Add to them the Spitfire and the Rolls-Royce Merlin & RB211 engines. I don't like to be too nationalist but I am so glad that we still have Rolls-Royce PLC to take pride in here having had so many companies sold off overseas like in the electronics & software fields I believe.
Comfort and service from British Rail in 1985 you could only dream of today....This may have been a one-off run but as a regular user of HSTs and Inter-City services at the time, first class dining, just as in the video was a regular option, on-board buffet catering was excellent and second class had mostly seats with tables, less aircraft style seating. Ive not seen a better service anywhere today on any network from any provider than was provided by BR in 1985!
@@kiwitrainguy Do you mean APT? Otherwise I am afraid you have it the wrong way around. The XPT was derived from the British built HST and built under licence in Australia. In the UK there were 200 power cars. The prototype HST entered service in 1972 followed by the Production HST in 1976, whilst the Oz XPT didn't enter service until 1982. Or did you mean APT - Advanced Passenger Train, something else completely!
Warship TV & nkt1 - Sorry, my mistake, I was writing from memory. I meant APT. It was taking too long to develop so they designed the HST's as well. The XPT is Australian, I get confused with these Alphabet Soup names they come up with sometimes.
Not practical in regular service sadly, the signalling just isn't up to snuff. They would have had to make a lot of exceptions and special arrangements to make this happen.
1 Short formation set of five coaches rather than eight. 2 All other traffic on the line cleared. 3 No intermediate stops 4 HS 2 will only be used by high speed trains, not a mixture that includes freight and stoppers.
Not only did BR re-introduce Pullman dining services with the 125s, the later build of Mk3b loco-hauled coaches included some Open Firsts designated as Pullmans and used on services such as the Liverpool Pullman and Manchester Pullman on the WCML. The InterCity 225s also operated Pullman services, including in the early 1990s not one but a good three or so timed to do London-Edinburgh in 3 hrs 59 (faster than any present schedule, the single southbound only Flying Scotsman is 4 hrs with one stop, and I believe the fastest ever passenger schedule on the ECML) with two stops.
GWR have been doing if for a number of years now I believe. I one to Exeter five or six years ago getting a can of Tribute and asked what the amazing smell was, Fillet Steak or maybe the pan fried chicken I was told! There's also the Cardiff to Anglesey run (aka The Gerald) that does fresh food too included with your 'business class's ticket but not HST I believe.
@@tomhami Not quite the same, GWR's "Pullman" generally has to be pre-booked and is limited to the accomodation in the buffet car (or I think leading First Class car in the IETs. The BR Pullman service was offered at every First Class seat on such services and without a need to pre-book. Transport for Wales' Premier Service uses Class 67s with a Mk3 push-pull set (generally 5 coaches now); it doesn't need pre-booking but First Class seating is fairly limited.
Quite an achievement to not only set a world record for a diesel train, but in regular service too. The Spanish have claimed to have beaten the record, but that was a prototype and was never verified.
Tees-Tyne Pullman was a regular service, but this run was a staged publicity event under special arrangements. The train had five instead of the (then) standard eight coaches, there were 'clear run' conditions for signalmen to work to, no intermediate stops...and over certain stretches the 125mph limit was authorised to be exceeded!
I heard from a train driver that he and several others used to push these trains to 140mph back in the 80s on the western line and the northern line in certain stretches.
In those days you could apply experience to take a few liberties when running late. Stretches of good riding track + dry rail + well-sighted signals + when least likely to be 'railway suits' on board your train....
As a schoolboy in the 70s all we ever wanted to do as to be a 125 driver. Ironically I would go onto the footplate but on the SR, never got o drive a 125.
I remember a 5 car hst operating on that line left 20 min late and arrived 3 min early. I wont mention the operator but it was a direct service between Sunderland and Kings Cross. Black train, orange stripe. Was a bit rattly. I asked the conductor how fast we were going and he said "must be exactly 125mph." 23 minutes saved on that trip. I reckon he was fibbing.
