Masboroughlad
Established Member
Wonder if in years to come, we'll witness a maroon WCR Intercity 125 or maybe an INTERCITY swallow HST or a blue and grey one.
Given they're already familiar with MK. 3 operation, I could see DBS operating a set.
How I'd feel about seeing a British icon like the HST with "DB" emblazoned on the side is another matter entirely.
In what way did the use of an HST not work out for Cotswold, then?Of course one HST set has already spent time with a railtour operator, in the 2007/8 period, in the form of Cotswold Rail.
It didn't seem to work out particularly well for them and worked only a limited number of tours
Which is absolutely nothing to do with their use of an HST!!!!They went out of business soon after
Really? It must have impacted their cash flow?Which is absolutely nothing to do with their use of an HST!!!!
Not really. The set would have been stored anyway so AIUI there was a nominal fee agreed between Cotswold and Porterbrook, which suited both as Porterbrook avoided the cost of storage.Really? It must have impacted their cash flow?
I can't be certain; but the fact that it saw only occasional use, and was never tarted up in the way that they initially seemed keen to do, before the company was wound up suggests that it wasn't a successful experiment for them.In what way did the use of an HST not work out for Cotswold, then?
The set didn't need tarting up - it was a Project Rio set that was relatively recently refurbished. It also became clear pretty quickly that First Great Western would take almost all of the off-lease HST fleet, so there wasn't much point in spending cash on it.I can't be certain; but the fact that it saw only occasional use, and was never tarted up in the way that they initially seemed keen to do, before the company was wound up suggests that it wasn't a successful experiment for them.
It looked terribly tatty whenever I clapped eyes on it, though that was the impression I got from the whole of the Project Rio fleet, too.The set didn't need tarting up - it was a Project Rio set that was relatively recently refurbished.
Fair enough, I didn't even realise that the Advenza operation was related to Cotswold Rail.Your timescales are also out. The HST set went back to Porterbrook in August 2006. Cotswold/Advenza went under 3 years later. Nothing to do with the HST.
That's what forums are for - sharing information! It is over 10 years ago now and I had to go back and check the dates when things happened.Fair enough, I didn't even realise that the Advenza operation was related to Cotswold Rail.
You seem to have a far more solid grasp of the facts than the outsiders' impressions that I'm relaying, so if the HST set was more of a success for Cotswold than the impression I gained then I'll happily withdraw my argument.
Sounds like the future prospect of an HST in railtour use is quite a likely one then, on that basis.Part of the reason for the Cotswold use was because Porterbrook wanted to see if an HST set could be used on an occasional (rather than daily) basis. At the time there were a lot of sets off lease and they may have wondered about selling/leasing them to charter stock owners. The Cotswold operation proved that an HST copes fine with occasional use. Subsequently 41001 has also been successfully used on an occasional basis, too.
I do desperately hope that we don't see the sleek lines of an HST marred by WCRCs' universal drab brown livery, though.
I don't get why anyone would think WCRC would want an HST. Their core business is kettle charters, so don't see how that fits?Tbf, West Coast paint their diesels maroon to match the rolling stock. I think it looks terrible unless the diesel in question is simply providing hotel power from the rear (where it sort of blends in) but on an HST they wouldn’t have the same reason to do it as the coaches and power cars would stay as a set.
Plus, they’re surely not daft enough not to have noticed the way the retro-liveried GWR power cars have been received.
I appreciate that they do it to make the locos look as incongruous as possible when heating steam tours, although the colour used seems notably darker than the shade used on the carriages that they haul most of the time. It doesn't, for example, look anything like the extremely appealing and noticeably lighter shade of maroon that was deployed on Western Region Warships and Westerns, which did seem to match the BR maroon livery of mark 1 coaching stock. Getting off topic, but I don't think that West Coast's 47s would look any more incongruous on steam tours if they were painted in an approximation of their original BR two-tone green livery, and would look considerably more appealing when working solo. Not that it's exactly a major concern.Tbf, West Coast paint their diesels maroon to match the rolling stock.
I don't get why anyone would think WCRC would want an HST. Their core business is kettle charters, so don't see how that fits?
Yes. Parts of Sussex and Kent don't take C3 gauge stock I believe; power car gauging is also a separate issue. Then there's the Thameslink and Crossrail tunnels. No doubt there are other areas...If it did ever happen and it was fitted with ERTMS and the bogies were short swing link bogies, would there be anywhere on the national network that they'd be banned from?
Yes. Parts of Sussex and Kent don't take C3 gauge stock I believe; power car gauging is also a separate issue. Then there's the Thameslink and Crossrail tunnels. No doubt there are other areas...
Out of interest what parts of Kent and Sussex?Yes. Parts of Sussex and Kent don't take C3 gauge stock I believe; power car gauging is also a separate issue. Then there's the Thameslink and Crossrail tunnels. No doubt there are other areas...
Mark 3s can operate over the Cumbrian Coast, though in passenger service between Maryport and Carlisle they require a steward posted at each passenger door.Would they be unable to run on parts of the Cumbrian Coast too? Is there gauging restrictions on that line?
Mark 3s can operate over the Cumbrian Coast, but only in passenger service between Maryport and Carlisle with a steward posted at each passenger door.
That is my understanding. Hence why Northern's Mk2 operation doesn't need stewards to operate over the same section!Thanks for that Sprinterguy. Is that just due to clearance issues with the droplights then? As in if they were fitted with bars over the windows then no problem?
Thanks for that Sprinterguy. Is that just due to clearance issues with the droplights then? As in if they were fitted with bars over the windows then no problem?