So, just a question really. Why DOES everyone love the HST? it seems pretty much all rail enthusiasts love the HST, people are annoyed when they’re getting replaced but I’ve always seen them as, eh. Yeah they’re quick, but so are pendolinos, and javelins. The front end looks a bit weird, especially in it’s old livery. And as far as horns go it sounds like a nun farting in an elevator. Now, this is coming from someone who likes the Class 313, 455 and likes the 357. It’s just something i’ve never got myself. Edit: I was writing this in a weird autistic rant don't hate ly all
You can't really compare it with the likes of Pendolinos and Javelins - the HST was a pioneer in its day and a world away from the other trains on British railways in the 70s. I think people loved its comfort too, as having power cars and carriages made it more spacious and quieter than modern multiple units where power units are spread throughout the whole train.
When I was going to the UK I used to enjoy riding with HST as seats are more comfortable than the junk plastic train I took recently which is mostly replacing them, I’m talking about the Class 800 with their iron board seats which is incomfortable and a shame for long distance travels, if it was put inside suburban trains I’ll understand but here it’s plainly stupid. Personally I’m a fan of old train and what I liked about the HST is not really its atypical front design but its sound produced it was gorgeous. I’m not against newer and modern trains because like us humain they’re aging and has to go but I just regret the regression in term of comfort, that explains mostly why people love it more ( and the fact it’s an iconic train ). I have the same feeling with trains in my place we use to have comfy seats and some nice aesthetic looking trains now I’m felling it’s being neglect and it looks plain dead. It’s my opinion
I know this isn't the point of the discussion, but... A nun farting in an elevator. How... What... I mean, it's hilarious and had me laughing for many seconds (and I'm still laughing whenever I reread it), but... what? How did you think of that, and why a nun? Oh goodness, I just remembered all the videos about HSTs with stuck horns. Oh my goodness NO!
HSTs were one of the last and greatest achievements by BR. They were fast and comfortable and still hold the record for the fastest diesel train in the world. The last time I rode one was not long after Pendolinos and Voyagers were introduced and those just weren't as comfortable and smooth. The HSTs are up there with the class 91s in terms of comfort in the seating. The most comfortable train I ever went on though was the class 373 when GNER operated some of them on the ECML as their White Rose service. Nothing will compare to the noise a HST makes and it is a shame that by the end of this year only Scotrail will be operating them as GWR and XC are withdrawing them from service. The HSTs are as iconic as some of the great steam locomotives that ran on our lines.
1. They are very recognizable because of the cab design. Even today in a world of flat-faced multiple units, it looks positively rakish. 2. They were ubiquitous on UK railways for many many years, and now are increasingly rare. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. 3. They are pretty impressive for a diesel train. Going along at 125mph in one of those things somehow feel like more of a feat than doing so in an electric loco or EMU, and they could top 140mph in the right circumstances. 4. Passenger comfort. The MK.3 carriages were designed for comfort and speed on railway tracks that hadn't been touched in decades, BR were always very good at papering over cracks, so whilst they couldn't afford high speed railway lines, they couldn't afford super duper signaling upgrades, they couldn't afford electrification, they could afford to make an absolutely stupendous riding coach that could traverse Victorian engineering at high speed without leaving everyone on board covered in their breakfast, and by and large that comfort has been hard to match or exceed since. 5. For the length of time they have been in service, the volume of them and the services they have provided, remarkably few have ever wound up in fatal accidents, nor have they ever drawn attention for poor reliability. The HSTs were not always loved though. Like all new locos when they first came out they were sneered at due to the fact they replaced a variety of big old diesel locos across UK mainlines with this single type of multiple unit, with its standardised everything, its BR designed to the peak of 1970s utility interiors, and its heavy handed British Rail advertising campaigns, at a time when enthusiasts were lining up to see Deltics, Peaks, and Westerns. But like those before it, through longevity, reliability, and the familiarity it provided during a massively changing period, it has earned the respect of most if not all UK rail enthusiasts.
I'm calling my lawyer on you if I die from laughter, next time I drive the HST. But seriously, I think the title of 'World's fastest Diesel Train' is well earned. Hence, its popularity is justified IMO.
Certainly when they were new (early 80s), they were the sexiest things in a British station, and the original livery boldly announced they were the fastest too (INTERCITY 125). It was like somebody pulling a Lamborghini Countach into a carpark full of Ford Anglias and Morris Majors. It was a treat to know your ticket was aboard one, rather than in a Mk I hauled by a wheezy old 31 (or worse yet a 1st-gen DMU).
I loved the HSTs from when the first one past my house when I was a youngster up to my last few days of working them when they were battered and bruised and clearly inferior to the 80xs that replaced them. The strange thing is that I have never been able to place a finger on what it is about them that captured me so much. I suppose the first impression is everything!
I find it especially strange when people that hate the ieps love the HSTs because the ieps replaced them!!! Have they thought about the deltics, peaks, hoovers and many other classic locos a million times better than the hst that the HSTs replaced 40 odd years ago!!!
I suppose as far as head turners go it’s up there, idk just never rly like them too much, just have a weird shape but i wont lie, recently i’ve come to like them. not just because of the overwhelming weight of the train community on my shoulders
The sounds of a HST are amazing, even the MTU ones (the engines they are fitted with these days) have a pretty nice sound