Driven hard, most likely, not overspeeding. For the last twenty years all trains have had 'black box' recorders, and for longer than that HSTs have had speed governors, but I certainly remember some creative driving on HST journeys in the 1980s and 90s when making up lost time.😉
It’s an intercity 125 train 🚊 🚆 🚂 has around perhaps 🤔 seven 7️⃣ or eight 8️⃣ carriages conveys first class accommodation. In 2024, they are called class 43 trains 🚂 🚆 🚊. Previously in the past, class 43s were used for XC - CrossCountry, GC - Grand Central EMR - East Midlands Railway 🚃 , HT - Hull Trains 🚊 🚆 🚂 and LNER - London North Eastern Railway 🚃 Also class 43s were previously used for GWR - Great Western Railway 🚃 intercity services from 1976 until 2019 for 43 years, now is used for provincial services that runs between Plymouth and Penzance via Truro. Also is used for SR - ScotRail in Scotland 🏴. Class 43 trains 🚂 🚆 🚊 now have automatic operating doors 🚪 , rectangle windows 🪟, toilets 🚽 🚻 🚾 , luggage 🧳 rack, comfortable seats 💺, bins 🗑️ 🚮 , central heating and finally have a carpet. At present 💝 in 2024, it’s called LNER - London Northeastern Railway 🚃 runs everyday and public holidays except Christmas 🎄🎅 🧑🎄 🤶 Day and Boxing 🥊 Day using class 800s and 801s EMUS - Electric ⚡️ Multiple Units. 👍 😁 😀
A good example of how prejudiced the media & commentators under the video can be, no mention of the spilt coffee on this IC125 run but moaning about the slight vibration of the cups of coffee on the APT 7:06
nkt1 No the only major consideration on selecting the two power cars for the run was there wheel diameters, we looked for two units with new wheel sets so would have the maximum wheel size.
The project got government's go-ahead the year before this run. Electrification from Hitchin to Leeds was finished in 1989, and Doncaster to Edinburgh in 1991.
They didn't the Signalling can't allowed over 125 because you'll need in cab Signalling in place and we didn't have that plus the fact that Local Trains are on the same tracks usually and you'd probably end up dead if you went 143 all the time 😐
health & safety brigade decided it wasnt safe as drivers might mis see signals at that speed. dont really see how when the aws bell would clearly indicate it was green. when the IC225 was introduced it was intended to do 140mph and in fact holds world speed record for a loco hauled train (162mph, all trains that go faster are EMUs not loco hauled). makes me wonder why they trialled atp on the gwml when the ecml would have made more sense overcoming the signal sighting concerns
@@RabbitboyUK BR gave authority to exceed the 125mph limit only where signal spacing and sighting gave drivers a wider than normal margin of safety...and it was still within the braking system capability to stop safely within those spacings if required.
safety systems won't allow for speed limits to be exceeded. IETs are capable of 140mph under electric power, they are only limited to 125mph due to safety systems and the line speed.
135mph was quite regular in daily service until limiters. It shows the signalling was fine for the job for many years. You actually had to be a driver back then. Today it has to be idiot proof for people incapable of sharp eyesight like pilots. Now the Azumas are slower than anything gone before, and a diesel no less that beat them. Timetabled 1hr44 minutes to York where it was done in 1hr 40 minutes and later 1hr 39. All slower today. If there was a cable thief today, Millennials won't fix it like that, they'll say it can't run and we'll have to wait until next month for the parts. The UK has a weak generation and the ambition has all drained away in favour of over-regulation and excuses for it.
BR man: "People want it, business people want it". No, rich BR bosses want it, rich people would like dinner on it. People want trains, to work, on time, with seats. Out of touch much, all for Pullman trains but not on my taxes. Nice to see the A4 naked though.
How can Newcastle to London be a world record? Newcastle to London can’t happen in the rest of the world. It can only be a very local record. That’s hilarious. Typical British claptrap. The myth of influence only lives on in that kind of comment. I bet it takes twice that 40 years later. British progress! 🤣
The 3 best things ever that the UK has produced... The Land Rover, Concorde & the IC125!!! Brilliant
Add to them the Spitfire and the Rolls-Royce Merlin & RB211 engines. I don't like to be too nationalist but I am so glad that we still have Rolls-Royce PLC to take pride in here having had so many companies sold off overseas like in the electronics & software fields I believe.
