The only constant is change
THERE seems to be an unwritten rule in rail enthusiasm that says the older something gets, the more we become interested in it. Perhaps driven partly by nostalgia and partly by admiration for longevity, it has changed the perception of many of a class.
Putting aside the untouchable legends – like ‘Westerns’ and ‘Deltics’, which were popular in their time and have remained so ever since (except, perhaps, to the fans of steam they replaced) – HSTs, for example, went from a general feeling among enthusiasts of ‘avoid like the plague’ when they arrived in the 1970s to ‘certified icon’ at the other end of their Great Western and East Coast careers.
Similarly, LNER’s Class 91s were largely unloved for much of their 30-year career until the introduction of ‘Azumas’. But now, as the remaining locos go into warm storage until passenger demand picks up, we have everything crossed they will actually emerge on the main line again. Because unlike their ‘Deltic’ predecessors – the first of which is now 60 years old (see our feature on page 78) – the somewhat complicated ‘91s’ are unlikely to find further use in preservation and we will miss them.
With such overlooked classes, did we miss something initially or did they just gain the respect they were due all along? Will, for example, the enthusiasts of the future come to regard Hitachi-built IETs as the HST of their time?
Perhaps the most extreme example of changing fortunes is that of the humble
‘Pacer’. Much derided by passengers and many enthusiasts ever since they were introduced in the 1980s, the units did not care. They just got on with what they were built to do, and provided a low cost, simple train for a time when railways were out of favour. And now, at the end of their main line careers, they are in hot demand to do a similar job on many heritage lines around the country. After all, why take the time and effort to fire up a steam loco for a handful of passengers at off-peak times when you can just switch on a ‘Pacer’ and go.