Corridor of Power (British Rail, 1992)

British Railways Board film on the electrification of the East Coast Mainline & the then new Class 91 loco with Mk4 coaches. Produced by Cinecosse 1992.

[@soundseeker63]

Still a few class 91 / Mk4 sets running as of 2023. Not sure how much longer they have left to go now mind, but they've certainly paid for themselves many times over and become iconic in their own right, like the HST. And the latest (and probably final) LNER livery is a tribute to their original Intercity Swallow livery. Very nice.

[@ab_railways_original]

Well, they were retired but not anymore as the need them, and we will have them until the next big rail upgrade at a guess

[@johnselekta]

Yep saw 2 immaculate full sets at Leeds a few weeks back. Beauties they were.

[@Martindyna]

@@TrenyCwm The main reason for me is that the 91 loco just sounds like a big fan ** (somewhat like the original Eurostar power cars) and therefore has far less character than the 43 sound wise. I like the Aussie XPT as well since the Paxman VP185 sounds better in them due to a different exhaust system (some exhaust note is evident, as in `XPT at Wauchope'). ** I understand that the traction motor whine can be heard on board the 91 once they get up to past 30 mph; there are some videos on KZbin including the 91's somewhat muted screaming.

[@Martindyna]

@@TrenyCwm Notwithstanding what i said earlier the exterior design of the 91 is spot on & timeless, the blunt end more aerodynamic against the coaches than e.g. the Class 89 and the chime horns are fantastic. And it’s virtually entirely British. It’s only old fashioned now in that it has DC motors (although when launched the motors / control system were described as ‘state of the art DC’). It’s a shame it usually was only allowed to do 125 mph in service although of course 140 is only 15 mph faster.

[@TrenyCwm]

@@Martindyna Absolutely, but has only ever provided a very small solution to a very large railway, hence the early withdrawal.

[@benkay8295]

When I first went on the Intercity 225 as a boy of 11 in 1992 I was simply blown away by the looks, speed, comfort and sheer plushnuss. I travelled from Kings Cross to Retford and loved every second. I travelled regularly on them, largely in thanks to my dad who worked on the railway so it cost very very little. Now we have absolute crap running that is uncomfortable and boring to look at. Such a shame.

[@factfilenews]

Excellent video. BRITAIN was truly amazing back then😊

[@magnusaugust8489]

Still is! I feel like its just not properly featured in the news, the industrial feats of the UK, like HS2 rn

[@urbandweller]

@@magnusaugust8489 Most of HS2 was basically cancelled. And most of the modern trains in Britain have horrendously bad comfort and are made of plastic. Intercity 225 was probably the last real train that Britain produced. By now Britain is not among the leaders in terms of railway technology in Europe. In fact, it's a bit sh*t now.

[@magnusaugust8489]

@@urbandweller I may very well be wrong, but I do believe that Britain still has the highest average train speeds to this very day. :) Partly due to being very rather decent at upgrading conventional mainlines, although not saying it is perfect.

[@Bungle-UK]

@@magnusaugust8489it does indeed have the highest average train speeds in the world….the moaners just love to moan.

[@rickerbyct]

@@urbandwellerwhat train is made of plastic???!!!

[@vinniechudam1835]

My first trip in the new Class 91 was in 1995 from London to Leeds on the 7.30am Yorkshire Pullman. Memories of the comfortable grey seats, grey carpet and all grey interior in First Class. The following year, 1996, the ECML was now operated by InterCity East Coast. We still had Pullman trains and some trains were still named, such as the Highland Chieftain from London to Inverness, restaurant cars serving freshly cooked to order breakfasts, Frank Cooper orange marmalade on fresh toast. Darjeeling tea in teapots. Then GNER came and we entered a new era with Eurostar regional trains on the Leeds route. The HSTs still had their original Paxman Valenta engines. First Class Pullman lounges were refurbished. Train interiors were refurbished. 3hr 59 min London to Edinburgh on the Scottish Pullman calling only York and Newcastle is no more. The Scottish Pullman is no more. First Class Pullman is no more. Class 91 Anglo Scottish services are no more. Her Majesty is no more. How times have changed

[@BenDover-ln6ns]

It was 7:50 dep 1D33 the pullman. 7:30 was 1N02 Newcastle

[@duainesimpson274]

Amazing! Simply stunning! The amount of work and engineering that went over 7 years of electrical work

[@djtrainspotter]

When this country still had brains and free from mass corruption. Great days them.