The Original HighSpeed One was an HST set let off the chain with a pair of Valenta V12s hammering along at 145mph.
Comfort and service from British Rail in 1985 you could only dream of today....This may have been a one-off run but as a regular user of HSTs and Inter-City services at the time, first class dining, just as in the video was a regular option, on-board buffet catering was excellent and second class had mostly seats with tables, less aircraft style seating. Ive not seen a better service anywhere today on any network from any provider than was provided by BR in 1985!
The finest train the UK has ever had! Diesel perfection!
Diesel goodness ❤️
The HST's were designed as an afterthought to the XPT. Some afterthought!
@@kiwitrainguy Do you mean APT? Otherwise I am afraid you have it the wrong way around. The XPT was derived from the British built HST and built under licence in Australia. In the UK there were 200 power cars. The prototype HST entered service in 1972 followed by the Production HST in 1976, whilst the Oz XPT didn't enter service until 1982. Or did you mean APT - Advanced Passenger Train, something else completely!
@@kiwitrainguy Not so much an afterthought to the APT, not XPT, as hedging their bets, and rightly so.
Warship TV & nkt1 - Sorry, my mistake, I was writing from memory. I meant APT. It was taking too long to develop so they designed the HST's as well.
The XPT is Australian, I get confused with these Alphabet Soup names they come up with sometimes.
A brilliant tribute to British engineering
2hrs 19m for 269 miles.......
Who needs a HS2.....?
Not practical in regular service sadly, the signalling just isn't up to snuff. They would have had to make a lot of exceptions and special arrangements to make this happen.
These record breaking runs tend to be non stop as well on a line clear of local services and freight
1 Short formation set of five coaches rather than eight.
2 All other traffic on the line cleared.
3 No intermediate stops
4 HS 2 will only be used by high speed trains, not a mixture that includes freight and stoppers.
@@deathbyteacup oh I see why 140 isn’t regular
HS 2 is already massively over budget and won't be for the average commuter price wise. They can only recoupe over investment with high ticket prices.
That's even faster than the new electric azuma!
I was not aware of an HST being used for a Pullman service until GWR's recent introduction of one to the west country. Thanks for sharing this video.
Not only did BR re-introduce Pullman dining services with the 125s, the later build of Mk3b loco-hauled coaches included some Open Firsts designated as Pullmans and used on services such as the Liverpool Pullman and Manchester Pullman on the WCML. The InterCity 225s also operated Pullman services, including in the early 1990s not one but a good three or so timed to do London-Edinburgh in 3 hrs 59 (faster than any present schedule, the single southbound only Flying Scotsman is 4 hrs with one stop, and I believe the fastest ever passenger schedule on the ECML) with two stops.
GWR have been doing if for a number of years now I believe. I one to Exeter five or six years ago getting a can of Tribute and asked what the amazing smell was, Fillet Steak or maybe the pan fried chicken I was told! There's also the Cardiff to Anglesey run (aka The Gerald) that does fresh food too included with your 'business class's ticket but not HST I believe.
@@tomhami Not quite the same, GWR's "Pullman" generally has to be pre-booked and is limited to the accomodation in the buffet car (or I think leading First Class car in the IETs. The BR Pullman service was offered at every First Class seat on such services and without a need to pre-book.
Transport for Wales' Premier Service uses Class 67s with a Mk3 push-pull set (generally 5 coaches now); it doesn't need pre-booking but First Class seating is fairly limited.
Quite an achievement to not only set a world record for a diesel train, but in regular service too. The Spanish have claimed to have beaten the record, but that was a prototype and was never verified.
Tees-Tyne Pullman was a regular service, but this run was a staged publicity event under special arrangements. The train had five instead of the (then) standard eight coaches, there were 'clear run' conditions for signalmen to work to, no intermediate stops...and over certain stretches the 125mph limit was authorised to be exceeded!
