaches were painted by Wabtec at Doncaster, and they have every reason to be proud of what they achieved in just three weeks. The power cars were painted at Craigentinny, where the whole train was put together.
An indication of the interest that LNER had stirred up was quickly apparent. Within an hour there had been 3,000 views of my video on Twitter of the stock arriving at Edinburgh. The last time I looked in early January it was a staggering 42,300 views… and still climbing.
The train travelled north to Aberdeen. And after a pause in the through down platform there, we ran on to Inverness on the northern route via Elgin - on metals not normally used by LNER HSTs, so this attracted interest. Now, of course, HSTs will be a common sight on this route - ScotRail’s refurbished sets will run this way as part of the Inter7City network. As in the far South West for GWR, HSTs will live on in short-form regional service.
After an overnight in Inverness we returned to Edinburgh via the Highland Main Line, where Drumochter looked cold but spectacular with its rocks, mountains and snow. It was all very John Buchan!
Overnight in Edinburgh on December 19, and then the final LNER HST began its final run along the ECML. At Berwick I had the privilege of joining Driver Ross Clark for my favourite clifftop run south through Northumberland, to Newcastle. Ross (pictured, bottom left) had worked hard to win this turn. And because he could still fit neatly into his 1970s uniform, he’d had it cleaned and wore it for the occasion.
His approach was shared by all the
various onboard teams who worked the train. There was a wonderfully cheerful mood among the men and women making their own last trips on a train which many had worked on for their entire career. Some were so determined to be involved that they had taken leave and volunteered. At every stop, a splash of red-uniformed staff gathered, crowding around that iconic front end for their own ‘last’ photographs.
At each stopping place I stepped out of the train to chat to well-wishers. What struck me were the reactions of ordinary passengers. On learning the significance of the train, just about all of them expressed affection and regret at the passing of a train which many had been travelling aboard for decades. The mood was really pleasant, albeit shot through with sadness.
Overnight in Leeds and then we were off for the final run to King’s Cross. Former BR traction engineer David Russell, who introduced the HSTs to the ECML in 1978, was aboard. And to his great credit, LNER Managing Director David Horne arranged for David to ride with the driver to Finsbury Park. That seemed entirely appropriate.
South of Peterborough, a more subdued mood settled over the train. It all suddenly felt exactly what it was - very final. The HST effortlessly reeled in the miles through the Fens and suddenly Finsbury Park, ‘Ally Pally’, the Emirates Stadium and Bounds Green depot slipped by and we were losing speed for the descent into King’s Cross Platform 8, where a large crowd had gathered. For the last time, an HST braked gently and smoothly to a stand at the stopblock - and it was all over.
Waiting on the platform to greet us was Sir Kenneth Grange, who had played such an important part in giving the train its impact. What I usually hear is that he ‘designed’ the HST. I mean no disrespect when I say, politely, that I disagree with that. What Sir Kenneth did so successfully and beautifully was create the HST’s external styling, and so he was
absolutely responsible for its appearance.
But the HST was ‘designed’ (and then built) by the locomotive and carriage engineers of Derby - as represented on this last ECML run by David Russell, which is why I was so delighted he was there. Those engineers created Britain’s most successful modern train - let’s make sure that those Derby engineers are not denied full credit for this incredible train.
Sadly, as reported previously in RAIL, the retro HST is now in store at Ely with an uncertain future. Time will tell as to whether it survives as a heritage set. But as Philip Haigh pointed out in a tweet, what you see is a beautiful paint job. Beneath the gloss is a near half century-old train - and as Wabtec and Scotland’s Railway have discovered, keeping them running is a tall order.
Meanwhile, I salute Angel Trains, LNER and all involved in this fantastic ECML train, whose sets have run millions of miles in reliable service. They ended their days as they started - the fastest diesel trains in the world.
That’s a really significant historical landmark.
■ With special thanks to LNER Managing Director David Horne, Engineering Director John Doughty, Director of Communications Kate McFerran, Head of Media Richard
Salkeld and News and Media Manager Claire Montgomery-Hopkins for putting the four-day farewell tour together, and to the very many LNER train crew who made it happen so faultlessly.