HST's in full flight - Last 125 services into and out of Paddington

19th May 2019 marked the final day for full length GWR HST's, and the final day of HST's on service trains into Paddington.
Seen here at Taplow (among other services) the four diagrams are seen on their way to London, then are seen on their way back again.

[@davidsamuels8992]

The driver of 43188 (Geraint Thomas) on the return leg to Plymouth was my Dad. He’s been on the railway for 43 years now.

[@burntpeppers7414]

4:08 The power car in the original livery 😀. Its 1978 again and im 4yrs old at Kings Cross station with my mum waiting 2 board one bound 4 Edinburgh. I remember the buffet coach, the service area being all red in colour and the seats in first class where we was seated was orange if I recall correctly. The HST 125 was a smashing train. The train has loads of character. I remember on one occasion at Edinburgh Waverley again back in about 78-79 waiting 2 board the train 2 come back down south with me mum the driver let me sit in his cab 4 a few mins. I pressed the engine horn also. Fantastic 😀

[@davidcrook4166]

I like your intro with the Deltics!!! Thanks for recording this essential part of our railway history. To think that I aligned myself with the "Scrap The HSTs" brigade back in the '80s; I didn't know what I was thinking about...

[@12crepello]

I too despised the HST's when, back on the 70's, they were the destruction of my beloved Deltics. Also the Westerns and Hoovers on the GW. However one's views change over the years and now I to am sad to see them go!

[@davidcrook4166]

@@12crepello I'm realising this more and more if anything illustrates the old adage that we only appreciate something when it is gone, it's the railway hobby! Way back when, some enthusiasts didn't like the BR Standard class steam locomotives because they were replacing old favourite classes! yet today we are having enthusiasts chasing after PACERS!!

[@stephenharrison645]

Superb. Thanks for posting. Remember the HST's revolutionising the South Wales - Padd services when I was a teenager. Great bit of engineering.

[@russouk]

hst s in Cardiff great sight they look so good...new stuff aint got that look...azuma is ok but not that look.

[@MervynPartin]

Listening to the Turbo whine on the Paxman Valentas as they accelerated away from Cardiff was music to my ears- lovely trains

[@nov3019892008]

@@russouk if they painted the azunas in a decent livery rather than the 100-year-old gwr livery that would make a difference.

[@stephensmith799]

HSTs were worthy successors to Castles. British Rail did OK.

[@MervynPartin]

They did better than the DfT as they realised passengers like comfortable trains.

[@stephensmith799]

Yes. It is strange how some folks in high places have no idea of what it is like to sit on a train with no view out of the window (no window to look out of) and a high, ugly seat-back right in their faces.@@MervynPartin

[@Jah47475]

It was a sight to enjoy while they lasted. HST's had a good innings.

[@ScotRail-bw7ef]

4:02 10:09 cheeky window hangers 😂. Fantastic video

[@yeeye3395]

Also at 4:02 FLUSHHHHHHHH! Karma? I have always been afraid of a good window hang for that reason.

[@TheMichaelWilcock2016Railways]

Thanks for being there; I was on the last 1 from Swansea; a good day all-round

[@lukegreen5341]

4:09 These British Rail Intercity 125 High Speed Trains Are A Bit Like The Japanese Bullet Trains. Thanks Mate. X❤

[@JagaimoNeko]

Nice loco and very immersive footage! Cheers from Belarus

[@dgattenb]

fab vid.... gone are the days of comfort ...:(

[@theflyingsteamerstoke8534]

Last of the old school :-(

[@deiniol1455]

LNER and CrossCountry still use them I think, so they're not completely gone yet

[@transportationuk7656]

Deiniol14 And East Midlands Trains. Them VP185 engines are amazing.

[@ChilternTransportProductions]

Dogsgrove Blu You shouldn’t even have to do that on long distance trains....

[@a1oscarcars]

The Flying Steamer Stoke we have 165/166’s but they’re not the same :/

[@jonathanhazel6777]

A very good video ❤thanks.

[@hachikuhenonis9333]

0:31 That is the one which my country built (I rode the original one in Nagasaki before) but personally I prefer the old trains like 1:13 because they are beautiful and look like very "British."

[@GayCheesetuber]

Same, I appreciate the need to modernise and the class 800 series is a worthy successor to the HST. But the HST will always be a part of me, I remember watching them from my cousins house next to Taunton Station

[@akashmangalath9061]

Beautiful video bro great Coverage

[@Tuppoo94]

Too bad that they're being phased out. I doubt we'll see the trains of today running for 40 years.

