Front cab of British Railways Intercity 125 out of Kings Cross in 1980s

Ken D'Ath and Mickey Leslie Driving HST out of Kings Cross. Believed to have been filmed sometime during the 1980s.

[@grahamallen1970]

As a retired driver my self I can say I'm discussed with this vid....they pointed out the 2 mile post marker......and no one had bothered to get a brew on yet!😅😅😅 as soon as cab leaves platform brew up😊

[@558vulcanxh]

Quite correct Graham 😊

[@DonFelixGallardo]

Drinking at work again? 🙄

[@grahamallen1970]

@@DonFelixGallardo only tea old boy!

[@DonFelixGallardo]

@@grahamallen1970 I know…only playing 😅

[@Isochest]

@@DonFelixGallardo Nothing like a strong tea to liven the senses!

[@exb.r.buckeyeman845]

I had the pleasure of working at Penzance with every one of these HSTs in the 70s/80s. Taking out through the wash plant, then on Shed for maintenance, then up for cleaning and connecting the shore supply. Happy memories.

[@billhall1983]

This brought back happy memories of the late 80's when I did a lot of traveling about in the HSTs with Mirlees engines. I designed the engine governor control system for those trains and in the early days I spent weeks on end going from train to train to check all was running ok.

[@tadath]

Bill Hall glad you enjoyed the video. I know our father (in the video) would have loved to have chatted to you on anything to do with traction engines.

[@billhall1983]

@ so the old power cars are still running but with MTUs. Happy days for me with the Mirleess engines

[@davidsnapebrcrosslane8782]

My neighbour worked for Mirlees in Hazel Grove, they also built engines for marine vessels.

[@billhall1983]

@@davidsnapebrcrosslane8782 Hi David, I worked on many marine vessels with Mirlees engines and Heinzmann governors. There were some tugs and the Orelia, a drill ship and others

[@andrewbrown6786]

Didn’t these end up with Paxman engines?

[@notional67]

Tim, thanks a lot for posting this. A real piece of railway history. Your dad was a legend. Very best wishes.

[@tadath]

No worries glad you enjoyed it.

[@1D84down]

There will never be another Ken D'Ath. RIP, my friend

[@g7usl]

.................And mine.

[@tulyar1043]

Thank you for posting this video of better times. Lovely views of Essendine, this video was shot late 1987/ early 1988 as not all the OHL had been erected. I probably cab rode with one or the other gentleman in this video as I had several cab rides around this time. Most official but a couple unofficial. This has brought back happy memories of people and places I worked at that time.

[@michaelburrows6799]

Great film, Ken D'Ath was my boss at Ilford Training School, it was through him that I learned a great deal about the ECML. He out-based me at Kings Cross for two years and I got to know many lovely people. When I left to go into Liverpool Street Control he never forgot me and regularly came to see me and we met socially for some years. Good days and a lovely man.

[@tadath]

Michael Burrows Thanks for the kind words Michael about our father and glad you enjoyed the film. Tim D’Ath

[@vicsams4431]

Hi Mike, I remember you and Ken at Ilford Training School. I did my first Rules and Regs there. I was based at Kings Cross, but worked with Ken at Hamilton House in NSE GE days. Years later, I ended up as the National Operations Standards Manager at Euston HQ. But I never forgot my Anglia routes. Happy days. All the best. Vic

[@siddywiddyb]

Used to watch these from the AllyPally footbridge..roaring beasts! Never will forget those beautiful Paxman's..cheers for the footage!

[@vicsams4431]

Ken D'Ath a true gentleman in every sense of the word. I had the pleasure of knowing him at Ilford Training School, and later working with him at Hamilton House in NSE GE days.

[@tadath]

Thanks very much for your kind words about my father Vic.

[@vicsams4431]

@@tadath My pleasure. I loved listening to his stories. I had the utmost respect for the man. I have subscribed to your channel, and left a few more comments. Wishing you all the best.

[@blue2sco]

My Granddad was a driver out of Kings Cross around that time on the East Coast run up to Newcastle. He also did a front cab run like this with him and his crew explaining all the lights and signals.

[@locomotiveresearchdepartme2358]

thats fascinating!

[@brianchiddle8665]

What was his name , I probably knew him ? I also was on the footplate at the 'Cross' .

