GWR/LNER/EMT HST non London workings

[FGWHST43009]

When First Great Western/Great Western Railway operated long 7/8 car HSTs, were there any regular workings that didn't go to or from London Paddington? Same for the East Coast and Midland sets to/from King's Cross and St Pancras respectively. This excludes CrossCountry sets.

 

[Iskra]

LNER had a daily Leeds-Aberdeen service in the morning and Aberdeen-Leeds return in the evening and I think a late evening Lincoln-Leeds service might have been introduced as a ECS move brought into passenger usage.

EMR/EMT used HST's on Derby-Skegness Summer Saturdays, but beyond that I can't think of any other examples.

 

[Mainline421]

GWR used them on the Weymouth Wizard (Bristol-Weymouth) and on a late night stopper somewhere round Gloucester way if I recall correctly

 

[The exile]

GWR used them on the Weymouth Wizard (Bristol-Weymouth)

Only for a very few years towards the end.
Would imagine that, over the years, there would have been several positioning workings to get sets to Newquay (for example) prior to working up London services. Were any of those in service?

 

[norbitonflyer]

I think a late evening Lincoln-Leeds service might have been introduced as a ECS move brought into passenger usage.

I don't recall that, but there was a one-off early morning Leeds to Lincoln one-off for a special event in Lincoln (making use of the usually dead-mileage ECS positioning move for the token once-a-day unsocial-hours service to London that operated at the time)

 

[Iskra]

I don't recall that, but there was a one-off early morning Leeds to Lincoln one-off for a special event in Lincoln (making use of the usually dead-mileage ECS positioning move for the token once-a-day unsocial-hours service to London that operated at the time)

IIRC it ran ECS for years, and then got ran in service for a time before the HST withdrawal, probably got killed off by Covid and never returned.

 

[30907]

Only for a very few years towards the end.
Would imagine that, over the years, there would have been several positioning workings to get sets to Newquay (for example) prior to working up London services. Were any of those in service?

From memory, yes. And there were other short workings along the Penzance line, also Temple Meads-Parkway-Cardiff or Swansea.

 

[norbitonflyer]

IIRC it (HST Lincoln Leeds and return) ran ECS for years, and then got ran in service for a time before the HST withdrawal, probably got killed off by Covid and never returned.

I can't imagine it got much custom, given that the London service arrived in Lincoln at about 9pm and returned to London at 7am. Who would want to travel from Lincoln to Leeds in the very late evening, or from Leeds to Lincoln before dawn? (I suppose it may have had some custom between Doncaster and Leeds, even at those hours)

Wouldn't have been killed by Covid though, as the Azuma 2-hourly service to Lincoln had already started by then, in October 2019

 

[irish_rail]

Used to be an early Newton Abbot to Paignton, and in the evening about 2100ish a Paignton to Newton Abbot.

 

[nw1]

Admittedly it is London, but it is unusual: wasn't there, at some point, a Paddington-Oxford stopper (on the relief lines throughout) operated by an HST? Probably early morning or late night.

Can't find it in any of the 80s CWNs/departure books I have (which cover around half the decade) but I'm sure it's come up before.

 

[Mag_seven]

Admittedly it is London, but it is unusual: wasn't there, at some point, a Paddington-Oxford stopper (on the relief lines throughout) operated by an HST? Probably early morning or late night.

Not sure about the relief lines throughout but there was certainly an HST that called at the local stations between Reading and Didcot and Twyford / Maidenhead plus an up service in the morning that skipped Reading i.e. ran non stop between Tilehurst and Twford.

When First Great Western/Great Western Railway operated long 7/8 car HSTs, were there any regular workings that didn't go to or from London Paddington?

The short lived HST from Cardiff to Waterloo.

 

[nw1]

Not sure about the relief lines throughout but there was certainly an HST that called at the local stations between Reading and Didcot and Twyford / Maidenhead plus an up service in the morning that skipped Reading i.e. ran non stop between Tilehurst and Twford.