The USSR beat it with an 160mph diesel train. Looks rubbish though whereas the HST is beautiful.
I heard from a train driver that he and several others used to push these trains to 140mph back in the 80s on the western line and the northern line in certain stretches.
In those days you could apply experience to take a few liberties when running late. Stretches of good riding track + dry rail + well-sighted signals + when least likely to be 'railway suits' on board your train....
Now modern signalling won’t allow it. Western line u mean wcml?
@andybray9791 No, they meant the GWML out of Paddington
The Paddington to Bristol section is basically like a snooker table, it's that flat.
This was when train travel was a pleasure, now it’s an expensive ordeal.
See this is why you always trust a man from Newcastle. We'll do it
As a schoolboy in the 70s all we ever wanted to do as to be a 125 driver. Ironically I would go onto the footplate but on the SR, never got o drive a 125.
I have one of the coins given to the staff who were on that train, my cousin was working in the buffet car
I remember a 5 car hst operating on that line left 20 min late and arrived 3 min early. I wont mention the operator but it was a direct service between Sunderland and Kings Cross. Black train, orange stripe. Was a bit rattly. I asked the conductor how fast we were going and he said "must be exactly 125mph."
23 minutes saved on that trip.
I reckon he was fibbing.
Grand Central?
Driven hard, most likely, not overspeeding. For the last twenty years all trains have had 'black box' recorders, and for longer than that HSTs have had speed governors, but I certainly remember some creative driving on HST journeys in the 1980s and 90s when making up lost time.😉
What a bunch of railway legends!!!
It’s an intercity 125 train 🚊 🚆 🚂 has around perhaps 🤔 seven 7️⃣ or eight 8️⃣ carriages conveys first class accommodation. In 2024, they are called class 43 trains 🚂 🚆 🚊. Previously in the past, class 43s were used for XC - CrossCountry, GC - Grand Central EMR - East Midlands Railway 🚃 , HT - Hull Trains 🚊 🚆 🚂 and LNER - London North Eastern Railway 🚃 Also class 43s were previously used for GWR - Great Western Railway 🚃 intercity services from 1976 until 2019 for 43 years, now is used for provincial services that runs between Plymouth and Penzance via Truro. Also is used for SR - ScotRail in Scotland 🏴. Class 43 trains 🚂 🚆 🚊 now have automatic operating doors 🚪 , rectangle windows 🪟, toilets 🚽 🚻 🚾 , luggage 🧳 rack, comfortable seats 💺, bins 🗑️ 🚮 , central heating and finally have a carpet. At present 💝 in 2024, it’s called LNER - London Northeastern Railway 🚃 runs everyday and public holidays except Christmas 🎄🎅 🧑🎄 🤶 Day and Boxing 🥊 Day using class 800s and 801s EMUS - Electric ⚡️ Multiple Units. 👍 😁 😀
A good example of how prejudiced the media & commentators under the video can be, no mention of the spilt coffee on this IC125 run but moaning about the slight vibration of the cups of coffee on the APT 7:06
There need to do the run again with the new return of the 2020 Pullman
I was on the footplate as the Intercity technical representative.
Apart from disabling the speed regulator and the shorter formation, did they make any other modifications to the train?
nkt1 No the only major consideration on selecting the two power cars for the run was there wheel diameters, we looked for two units with new wheel sets so would have the maximum wheel size.
@@cambo2910 Interesting, thanks. The Valenta, cooler group, traction motors etc. obviously performed well at the higher loads.
nkt1 only had half the usual train load so no problem.
@@cambo2910 black underpants
The fastest sections of the line are between Darlington and York, and Grantham and Peterborough.
Hadn’t appreciated it was a short train of only 5 coaches plus the two power cars. Not a full length 8+2 HST. But nice one!!
3:06 T1 Trust: “Hold my regulator!”
Question where is the ECML electrification in 1985, was it not completed back then?
Don't think so, I'm from the North East and I think the electrification was completed in the 1990s, as trains were diverted to the Leamside line.