[@TransportationFanHU]

Yes. This is only one of thousands of problems with modern people's thinking. I agree with you, these trainsets were so iconic, fast, comfortable vehicles of GBR's several Train Transportation Systems. In Hungary, this is the same problem with our old Ganz Trainsets and Ikarus buses which we made. Everybody wants to throw out classic trains like trash and this is not good.

[@chancergordy]

35 were bought and refurb'd and are in service in Scotland. limited to 100mph.

[@przychodzkipl]

Amazing video and great channel. Liked and subscribed.

[@swtrains1499]

So sad to see these go, glad I have plenty of videos of these and managed to see 43002 and 43185 in time. But at least a few are being kept.

[@Locos-del-oeste]

Exelente video 👍

[@railenthusiastabhishek1527]

I wish if Amtrak & VIA Rail Canada had these

[@Videogame-Matt]

I'm going to miss the class 43

[@williambishtonpedley7506]

Won't everyone

[@paulevans7309]

I loved these , I've got many memories of going down to Cornwall and along the sea wall at dawlish on a class 43 HST virgin train service back in 2004 when virgin was phasing these out . I was lucky enough to be on 1 of the final journeys .

[@truetothegame2928]

I see lots of 4 coach HST on filton bank through stapleton road in Bristol,, are they being used on manchester / leeds runs ???

[@themightyzanoss8409]

Cardiff to taunton/penzance

[@1701_FyldeFlyer]

Is someone dropping the bog on a couple of those HSTs as they approach the station? Seems to be a lot of stuff coming out under the fron carriage bogies and it isnt dust!

[@ChangesOneTim]

Great camera work! Makes the rails look dangerously under-maintained.

[@OlafProt]

Great to see the HSTs at full pelt. Although they aren’t the same without that valenta scream of course! 5:41 was a great catch all those units all At once! Strange effect near the end of that section looks like the HST is going to hit the suburban (of course not). The HSTs just look so solid, weighty, compared to everything else.

[@DaveM_thetrucker]

Fab Vid, but 1 thing i see all 4 go down to pad and if im not mistaken only 3 out the 4 came back up??, was there a black hole somewhere for 1 of the HSTS or did it branch off somewhere ??

[@AlycidonDeltic]

They're all there, 4 in and 4 out.

[@mrhaggit]

You almost got gazumped on the last one! Great footag

[@china-trip]

Enjoyed watching this video my friend Really awesome views Thank you Stay connected

[@jf840fourtheloveoftransport]

great video the iet that went past you at 8:34 is 802008 on the front

[@davidoswald9253]

I'm amaed with the use of telephoto lenses how warped the track looks!!

[@callumsutherland7605]

Was half was down the same platform at Taplow for this

[@GLee-oe3op]

They should come to the states so we can have some higher speed rail lol

[@teapop311]

They’re too small.

[@cameronmurphy8825]

The rails in the USA Are too wide for British trains those rails are about 6 feet wide the rails in the UK are 4 foot 8 inches

[@NikolaiMTA]

@@cameronmurphy8825 The United States uses standard gauge, same as the UK.

[@tomtalk24]

@@cameronmurphy8825 lol

[@MarioYoshi4723]

**Acela has entered the chat**

[@newworldorder4728]

How fast are the HST's going on this stretch? Its deceiving as they look slow until they come past you... 👍 Great video btw...

[@danielr.l.mccullough600]

Line speed should be 125mph, might be going less depending on stops/signals/track conditions

[@TheosTrainsWalesOfficial]

The HST’s will still be with GWR, just not on the GWML anymore

[@maimadha]

I miss the GWR 2+8 HSTs on intercity services and with the slam doors

[@class43paxmanvalenta125mph]

what speed are they going through here? also great shots

[@darylkemp1257]

Should keep the class 43 shes beautiful winding the window down inbetween the carriage on the mark 3 coach at 125mph ohhh that fresh air 😍😍

[@lisamiles1157]

Does it feel weird most hsts are getting replaced by 801 800

[@paulcrook792]

And to think what Rubbish we have now, so Sad 😭 Long Live The Inter City HST 125 💔

[@DrMogilus]

Hi Paul. What exactly did you mean by "rubbish?" What's wrong with the new trains? I'm genuinely curious to hear your opinion on this-I wouldn't know myself since I'm from Russia. Long live the HST. You guys have some of the most incredible trains on the planet imo.