It's possible it was that I was thinking of. I know it stopped inbound from Reading but possible it might just have been Twyford and Maidenhead on the fast lines.

 

[DanNCL]

LNER had a daily Leeds-Aberdeen service in the morning and Aberdeen-Leeds return in the evening and I think a late evening Lincoln-Leeds service might have been introduced as a ECS move brought into passenger usage.

0622 Newcastle - Edinburgh on weekdays was a HST too. There wasn’t (and still isn’t) a corresponding southbound service in the evening.

Now I think of it, with the exception of a single Doncaster - Edinburgh northbound which was a 91+Mark 4 set, I think everything from LNER in 2018 that didn’t go to/from London was HST worked. With the exception of during the Autumn Tyne Valley diversions, where the first Newcastle - Edinburgh on a Saturday was a Mark 4 set, dragged by a 67 as far as Carlisle.

 

[Taunton]

The Leeds-Aberdeen round trip went back to loco hauled days, and indeed occasionally turned up with a Deltic. The main ECML operating day was somewhat more concentrated then, no crack-of-dawn departures from Kings Cross, or post-midnight arrivals, so this Leeds train provided earlier northbound departures from York, Newcastle etc

 

[Iskra]

I can't imagine it got much custom, given that the London service arrived in Lincoln at about 9pm and returned to London at 7am. Who would want to travel from Lincoln to Leeds in the very late evening, or from Leeds to Lincoln before dawn? (I suppose it may have had some custom between Doncaster and Leeds, even at those hours)

Wouldn't have been killed by Covid though, as the Azuma 2-hourly service to Lincoln had already started by then, in October 2019

No, I don't think it did get much custom, but if it already had a driver and guard on board, then there's no extra cost to run it in service.

 

[The Puddock]

1A55 0910 Edinburgh to Aberdeen (Sundays only) is another former GNER/VTEC/East Coast/LNER example of this.

 

[CC 72100]

Only for a very few years towards the end.
Would imagine that, over the years, there would have been several positioning workings to get sets to Newquay (for example) prior to working up London services. Were any of those in service?

Yes, I remember there used to be the 08:57 Plymouth - Newquay. Fast to Par or something bizarre like that.

Also the Paignton - Newton Abbot around 21:00 (set off the sea wall stopper, that stopped EVERYWHERE between Exeter and Newton Abbot) that then went ECS to Laira. Was Paignton - Exeter SD on a Saturday.

Also has been alluded to, a few Plymouth - Penzance (and vice versa) stoppers. 16:44 off Penzance on a summer Saturday also rings a bell.

If you want any specifics for that area I can dip into my 2011-2015 bashing books (!).

 

[sonic2009]

GWR used them on the Weymouth Wizard (Bristol-Weymouth) and on a late night stopper somewhere round Gloucester way if I recall correctly

The late night stopper was Cheltenham-Bristol TM to get the stock back to St Phillip Marsh, would be formed from a Paddington - Cheltenham via Kemble.

 

[TheLastMinute]

There was also a stopping service between Bristol Temple Meads and Weston-super-Mare in the early morning and a return in the evening.

 

[158841]

LNER had a daily Leeds-Aberdeen service in the morning and Aberdeen-Leeds return in the evening and I think a late evening Lincoln-Leeds service might have been introduced as a ECS move brought into passenger usage.

EMR/EMT used HST's on Derby-Skegness Summer Saturdays, but beyond that I can't think of any other examples.

Correct!
The diagram I believe did the first one off Leeds to Aberdeen, then worked down to Kings Cross and then Skipton
The second diagram came off King’s Cross, to Aberdeen and then back to Leeds in the evening.

This being similar to the Doncaster - Hull ECS which I believed ran in the LNER era using the EC65 set to get it to and from Neville Hill?!