[@ReZiN8R]

Brilliant video. Thanks for uploading. Hardly seen any cab ride footage from back in the 80's. Cheers : )

[@tadath]

ReZiN8R glad you enjoyed it!

[@g7usl]

I worked with both of them. Ken, taught me stuff I never previously heard from no-one. Best mate I ever worked with.

[@trainsimulatorspotlight6886]

I love that heavy knocking sound the Valenta makes when it picks up revs almost as much as I love the turbo scream under full power.

[@danielbarton9291]

Fabulous piece of history, thanks for sharing.

[@terry-wc9sw]

I was train guard at kings x ,from 1980 to end 1989 both these men were my HST drivers in the eighties,remember them well ,amongst other great train crew then ,they were good times then ..

[@Isochest]

This is all bloody wholesome. Undefined parcels/bags on the platform and non standard line speeds such as 115mph

[@Isochest]

I love the detailed descriptions of line speeds and signal aspects essential to a student driver learning the road

[@AndreiTupolev]

This is the first cab ride I've seen in a Valenta engined HST. Very good sound effects.

[@jonasrosengren9093]

Cool clip. Makes one remember the UK rail from the 80's

[@thebrummierailenthusiasts5329]

Magnificent I believe this is back as far as 1983

[@markcf83]

Electric trains reached Peterborough in the late 80's.

[@thebrummierailenthusiasts5329]

@@markcf83 did they mark

[@css8636]

My dad drove these on ecml, drove 225’s, 47 and deltics in his time. Now I follow his foot steps but gutted I will never drive these!

[@ianjones4116]

Transfer to the South West,,, go to Laira 👍

[@daveb0789]

What do you drive now?

[@locomotiveresearchdepartme2358]

my great great-uncle was a driver out of cardiff central in the mid-1970s

[@busdriverm]

Thats amazing! Ken D'Ath and Ivor Gibson trained me at Kings Cross in 1976!

[@tadath]

busdriverm Hi and many thanks for the message. Ken D’Ath was my father who was good friends with Micky Lesley. I didn’t know the other driver so thanks for now confirming it. The marvel of the internet! Regards Tim

[@busdriverm]

Thats not Ivor in the film, the 2 of them trained me at KX. I can clearly still remember going to Cambridge and back with Ken while training with a 47 on a service train. He taught me a lot!

[@tadath]

busdriverm okay thanks, hopefully find out in time who the 3rd driver was. Glad you enjoyed the clip.

[@motorheadmalc]

Ken D'Ath was guv'nor of Ilford's Aldersbook school when I went up for MP12, and we were the first ever group to do all the ER EMUs as basic traction instead of 47s. My avatar photo here, is thanks to another instructor allowing me back in the cab as a traction trainee when we were shown a Class 254 conversion course.

[@andybunyan649]

A brilliant video Tim - was watching it elsewhere not realising that you had posted it. I was a few years behind you at Hornsey and recalled both you and your dad from those days. Watching this brings back some great memories of a few cab rides I snaffled. The Valenta winding up, the AWS chirping away and even the brake pipe exhausting is great to hear - it takes me right back home to where I first started. Cheers for posting 👍👍👍

[@tadath]

Hi Andy, glad that you enjoyed it. Have had some lovely comments from people on the video over the years. Hope your keeping well.

[@adrianandkatrinadove203]

TERRIFIC..really enjoyed that....a bit of railway history from a view point never seen by the public...

[@Isochest]

Undervalued rail professionals sadly. Respect for their contribution to society and RIP

[@brushhead]

This is brilliant!

[@quarryfield]

Fantastic video, thanks!

[@jamespeter1662]

Very nice gem of a video, I enjoyed that!

[@Martindyna]

Very interesting video; one driver appears to be familiarising the other about the route. P.S. Don't know why the fitters didn't trim that windscreen washer tubing a bit shorter.

[@andybunyan649]

Great video - had a cab ride on a very busy good friday afternoon from Kings Cross to Leeds around the time this was filmed albeit with a NH crew. Nice to see Hornsey and BN were I once worked (even very briefly when Tim was there!)

