This evening Great Western Railway celebrated the end of High Speed Trains serving Paddington after 43 years. Introduced in 1976, the Inter-City 125 was an immediate success and transformed long distance rail travel in the UK.
The event was marked by the last four HST services being lined up side by side in platforms 1 to 4, with the final 125 formed of power cars 43198 and 43002 working the 1830 to Exeter St.Davids. Sir Kenneth Grange, designer of the High Speed Train and 125 Group Hon President was VIP guest at Paddington and travelled on the final service. Thank you to GWR for working so hard behind the scenes to mark this historic occasion in style!
Now in our 25th year, 125 Group is the High Speed Train preservation group, our aim is to preserve at least one production class 43 power car and reinstall the original Valenta engine type. For the past seven years we have been custodians of the National Railway Museum’s prototype HST power car 41001, which we restored to working order with funds raised by us and the kind help of the railway industry.
Help us achieve our goal of preserving an Inter-City 125. Sign up to our monthly donation scheme HERE, which includes free membership with four quality exclusive magazines delivered to you each year, detailing our preservation efforts and with informed articles on the current HST scene.