[@paulcrook792]

@@DrMogilus Hi Victor, The Total Experience on the Hitachi Inter City trains are no way near the Experience you had on The HST 125, you had Comfy leather seats, Full Buffet service with Ice cold Beers and Ciders and wines, hot food, smooth ride with no underfloor engine noise, Tinted Windows, toilets each end of the carriage, Curtains in first Class, Sadly the new Hitachi IET trains don't have this and you be lucky to get a Cup of water on a 5 hr Trip, if I think of anymore Victor Sivil I will let you know 👍

[@DrMogilus]

@@paulcrook792 Very interesting, thank you for the thorough answer. KZbin notifications are utter bollocks, though, I'm really sorry it took me as long to reply.

[@ernstnaumann6318]

4:09 What is that white smoke or dust coming from the wheels and / or the rails under the front power car?

[@AlycidonDeltic]

Coming off the front coach, that'll be the toilet.

[@rohitlanjekar2010]

Ewwww

[@yeeye3395]

The HSTs didn't have toilet tanks, so the waste was dropped onto the tracks. And they use a lot of water per flush, hence the steam cloud. Back when the HSTS were in service, there would always be a pile of toilet tissue and poo on the tracks at paddington, or Kings X.

[@chrismarshall3972]

the driver of 43185+ (009) was really shifting.

[@russouk]

yep...looks good eh...azuma ? bah

[@stevedable]

I thought electrification had been halted to pay for London's crossrail.

[@galactic_nerd-sk4747]

The electrification between London and Reading was partly for Crossrail

[@nlo114]

The last time you get to see turds flying at you at 125 MPH. No more smellies in the 4 ft at Reading station. I'll miss them! (the High Speed Trains not the High Speed Turds)

[@taffboyslim]

I noticed that. 3 of the 4 inbound trains had their toilets flushed on camera. Once I had heard about the 'aerosol effect' of high speed trains, I always made sure that I was never the first person to open the door handle.

[@nlo114]

@@taffboyslim - What, you mean like the cool refreshing mist on your face on a hot summer's day, when they fly past? Hopefully the modified units will have catch-tanks fitted.

[@spuds4t]

Phew, yuk! Where 'ere you be, let your (whatever) feel free!

[@knightsfn1467]

3:55 for best livery!

[@Oskarminepro]

HST’s make me smile

[@williamradford8817]

Time Frame-4:09-10:49, classic blue, white and yellow Intercity 125 power car 253 001 with green GWR 43

[@ctra1ns]

Only taking photos of the 253's :)

[@chrissampson3823]

The new ones just don't have the character or impressive sounds of the 125's

[@dvidclapperton]

Or the comfort of the 125's either. Firm seats becoming the norm sadly.

[@soundseeker63]

Wonderful iconic machines, I'm sure many will be sad to see them go. Likewise with the ECML sets, and the IC 225s, also soon to be replaced with IEPs. Seems funny to think that when it was still around, BR was the but of jokes, yet here we are lamenting the "good old days" haha. But in all seriousness, I do with designers of the modern stock would at least look at the old stuff...maybe then they'd stand a chance of producing something equally spacious, quiet, comfortable and long lived!

[@galactic_nerd-sk4747]

The IETs look decent imho but from what I have heard is inside isn't great. I mean seats that don't line up with windows in Standard Class? Come on!

[@russouk]

BR was a joke but the rolling stock and engines were second to none imo

[@soundseeker63]

@@galactic_nerd-sk4747 Poor seat alignment is the least of it! The seats themselves are incredibly hard and unsupportive with a bolt upright seating position. A far cry from the comfy and relaxing arm chairs in the Mk3 and mk4. The coach environment is also pretty noisy by comparison even when in electric mode - intrusive motor whine under power, and of course a poor view out...even booking a table seat doesn't guarantee an unobstructed view out. So far as I can see they are a step backwards in terms of the passenger experience in all key areas. Which begs the question, how did they get it so wrong when BR managed to get all the fundamentals right 40+ years ago?

[@yeeye3395]

@@soundseeker63 In the words of ABBA "money money money"

[@jondavies1593]

Can somebody explain why trains only have 1 headlight working most of the time?

[@smiffy1071]

Jon Davies they both work, but I’m led to believe it’s railway regulations that dictate only one is used

[@galactic_nerd-sk4747]

They both work. The right hand one is used during the day at full beam and during the night it is the left for some reason. Both lights are always on

[@jondavies1593]

@@galactic_nerd-sk4747 a Ah I see. Never knew that.

