This is among the hundreds photos I chose for final consideration for my book on European Railway Travel. It is not an outtake. Instead this is among my selections for the section on railways of Great Britain.
In the text I discuss the great London terminals, and I use this photo to illustrate Kings Cross. I like it because it features a vintage HST in nice light with a dynamic view of the classic train shed beyond.
The HST (High Speed Train) was introduced by the then nationalised British Railways (BR) in the mid-1970s as the Intercity 125.
As a 125 mph train capable of operating on many existing lines with minimal changes to infrastructure and signaling this represented a significant improvement over older trains that allowed BR to speed schedules and more effectively compete with other modes.
More than 40 years later, many of the old HSTs are still on the move.
Exposed on 3 May 2016 using my Lumix LX7. This image was adapted from the camera RAW image for maximum dynamic range.
Off hand, I think it was the XPT that hit the speed record. That was a more technologically sophisticated tilting train that didn’t make it commercially.
Real trains Brian! I always look forward to travelling in them. Maybe others can confirm this but did they not establish world speed records for a diesel powered train?
The HSTs are old school even with the new MTU engine! I love it.
TSH
A perfect example of the vanishing point. The HST was probably the supreme achievement of the old BR’s engineering design team. In an earlier life, I had a very small part in some early layout drawings at the concept stage.