 

[Magdalia]

The diagram I believe did the first one off Leeds to Aberdeen, then worked down to Kings Cross and then Skipton

I think that you are muddling up 2 different diagrams there. The HST off the Leeds-Aberdeen worked 1450ish Aberdeen-Kings Cross and the 2330 Kings Cross-Leeds.

The Skipton was off one of the earlier Aberdeen-Kings Cross trains.

 

[1D53]

Correct. More than once I did Leeds Aberdeen London Leeds all in one day on the same set.

 

[RPI]

There was, I believe for one summer only, a Par to Newquay HST that ran ECS from Longrock to Par, obviously to then form a Newquay to Paddington. (Actually, this may have been a Boardmasters special in 2018, my memory may be tricking me)

 

[_toommm_]

LNER/VTEC had a service from Hull to Doncaster around 20:30, which formed off a service from Kings Cross. The service still exists, albeit it is now of course an Azuma.

 

[Taunton]

No, I don't think it did get much custom, but if it already had a driver and guard on board, then there's no extra cost to run it in service.

Local experience on the DLR with oddball depot workings going out of service was these were, of course, the first choice to be grabbed as substitutes for various issues, or even used to extend the service when busy. They maybe followed right behind a regular service but might take useful combinations of route which avoided changing. However, that then reflected as a cancellation. A cost in the payments. So now they run exactly the same, but officially as empty stock with the lights off.

 

[DarloRich]

When I lived in York and worked in Darlington i used the Leeds > Aberdeen train as my daily commute. IRC it was the earliest northbound train of the day

In the olden days ( 1980's) there used to be a couple of Newcastle > Darlington/Middlesbrough services that ran as passenger trains to get HST into position of morning services south.

 

[Iskra]

When I lived in York and worked in Darlington i used the Leeds > Aberdeen train as my daily commute. IRC it was the earliest northbound train of the day

In the olden days ( 1980's) there used to be a couple of Newcastle > Darlington/Middlesbrough services that ran as passenger trains to get HST into position of morning services south.

It was always my favourite and go-to train off Leeds, as it had by far the best 1st class offering of all Northbound Leeds services, and a HST of course too. 1st was very popular, presumably regular commuters had also clocked on to the superior service compared to XC/TP. There used to be a significant passenger changeover at Edinburgh.

 

[Wilts Wanderer]

There was, I believe for one summer only, a Par to Newquay HST that ran ECS from Longrock to Par, obviously to then form a Newquay to Paddington. (Actually, this may have been a Boardmasters special in 2018, my memory may be tricking me)

It was a booked summer SO move. About 2014 FGW revised their Cornish workings to free up a set (basically by reducing Penzance turnarounds) and this then released sprinters off the Cornish main line. A side effect of this rebalance was the set for the 1110 ‘ACE’ from Newquay was formed off Long Rock vice Laira.

For quite some time there was a late-evening Frome-Westbury service operated by an HST. I suspect it had the record of being the shortest distance service so-operated, unless anyone knows different?

 

[FGW_DID]

For quite some time there was a late-evening Frome-Westbury service operated by an HST. I suspect it had the record of being the shortest distance service so-operated, unless anyone knows different?

Similar discussion over on RMWeb, albeit about the current IET iteration.

Is this the shortest IET working in the country?

2A85 2016 Frome - Westbury must be a candidate for the shortest regular passenger working of an IET in Britain. Here it arrives at Westbury on 10th June formed of 800315. The unit continues ECS to Stoke Gifford.

www.rmweb.co.uk

 

[RPI]

It was a booked summer SO move. About 2014 FGW revised their Cornish workings to free up a set (basically by reducing Penzance turnarounds) and this then released sprinters off the Cornish main line. A side effect of this rebalance was the set for the 1110 ‘ACE’ from Newquay was formed off Long Rock vice Laira.

For quite some time there was a late-evening Frome-Westbury service operated by an HST. I suspect it had the record of being the shortest distance service so-operated, unless anyone knows different?

I knew I didn't imagine it!