[@galactic_nerd-sk4747]

@@jondavies1593 👍

[@RPASSTWNaK991HGT]

I'd like watching more videos about Eurostar

[@andyg817]

What speed are they going through there ??. 80 ??

[@inter7city452]

125 mph I think

[@error10571]

In memory of the HST 125 I am building a LEGO HST 125

[@princeryanbalang268]

Intercity 125 she wanna my favorite high speed trains whole world

[@AzureWind91]

And the sun sets on another beloved diesel class.

[@galactic_nerd-sk4747]

The greatest of them all The fastest of them all The most iconic of them all

[@yeeye3395]

@@galactic_nerd-sk4747 PERIODT!

[@KushalDave]

nice 1 like it

[@turbomac5195]

You can feel the power as they pass hair raising 💯

[@Trainman10715]

nothing beats the thrill of an HST charging through a station at full wack

[@cd0u50c9]

0:17 the front of the new trains looks like Gerald Scarfe's depiction of the Teacher from Pink Floyd's The Wall.

[@foxylady1048]

I know u will miss them but look at the fumes they chuck out.

[@Westhamsterdam]

I think a gallon at 125 mph a mile or was it a gallon every half mile?! I think it´s 4 GBP per mile each carriage with electric motors. Trains certainly don´t come cheap to run!

[@PrinceJohn84]

Next stop, Long Marston ☹️

[@simonwilliams5427]

The HST was the last British design and what a success. I can never understand why these days all the trains are built by foreign companies.

[@ThePlayerToBeNamedLater]

Quite simply cost.

[@mikeytrains1]

I am PRAYING 43185 and 43002 are marked for preservation.

[@AlycidonDeltic]

By the sounds of it 002 is, not sure about 185

[@swtrains1499]

Alycidon Deltic it would make sense for them to be preserved though, at least I hope.

[@theflyingsteamerstoke8534]

It all seems a bit mad when they are perfectly serviceable to refer to preservation.....

[@karlosbricks2413]

They're going into storage for now, I wouldn't worry about them being scrapped, what I do worry about is an eventual lack of rakes of unmodified Mk.3s when eventually all HSTs are withdrawn,and they are running as enthusiast specials as so many Mk.3s seem to be being modified, not least a possible conversion for mail/cargo that has been floated around for a decade now.

[@AlycidonDeltic]

Fleets of steam engines were serviceable upon withdrawal, but that's progress for you.

[@SuperSentinel1]

Well pleased to see the back of these most uninteresting of trains, sadly to be replaced by other more bland sets. Would hate to see any preserved.

[@SuperSentinel1]

@stephen galley 20/30 mph faster than what was currently around didn't make them interesting, bland as beige paint.

[@voidjavelin23]

i dont get whats your problem over a goddamn train

[@MakeScienceEasy]

so ＠STEVE AND MAGGIE

[@zionek9517]

The old HSTs are cooler in my opinion

[@MarioStahl1983]

it's kind of absurd from today's point of view. They spent more than half a billion pounds on the HST which is a class 43 diesel nightmare. That same money would at the time have been enough to electrify two more mainlines and operate them with class 87 and later class 90 and 91. Dieselisation was the single biggest mistake in the post war history of railway politics and even in the 1970s they did not change anything. Shame on them! 😠 An elderly friend of mine, a life-long railway enthusiast, said it best: "Of course I love the Deltics but they should never have been built." Same is true for the HST. Thank God electrification of the Great Western Mainline has just been completed from London to Bristol. That makes 3 mainlines (almost) entirely electrified. I totally understand that they went with diesel locos in the first 10-15 years after the war when Britain was heavily dependent on foreign loans and the false promise of "cheap oil" kinda hypnotized everybody. But since the 1960s dieselization was already obsolete. Roughly 60 years later Britain finally liberates itself from this historic mistake. Honestly, I can't wait to see one damn' class 43 after another being brought where they belong: One trainset for the railway museum and the rest, yes, TO THE SCRAP YARD!!!

[@125trainnetwork4]

Good afternoon! My name is Cameron from UK Railway Information. May we use some of your footage to go towards our HST 1-year on video? If not, I understand. Thanks! Our email is: [e-mail] if you need it.

[@AlycidonDeltic]

Please do not use any of my content.

[@ANTHONYBOOTH]

those units delivered me away from all the wrong people... - I simply boarded one and ended up in South Wales ...far away from the planet Thanet and all the freaks...

[@sanjsharma195]

Plastic Hitachis look pathetic in comparison to the HST. Regression at its finest.

[@tomw6458]

Piece of junk at 00:21!