John Zabernik

MkIII Holiday to Scotland

125 Group is proud owner of three MkIII coaches, FO 11074, RFM 10206 and TSO 12092, based at Ruddington on the Great Central Railway (Nottingham). Tomorrow the vehicles will be making the journey north to spend Christmas and Hogmanay in Scotland.

41001 coupled to 12092 at Ruddington GCR(N) ©125 Group

All being well, they will set off from Ruddington at 0700 (Fri 11th Dec 2015) hauled by Prototype HST power car 41001 as far as Rushcliffe Halt. After some shunting, the vehicles will depart in the charge of Rail Operations Group, hauled by locomotives 56098 and 56301, running via Leicester, Nuneaton and the West Coast Mainline to Carlisle and through to Kilmarnock.

Since acquiring 11074, 10206 and 12092 in March this year, 125 Group volunteers have toiled to restore the coaches to full working order. All electrical systems have been reinstated, including new batteries, replacement motor alternator, circuit and relay overhaul and replacement. Air-conditioning systems have also been brought back to life plus the RFM kitchen has been overhauled for culinary use and of course all coaches have received a deep clean. The vehicles normally operate with our Prototype HST Power Car 41001 on GCR(N).

For more information on our MkIIIs and 41001, check out the 125 Group website. Join us as a member and help us raise funds to preserve a production Inter-City 125 High Speed Train. www.125group.org.uk

39 Years of Inter-City 125 – Meet the Designer!

Today marks 39 years since the start of HST squadron service on the Western Region. The new timetable of 4th October 1976 introduced regular 125mph running for the first time on British Rail, with HSTs slashing journey times offered by the existing locomotive-hauled trains.

Inter-City 125 Power Car 43014 at Paddington ©John Zabernik

Back in the 1970s, Industrial Designer Sir Kenneth Grange produced the styling of the Inter-City 125 and you can meet the man responsible for the look of this iconic train, this coming Saturday 10th October on-board the ‘First Devon and Exeter Explorer’ HST Special from London Paddington. This charity railtour in aid of First Devon and Exeter Prostate Cancer Fund will be taking a GWR HST into unusual territory, through to Buckfastleigh on the South Devon Railway and the freight branch to Heathfield.

Sir Kenneth, 86, who is Honorary President of 125 Group, will be available for a chat and to sign autographs in return for a donation to this worthy cause. The 125 Group sales stand will also be on-board with a range of HST related merchandise. Our friends at the Branch Line Society are handling bookings for the railtour, ‘pay on the day’ fares will be available, for full details see their website www.branchline.org.uk/events.php