[@mmartinez6342]

Great video!, thank you! 👍

[@stevenq3840]

Great video, thanks for sharing 👍🏻

[@bobbrooks266]

Fantastic video

[@stevenobrien3763]

A driver once let me start up an HST at Newquay station when I was on holiday I was about 10 year old at the time👍❤️

[@jimusgrimus]

Proper drivers..........not many left these days.

[@e575fho]

And proper trains..........

[@phantomsvideos]

Still a few of us left!!

[@antonysmith9173]

No now days most of em look at spotters as though they have stepped in something

[@quattromatty5219]

@@antonysmith9173 I don’t, you’re more than welcome to take a photo and have a natter with me, I always toot and wave 👍

[@antonysmith9173]

@@quattromatty5219 Cheers,fair play to you. I have had drivers give me "v" before now when taking a photo. Thanks.

[@philiplafrance2545]

With all the bells and whistles!!

[@TrainsbyM]

This is just amazing, just listen to that. 😱🤯🥰

[@johncourtneidge]

Thank-you.

[@antonysmith9173]

I think alot of drivers today would rather give train spotters the "V" rather than a wave,and yes that has happened to me when l was taking photos!

[@quattromatty5219]

Some drivers may be rude, I’m not, I’ll blow the horn and wave that’s the showbiz part of driving 👍

[@antonysmith9173]

@@quattromatty5219 thank you. Appreciate that reply. Drive safe.

[@geoffreylee5199]

About the first time I rode out of there.

[@Dragonbreath2807]

Great. Fabulous tutor driver.

[@dukeofdevon5608]

Great video lovely to see. Did Ken D’ath happen to live in Leigh-on-sea? It’s just I knew a Ken D’ath who was my neighbour

[@tadath]

Thanks and yes, in Dandies Drive.

[@bionictrowel6135]

the sound of these wonderful engines accelerating from a stand was special yet it was cut out several times why?

[@clarky2356]

Imagine sitting in the drivers seat and hearing that valenta engine roaring behind u

[@tayguy509]

Loved the older guyz they just got out done the jib was never a bigthing infact most hated it!! They knew their job inside out

[@ianjones4116]

Brilliant. 👍

[@railwaystationmaster]

With a uniform that was well tailored and a cap that actually looked cool enough to wear especially with sideburns l , Sir Peter Parker presided over a cash strapped British Railways criminally starved of investment by sucessive governments , the butt of many curled up sandwiches jokes .Looking back over 40 years it now seems amazing it actually functioned at all.

[@Watermillfilms]

Do you think some of these drivers in the 80s started with steam?

[@ChangesOneTim]

Yes. The longest-serving men at that time would have joined the railway in the 1940s, or even before WW2. In a few parts of Britain BR trained new footplatemen for steam right up until the mid-1960s.

[@terry-wc9sw]

yes many of them did

[@markcf83]

Every chance many of them would have.

[@tedthesailor172]

They did a lot better job of filming on the Get Carter intro! But what was that intermittent alarm bell warning of...?

[@tadath]

Ted thesailor Hi Ted, I'm the son of Ken in the film. This was filmed on a standard VHS camcorder and not by a professional film crew as such. In fact I'm pretty sure it was my fathers camera as he owned one at the time. The alarm bells which you hear are train safety aids and would apply the train brakes if the driver doesn't acknowledge them. Hope you enjoyed the film. Tim

[@tedthesailor172]

Okay, thanks for that. And yes - I did enjoy the film, thanks.

[@tanithrosenbaum]

That's the AWS bell en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_Warning_System

[@g7usl]

Tim, It was the horns that needed cancelling. The bells didn't as they were a clear indication.

[@neildahlgaard-sigsworth3819]

Ted thesailor except that the opening credits of Get Carter the film is out of sequence.

[@felixthecleaner8843]

filmed with an adapted Brownie 127....