The project got government's go-ahead the year before this run. Electrification from Hitchin to Leeds was finished in 1989, and Doncaster to Edinburgh in 1991.
Im more impressed by the 115 average!
And at 1.20 is that Prue Leith sat by the window?
Sorry no, pretty sure that's not Prue.
7:07 Someone spilt a cup of tea :D
@Chuck Noris That's a capitol crime in England.
For a Mk3 to be moving around enough to do that - I know from experience its being driven REALLY hard.
1:25
Have forgotten how amateurish, or maybe homely, regional reporting could be back then.
At least there was regional programming back then, does not really exist now
Inter City 125: Look at me! I'm the fastest diesel in the world!
Mallard (naked): Don't look at me! I'm not decent!
5:18 Any problems?
- No problems whatever. No problems.
... Really? 😁
Why put crappy yank style music to the HST
Tosser
@MusicalElitist1 PRAT you wouldn't know music if it bit your backside,And I Am NOT a musician.So forget crappy music For THE HST
@MusicalElitist1 Agree, its 1985, northern news. A 7 minute segment, not quite the moon landings.
Today they would put muslim music on it. Because diversity
@MusicalElitist1 Nothing little about England.
143 mph. Why did they downgrade the lines to 125?
They didn't the Signalling can't allowed over 125 because you'll need in cab Signalling in place and we didn't have that plus the fact that Local Trains are on the same tracks usually and you'd probably end up dead if you went 143 all the time 😐
health & safety brigade decided it wasnt safe as drivers might mis see signals at that speed. dont really see how when the aws bell would clearly indicate it was green. when the IC225 was introduced it was intended to do 140mph and in fact holds world speed record for a loco hauled train (162mph, all trains that go faster are EMUs not loco hauled). makes me wonder why they trialled atp on the gwml when the ecml would have made more sense overcoming the signal sighting concerns
@@RabbitboyUK
BR gave authority to exceed the 125mph limit only where signal spacing and sighting gave drivers a wider than normal margin of safety...and it was still within the braking system capability to stop safely within those spacings if required.
Bet it drank some diesel doing that speed....
Today its a miss
Azuma anyone....?
Never be the same as sitting on a Pullman pulled by a STREAK or a DELTIC---although it's better than the crap these days !
Fantastic British engineering at it's very best. Take note snowflake generation😱
And it's the boomer generations fault we're still at the same speed 😉
What about an Azuma? 😉😏
Galactic_Nerd-sk they’re rubbish
It may perform well but we can take no pride in it's design.
Imported crap
safety systems won't allow for speed limits to be exceeded. IETs are capable of 140mph under electric power, they are only limited to 125mph due to safety systems and the line speed.
135mph was quite regular in daily service until limiters. It shows the signalling was fine for the job for many years. You actually had to be a driver back then. Today it has to be idiot proof for people incapable of sharp eyesight like pilots. Now the Azumas are slower than anything gone before, and a diesel no less that beat them. Timetabled 1hr44 minutes to York where it was done in 1hr 40 minutes and later 1hr 39. All slower today. If there was a cable thief today, Millennials won't fix it like that, they'll say it can't run and we'll have to wait until next month for the parts. The UK has a weak generation and the ambition has all drained away in favour of over-regulation and excuses for it.
got brexit done
BR man: "People want it, business people want it". No, rich BR bosses want it, rich people would like dinner on it. People want trains, to work, on time, with seats. Out of touch much, all for Pullman trains but not on my taxes.
Nice to see the A4 naked though.
This was 1985 - and not now.
you obviously don't want a pullman train. You could eat those chips on your shoulders!
How can Newcastle to London be a world record? Newcastle to London can’t happen in the rest of the world. It can only be a very local record. That’s hilarious. Typical British claptrap. The myth of influence only lives on in that kind of comment. I bet it takes twice that 40 years later. British progress! 🤣
05.43. The ‘world record’ elements stated in the report are the top speed and average speed. Not the specific route.
@@chasc301
...for diesel traction...
World record for diesel traction, doesn't matter if it was set in Britain or Timbuktu