[@markclifton14]

I remember those 225s coming into service. Now they are retired. It seems like yesterday. I started work on the railways in 1988. And remember all of the changes. I was not on the East Coast , I worked on the DCL , but was still fascinated with the changes going on on our Railways.

[@ab_railways_original]

They came back into services recently...

[@georgepom328]

They are not retired, some have been others have been refurbished

[@soundseeker63]

No they are still running, just in reduced numbers (8 locomotives still active I think) and only as far north as York, Leeds/Bradford/Skipton. Personally I hope they keep them on beyond 2023 because they are a far, far more pleasant travel experience than the IETs.

[@malcolmelliott1876]

At Grantham I remember the class 43 HST coming into service on ECML .. then the wires going in , then the class 91 with the "225" sets.... at that time wires only to Leeds, so still a mix of both going through Grantham... used to love the 80 minute from KX to home trip early evening.

[@grahamfisher5436]

From Newark-on-Trent 😊

[@ChangesOneTim]

Completion of that ECML mega-project to time and within budget certainly taught the 'British Rail bashers' a lesson 25 years later, after the chaos of the GWML project!🤣

[@Martindyna]

Unfortunately you'll always have the BR haters (normally Tory ministers or ex ministers) that pop up to drop in little phrases to run down BR like `I remember BR and I can assure you you wouldn't want to go back'. Makes my blood boil. Perhaps if BR had received 3 - 4 times the subsidy like the private companies do there would have been considerable improvements since nothing would have been wasted on Shareholders. Here's a stunning fact :- According to John Stittle, former Senior Lecturer in Accounting, University of Essex `Since Privatisation the cost of running the passenger network is £ 64.3 Billion more than if BR had been left in charge'.

[@Martindyna]

The £ 64.3 Billion figure is mentioned in this documentary :- `Has Privatisation Killed Our Railways? | The Great Railway Disaster | Channel 4 Documentaries' here on KZbin if the uploader will allow me to mention it. Go to 24.28 for that claim.

[@enemyofthestatewearein7945]

But but muh competition...It's a religion they can't give it up. It must be the fault of the bureaucrats.

[@ChangesOneTim]

@@enemyofthestatewearein7945 Also blah blah innovation, blah blah enterprise and efficiency blah blah blah.... Those bloody bureaucrats drafting franchise agreements to encourage the "competition" their political masters dreamed of, only to find that bidders saw it as a threat to easy profit by allowing others to 'abstract' too much revenue. Oh! How dare they?

[@Bungle-UK]

@@Martindyna To what extent does that figure take into account the much higher frequency of many services, the longer trains and numerous capacity/infrastructure enhancements? It’s a false comparison given that what we have today bares no relation to BR service provision in the mid-1990s. Enhancements cost money which requires subsidy as they rarely make a commercial return.

[@Del-bm]

A great documentary, thanks for sharing

[@sparkydave2783]

Great vid. Love the video editing from back in the day 😂

[@lukegreen5341]

20:54 Great Scotland Yard. It's Queen Elizabeth II. Thanks A Lot Mate. X

[@lukegreen5341]

1:02 This Music Is So Funky. Thanks Mate. X

[@ianforfun1]

I saw the first class 91 delivered to Bounds Green Depot from the end of a platform at Alexandra Palace Station and while being shunted into the sheds it derailed.

[@EdgyNumber1]

A shame then, that the GWR has only got a half-arsed attempt at mainline electrification.