[@DavidWood2]

The mixture of liveries likely puts this in the mid eighties, as the description says. Amateur footage of this era would likely have been filmed on crude VHS or VHS-C equipment; Video 8 might just have been possible. This was incredible technology at the time - only a few years before the only video recording technology accessible to most amateurs was 8mm movie film. By modern standards, VHS is very limited. It's an analog format. At the time, VHS equipment would not have had stereo sound - so all you had was luminance (black and white) of about 333 x 576 resolution, chrominance (colour information) of about 40 x 240 resolution and a rather poor mono audio track that was not much good above about 8kHz. Consumer grade VHS cameras of that time did not produce especially sharp pictures and the light sensitivity was dreadful by modern standards. This footage appears to have been recorded without a tripod or a good quality external microphone. Yet, for all the limits of the technology it worked - and without it, this footage from a time long gone would not have been preserved. What you can do today with a modern DSLR, a good lens, external microphone, tripod and a high end laptop running Adobe Premiere was only a pipedream back then. All high quality high end footage in the mid 1980s would have been shot on 16mm or 35mm movie film. Professional portable digital video (Digital Betacam - often called DigiBeta) didn't come along until 1993. We should count ourselves lucky that this footage survived, crude as it is, also be grateful that it was put up on KZbin for us to see. There are cab rides recorded in HSTs with their original Valenta engines in the mid 2000s recorded on good quality - albeit standard definition - digital video equipment, but they show a world twenty years on from this video.

[@valuetraveler2026]

Was having a lot of fun till that right light at 9:10:(

[@martyspencer3466]

How much does it cost for a guest to sit in front cab with driver and traction inspector?

[@polythenewrappedme6102]

The only European country that allows that is Switzerland.

[@ou-wz1fx]

Is this a 43 or the 41

[@cjmillsnun]

43.

[@wwebradbutt]

Intercity class 43 course another class 43 is somewhere in the uk

[@MattDavis_BeechingsGhosts]

Was it common that drivers wore full uniform and hat?

[@markcf83]

Definitely.

[@muttley8818]

Back then it was. I'd say it was common right up until the early 90's. My uncle wore his hat even after the end of British Rail and he started driving for First Great Western. He was told off by an overzealous FGW supervisor for wearing it once, while on a platform waiting to relieve another driver (the supe claimed it looked tacky). My uncle just replied "Bollocks to ya" and tipped his hat to him. After he passed away, nobody else wanted it so I took it. Still have it too, and for a hat that he claimed he had since the early 80's, it's in pretty good shape.

[@philipmason3218]

What are all the bells and whistles in the cab?

[@andrewmartin2672]

The Bell is part of the AWS (Automatic Warning System) when the bell sounds, it is an audible indication that the next signal the train is approaching is displaying a proceed aspect (Green). Anything other than a Green and a horn will sound in the cab, the driver then has a certain amount of time to acknowledge (by pressing a button) this warning of an upcoming restrictive aspect on the approaching signal. Failure to do so applies the trains brakes. In the video, at the start the driver makes some comments about acknowledging AWS after he hears the horn. But when he gets going the route has Green aspects showing (usually see the signal at green a few seconds after you hear the bell in the video).

[@philipmason3218]

@@andrewmartin2672 Thanks for clearing that up.

[@chasc301]

@@philipmason3218 The track part of the AWS is the ramps you can see between the rails. It has a permanent magnet and an electro magnet. The permanent alone will trigger a warning horn (if not cancelled an emergency brake application) as above but for a green the electro magnet is also in operation so it fails safe to caution. A detector is suspended under the power car and detects the state of the magnets as it passes over. A mechanical version existed in steam days with a ramp which was hit by a shoe mounted to the locomotive. A caution warning turns a dial black and yellow in the cabin, black for clear or green. The driver also has a vigilance pedal which requires the removal and reapplying of the foot within something like 2 seconds on sounding of the buzzer about every minute or so.

[@eugenemurray2940]

Get Carter!

[@ELPaso1990TX]

Something a lot more exciting about an HST or indeed any loco hauled train that you don’t get with a pathetic cheap and nasty 220/221 Voyager. Sadly our British railway heritage is being ruined by cheap and nasty substandard imports, like Voyagers etc. :(

[@johnkelly1083]

I've been on a Voyager once. The whole carriage smelt like a chemical toilet.

[@nickmageebrown1981]

Why is this not in 4K 1080P HD?

