Preserving HSTs

[James]

I was flicking through the FGW free magazine and there was an article about modernisation plans, and it mentioned "the replacement of High Speed Trains". It doesn't really seem possible, I've grown up with HSTs, I can remember travelling on them as a little kid in the 80s right through to the present day and it is so hard to comprehend a railway world devoid of them, but of course it's going to happen someday in the not too distant future, and that got me thinking...are there any plans to preserve any of these long-serving workhorses that we almost take for granted? Unlike a single locomotive or carriage, a full HST set would be hard to find a home for, you'd need two power cars, and most preserved lines are short and on minor routes. Also would anyone want such a recent, everyday train for mainline railtours?

I'm going to miss the HSTs, with their big comfy seats, door windows you can open (ever waited for a long time on a Voyager? How stuffy does that get...even if the air conditioning hasn't broken down), automatic sliding doors between coaches (that open for you so you don't have to put down the heavy luggage you're carrying, press a button, pick it up again and get cut in half by a door that doesn't stop closing if something's in the way ), large number of (working) toilets (join the queue in the voyager), and of course the number of coaches (I've been on a lot of Virgin services that feel like a rush-hour underground train 'cause there's so many people packed on there.). Ok so they can double up the trains but that doesn't help the ticket collector or anyone who boards and can't find a seat/friend because there's no connection between two units!

I'm not much of a Voyager fan, can you tell? God help the Adelante if I ever get near one

p.s. I bleeping hate the hideous purple/pink "Barbie" livery that most of the FGW stock has been repainted in...the green and gold was both attractive AND historically relevant.

p.p.s. I remember when there were 3 short red diagonal stripes on the seating area end bulkheads each side of the aisle...what livery was that? My little brain associated it with the Warner logo from the end of Dukes Of Hazzard...a simple mistaken connection for a young child, but one that is still lodged in my head today

[James]

This photo just reminded me of what a fantastic livery Intercity Swallow was on the 43s. Bright, crisp, clean, and made them look as if they were flying along at top speed even when parked in a siding!

http://www.bristol-rail.co.uk/el-loco/43018-1.php

Even made the 08 look good, especially with those lined wheels and handrails, and the red coupling rods

[Guest]

Hey you guys are lucky.

GNER dark blue where I live never gets dirty cause it is so drab in the first place. No imagintion whatsoever.

I/C Swallow livery certainly looked good on most stock.

[guest]

To me, these sum up a time when BR was at last getting its act together -before the Tories (whether Major or Blair matters little) set about wrecking this national asset.