Last ScotRail ‘slam-door’ HSTs go for scrap

Final vehicles are sent to Booth's for disposal.

SCOTRAIL sent the last of its ‘slam-door' HST coaches to CF Booth's Rotherham scrapyard for cutting up on June 16. Running as the 5E25/06.00 Dundee CS-Rotherham, the four vehicles, Nos. 41126, 42261/344 and 44030, were taken south by No. 37608 Andromeda. The coaches, which had operated as set HA31 between April 2019 and March 2020 to provide cover during the sliding door rebuild programme, had been stored at Dundee for the past 14 months.

Along with sets HA32 and HA33 and three spare vehicles, ownership of HA31 passed from Angel Trains to ScotRail for use as spares donors (see table). No. 42263 was sent for scrap from Wabtec, Kilmarnock, with the other two following by road from Haymarket. Movement of HA32 and HA33 was undertaken by rail.

ScotRail is still awaiting delivery of five trailers which will be used to extend some of its HSTs from four to five cars. Yet to emerge from Doncaster in late June were Nos. 42033/35/56/78/96. Most of the other coaches which are to be used as fifth cars are stored at Slateford.

■ Another HST coach on the move in June was TRSB No. 40402. It was taken by road from the Weardale Railway to an industrial estate in South Wales for a special assignment.

Derek Hoskins/Creative Commons (CC BY-ND 2.0) With less than a year remaining before they are removed for scrap, ‘slam-door' HST sets HA31 and HA32 stand in the carriage sidings at Dundee on August 13, 2020, flanked by ‘158s', ‘170s' and another HST set (HA26) with power cars Nos. 43035 and 43026.