[@tadath]

nickmageebrown1981 - probably because it hadn’t been inverted back in the 80’s

[@cannadineboxill-harris2983]

I needed to know why don’t dig a tunnel and do an extension for the main line Train so that they can extend the unused abandoned underground train stations. Why couldn’t they use the part D78 Stock train doors on the sides and also restructure the front face of the A60 and A62 stock and that includes the class 313, class 314 and class 315 remix and make them all together and also redesign them an overhead line and also make them into Five cars per units and also having three Disabled Toilets on those Five cars per units A60 and A62 stock trains and also convert the A60 and A62 stock trains into a Scania N112, Volvo B10M, Gardner 6LXB, Gardner 6LXC and Gardner 8LXB Diesel Engines and also put the Loud 7-Speed Voith Gearboxes even Loud 8-Speed Leyland Hydra cyclic Gearboxes in the A60 and A62 stock, class 313, class 314, and class 315 and also modernise the A60 and A62 stock and make it into an 11 car per unit so it could have fewer doors, more tables, computers and mobile phone chargers. A Stock Trains and also having 8 Disabled Toilets on those A stock trains. why couldn’t we refurbish and modernise the waterloo and city line Triple-Track train tunnel and make it more Larger and extend it to the bank station, making it into a Triple-Track Railway Line so those Five countries such as Australia, Germany, Italy, Poland And Sweden to convert the waterloo and city line Triple-Track Railway tunnel into a High-Speed Railway lines? The Third Euro tunnel Triple-Track Railway line to make it 11 times better for passengers so they could go from A to B. then put the modernised 11 car per unit A Stock and put them on a bigger modernised waterloo and city line Triple-Track train tunnel so it could go to bank station to those Five countries such as Australia, Germany, Italy, Poland And Sweden. The modernised refurbished 11 cars per unit A stock could be a High Speed The Third Triple-Track Euro Tunnel Train So it is promising and 47 times a lot more possible to do this kind of project if that will be OK for London Australia, Germany, Italy, Poland And Sweden. oh by the way, could they also tunnel the Triple-Track Railway Line so it will stop from Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex so that the Passengers will go to Australia, Germany, Italy, Poland and Sweden and also extend the Triple-Track Railway Line from the Bank to Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex Stations so that more people from there could go to Australia, Germany, Italy, Poland And Sweden more Easily. Why couldn't they extend the Piccadilly line and also build brand-new underground train stations so it could go even further right up to Clapton, Wood Street can they also make another brand new underground train station in Chingford and could they extend the Piccadilly Line and the DLR right up to Chingford? All of the classes 150, 155, 154, 117, 114, 105, and 106, will be replaced by all of the Scania N112, Volvo B10M, Gardner 6LXB, Gardner 6LXC and Gardner 8LXB Diesel Five carriages three disabled toilets are air conditioning trains including Highams Park for extended roots which is the Piccadilly line and the DLR trains. Could you also convert all of the 1973 stock trains into an air-conditioned maximum speed 78 km/hours (48 MPH) re-refurbished and make it into a 8 cars per unit if that will be alright, and also extend all of the Piccadilly train stations to make more space for all of the extended 8 car per unit 1973 stock air condition trains and can you also build another Mayflower and Tornado Steam Locomotive Companies and can they order Every 37 Octagon and Every 17 Hexagon shape LNER diagram unique small no.13 and unique small no.11 Boilers from those Countries such as Greece, Italy, Poland, and Sweden, can they make Mayflower and Tornado Steam Locomotive speeds by up to 142MPH so you can try and test it on the Original Mainline so it will be much more safer for the Passengers to enjoy the 142MPH speed Limit only for HS2 and Channel Tunnel mainline services, if they needed 16 Carriages Per units, can they use those class 55’s, class 44’s, class 40’s and class 43HST Diesel Locomotive’s right at the Back of those 18 Carriages Per Units so they can take over at the Back to let those Mayflower and Tornado Steam Locomotive’s have a rest for those interesting Journeys Please!!!!!!!, oh can you make all of those Coal Boxes’s 17 Tonnes for all of those 142MPH Mayflower and Tornado Steam Locomotive’s so the Companies will Understand us PASSENGER’S!! so please make sure that the Builders can do as they are told!!!!! And please do something about these very very important Professional ideas Please? Prime Minister of England, Prime Minister of Australia, Prime Minister of Sweden, Prime Minister of Germany, Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister of Poland and that Includes the Mayor of London.

[@tonygriffiths7864]

danmn that looks ancient