• Our booking engine at tickets.railforums.co.uk (powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!

43002 - Then & Now

Status
Not open for further replies.

coxy

Member
Joined
2 Apr 2011
Messages
181
I was fortunate enough to travel behind HST power car 43002 from Reading to Didcot last week. The colour scheme looks great, especially when compared to the majority of the GWR HST fleet.

During the journey I began to wonder how different this power car is now, compared to when it first entered service in 1976. Here's what I could think of:

New engines - MTU rather than Valenta.
New front end - lighting clusters have been redesigned.
Exhaust deflectors fitted to roof - stops soot fouling the windscreen.
Guards van has been removed - now in TGS coach.
Rear facing driving position removed ?

Can anybody else give an insight into what else has changed ?
 
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R

RailUK Forums

gimmea50anyday

Established Member
Joined
8 Jan 2013
Messages
3,456
Location
Back Cab
Fitment of AWS followed by ATP, NRN followed by GSM-R...

If you want to be pedantic the motors, bogies, cooling fans and radiators will hae been changed during maintenance....
 

JN114

Established Member
Joined
28 Jun 2005
Messages
3,346
I was fortunate enough to travel behind HST power car 43002 from Reading to Didcot last week. The colour scheme looks great, especially when compared to the majority of the GWR HST fleet.

During the journey I began to wonder how different this power car is now, compared to when it first entered service in 1976. Here's what I could think of:

New engines - MTU rather than Valenta.
New front end - lighting clusters have been redesigned.
Exhaust deflectors fitted to roof - stops soot fouling the windscreen.
Guards van has been removed - now in TGS coach.
Rear facing driving position removed ?
I'm
Can anybody else give an insight into what else has changed ?

There was never a rear-facing driving position. There was an end window fitted to the first few powercars to aid shunting - driving controls have only ever been in the cab.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Fitment of AWS followed by ATP, NRN followed by GSM-R...

If you want to be pedantic the motors, bogies, cooling fans and radiators will hae been changed during maintenance....

AWS was fitted from new on the HST.
 

rebmcr

Established Member
Joined
15 Nov 2011
Messages
3,845
Location
St Neots
There was never a rear-facing driving position. There was an end window fitted to the first few powercars to aid shunting - driving controls have only ever been in the cab.

Yes, only the prototype HST had a rear cab — the feature did make a return with the Class 91s though.
 

Domh245

Established Member
Joined
6 Apr 2013
Messages
8,426
Location
nowhere
In the early days of GWT/fGW all the power cars were re-wired to improve reliability.

When you say re-wired, do you mean that all the cables were removed and then replaced, or was the wiring design changed?
 

BestWestern

Established Member
Joined
6 Feb 2011
Messages
6,736
Fitment of 'DRA' Driver's Reminder Appliance
Fitment of 'DAS' Driver Advisory System.
Fitment of 'Inergen' fire extinguishing system.
Layout of Driver's desk alterations during MTU-ing.
Replacement of hinged glass sunshade panel with pull-down blind.
Fitment of emergency ventilation vents in cab doors.
Fitment of cycle racking to luggage van.
 
Last edited:

Sprinter153

Member
Joined
12 Aug 2014
Messages
438
Location
In the TGS
I was fortunate enough to travel behind HST power car 43002 from Reading to Didcot last week. The colour scheme looks great, especially when compared to the majority of the GWR HST fleet.

During the journey I began to wonder how different this power car is now, compared to when it first entered service in 1976. Here's what I could think of:

New engines - MTU rather than Valenta.
New front end - lighting clusters have been redesigned.
Exhaust deflectors fitted to roof - stops soot fouling the windscreen.
Guards van has been removed - now in TGS coach.
Rear facing driving position removed ?

Can anybody else give an insight into what else has changed ?

The fitment of Central Door Locking is quite an important change - although that's more a stock thing!
 
Last edited:

BestWestern

Established Member
Joined
6 Feb 2011
Messages
6,736
The fitment of Central Door Locking is quite an important change - although that's more a stock thing!

Indeed, the CDL has no connection to the power car as there is no traction/brake interlock. The only effect is has is that the Guard cannot use the buzzer whilst the CDL is released, except for the buzzer located in the TGS which is always live.
 

Royston Vasey

Established Member
Joined
14 May 2008
Messages
2,167
Location
Cambridge
Pedantically, it is also predominantly blue and yellow rather than black and yellow, in which it was initially outshopped in 1975!
 

Polarbear

Established Member
Joined
24 May 2008
Messages
1,705
Location
Birkenhead
Pedantically, it is also predominantly blue and yellow rather than black and yellow, in which it was initially outshopped in 1975!

Hah, someone beat me to it! ;) As I recall, it was only the first two or three power cars that received the "black" livery, but all were repainted before they left Crewe workshops for delivery to the Western Region.
 

trainmania100

Established Member
Joined
8 Nov 2015
Messages
2,566
Location
Newhaven
Does anyone know how long 43002 is stayng in retro livery?
I have Monday 8th - Sunday 14th August off work so i can see it then on a trip to london or something
 

coppercapped

Established Member
Joined
13 Sep 2015
Messages
3,094
Location
Reading
When you say re-wired, do you mean that all the cables were removed and then replaced, or was the wiring design changed?

Pass! There was a photo in one of the railway journals of new wiring looms being made in a factory to replace the existing wiring. Whether the circuit diagram was also changed at the same time I don't know. It was reported that most of, if not all of the wiring, apart from the traction cabling, was replaced and the wires' ends clearly identified.

Thinking about it a bit more, I think this work was being done about the time of, or just after, the Southall accident. The accident report mentions that the driver /guard buzzer was permanently sounding in the cab and a Landore fitter solved the problem by cutting the wires at the buzzer before the train left Swansea. This predated the re-wiring.
 

168lover

Member
Joined
2 Aug 2013
Messages
587
Location
Chiltern Mailine Land
Does anyone know how long 43002 is stayng in retro livery?
I have Monday 8th - Sunday 14th August off work so i can see it then on a trip to london or something

seem to remember somebody said that it is going to stay in its retro livery until it leaves GWR. Don't know how true that is though...
 

hairyhandedfool

Established Member
Joined
14 Apr 2008
Messages
8,837
Hah, someone beat me to it! ;) As I recall, it was only the first two or three power cars that received the "black" livery, but all were repainted before they left Crewe workshops for delivery to the Western Region.

43002 definitely had the black band, there is a picture in "The Power of the HSTs" by Colin J. Marsden, but ISTR a magazine article telling of 004 and 006 having initially carried that livery too. I also STR, that when the black band was painted blue, the "Intercity 125" lettering remained black with a white outline on those powercars, though I couldn't prove that.
 

Strathclyder

Established Member
Joined
12 Jun 2013
Messages
3,179
Location
Clydebank
For those who haven't yet seen it, here is the original black/yellow IC125 livery in all it's glory, as applied to 43002:
7272237276_5c445f03e4_b.jpg

Original Image Link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/14581588@N05/7272237276/

As much I love the classic blue/yellow livery that eventually emerged, this is just on a whole other level of stunning. Suited the design right down to the ground. Shame it was never to be applied fleet-wide.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.

Top