[@ScrotusXL]

By the time HS2 is supposed to be "delivered" there should be hypersonic shape shifting invisible fllying cars that will be able to book your holiday, give financial advice, be a trustworthy provider of counselling and suggest contemporary interior designs,

[@paulgriffiths8359]

That was fantastic

[@saintuk70]

And we think the "green" revolution is a new thing.... shame our railways still don't get the investment they deserve.

[@ScrotusXL]

So impressive and achieved in such a short time using the technology, budget and resources of that time. Delivered ahead of schedule i believe? So what's going on...now? 😮

[@SoiBuakhaoRoutemasterbus]

Far too many fingers in far too many pies!........ One entity, British Rail, could do all the work at cost............. today, multiple companies do the same work and all want their profit, so costs go up!

[@dglcomputers1498]

Slowly replacing the ECML electrification as the cheapo head-span system used is crap and fails all too regularly.

[@Bungle-UK]

It was done on the cheap and anyone can deliver a project ahead of schedule if the original schedule is slack.

[@soundseeker63]

@@dglcomputers1498 Its getting on for 40 years old now and needs replacing anyway. But the problem was more that the masts were spaced out excessively on the straight, open stretches, leaving the wires vulnerable to high winds and ice loading etc.

[@BrakeCoach]

HS2 is being put under a tunnel for most of its route because people complained too much about the supposed degradation. Its a country that once pioneered rail technology, for crying out loud. Now its being bogged down by pointless actions and short term thinking.

[@fatwalletboy2]

At 7.30 ! Imagine trying that today.....

[@jekanyika]

I just realised that the Intercity 225 is metric.

[@adamquirke6024]

All of this could have been in vain looking at the state of the railways now

[@anthonywalsh2164]

A shame they’ve never increased the loading gauge.

[@gregkiteos1936]

I saw in the thumbnail a workman holding up a ladder under the powerlines. Doesn't seem too sensible to me 💀

[@Islacrusez]

I’ve seen enough rail safety videos to see that thumbnail and immediately think “what on earth is he doing with that ladder upright with the overhead power all over the place?”

[@kiwitrainguy]

The lines were probably not energised at the time.

[@ianbird6997]

Thats what it was all bout back in the day, shame it’s now all for profit and shareholders

[@Bungle-UK]

Yawn yawn….the ECML today has a state operated service on state owned tracks.

[@simonfrost7094]

@@Bungle-UK That doesn't mean it's a like for like replacement

[@Bungle-UK]

@@simonfrost7094 no, there are currently more trains on the ECML to more destinations than every before.

[@tl.rogers]

is this Mark Felton lol

[@alexw3606]

Then the Conservatives sold off the lot!

[@Pikestnt]

We should vote them in again next year. This time they definitely won’t tank the economy, run down public services, destroy the NHS and sell off assets cheaply to their mates. If we’d let Jeremy Corbyn in, the economy would be in a right old state. Oh wait….. Right, that’s enough politics. Back to the railways

[@Bungle-UK]

It all goes full circle….only the trains themselves on this route remain privately owned.

[@ab_railways_original]

Yep, it’s stupid. And now they are trying to undo it. 😂😂 what a bunch of twerps

[@DeltaJazzUK]

@@Bungle-UK The Azuma's seats are about as comfortable as sitting on an ironing board.

[@Bungle-UK]

@@DeltaJazzUK I agree and they were specified by the department of transport….state control isn’t a magic solution!

[@Steven_Rowe]

A great project but sadly the Intercity 225s do not reach 225kph or 140 mph as the maximum line speed is 125 mph or 200 kph. Still a decent speed by any standard. No doubt the French would be laughing at BR.

[@peterwoad8087]

I still prefer the class 43's.

[@mr.atomic2970]

Well i like them but i prefer more the class 91s.

[@terrymacaskill6512]

Class 43s still running up here in Scotland thanks to Scotrail...

[@mr.atomic2970]

@@terrymacaskill6512 scotrail was nationalised but it lools privatised they should introduce the old scotrail liveries in the br times.

[@mattval6293]

When ecnl had decent trains.

[@JamieTurner-tq7sb]

Hi 👋