Great Western Coffee Shop

From Rail Magazine (https://www.railmagazine.com/news/network/hsts-bought-for-charter-use)


An interesting and potentially positive development.   Perhaps not quite the fleet of go-anywhere route availability stock for future general big event use, but a seed sewn?   I admire how the Hastings Diesel can turn up in Whitby, Fawley, Weymouth and Llandrindod - but it is a solo and so cherry picks the enthusiasts.    Imagine half a dozen HST units (say 66% availability, so 4 units) for ..
- Glastonbury
- Dawlish Air Show
- Gold Cup
- Boardmasters
and others big special events and special hires.   A "Merrymaker" type program on quieter days, a unit or two available for emergency spot hire based in the London area on autumn / winter / spring weekdays where standard fleets are running at full capacity.

Out of interest how does someone go about chartering one of these trains for personal use?

It would be good to see HSTs working railtours, going to destinations and events similar to those run by Pathfinders, UK Railtours etc. The advantage over current tours operated by steam/heritage diesels is that the HSTs would be able to run at higher line speeds, with no water stops etc, so would be able to fit in more easily around service trains. I think the HST could be a welcome and popular addition to the railtour market, as itself becomes a heritage train.

This must be worrying GWR a bit.
For years people have complained about overcrowding at holiday times or during special events.

The mantra has always been "there is no spare rolling stock" and that it is unreasonable to buy, build, or lease extra stock for Christmas, Easter, bank holidays, summer weekends, Glastonbury, school holidays, beginnings and ends of university terms, boardmasters, rugby at Cardiff, cup finals in London, the Reading festival, air shows, and other rare events.

Well it looks as though some extra stock IS about to become available to hire for such exceptional events. There is likely to be public and political pressure to hire such stock for exceptional events.

And even worse, these charter HSTs are likely to have facing seats at tables, buffets, and padded seats, proper first class, and other such luxuries that are unaffordable on new trains.
Unfavourable comparisons are likely to be drawn between new 5 car DMUs, and 40 year old charter trains.

GWR are going to need some quick thinking to find ways in which these charter trains are unsuitable, non compliant, or not allowed.

They won’t be GWR operated, as their own staff will lose HST traction knowledge after so many months.

So it just becomes a question of a TOC hiring in additional stock and crews from a charter company, and they could do that now...

Paul

Yes, I know that they would not be operated by GWR staff, but was speculating on GWR hiring them complete with staff to relieve overcrowding at busy times.

It has been previously suggested that GWR should hire charter stock to relieve overcrowding, and the usual answer being that the old stock and heritage traction are unsuitable for modern needs.

The "general unsuitability" argument will look rather silly when the proposed trains are those used until recently on the same routes.

There is a huge argument for NOT having stock sitting around on each franchise / area of the country, but rather having some "go anywhere" trains to cover everyone's occasional extreme ... just need to watch HSTs becoming unsuitable because of none-retention toilets.  Slam doors could probably be lived with as they would be crowd busters with relatively few stops.

An HST is only two engine-failures away from sitting down and blocking the line...
Watch this space for rulings coming from on high that Distributed Power has to be provided so that the train must still be able to move if two engines fail.
(With selective blinkers applied to the fact that a great big wave of Dawlish-flavoured salt water can shut down a Voyager.)

How will they lose traction knowledge when they will have at least 6 of the darn things abiet in shorter sets running past 2020.  Have people forgotten GWR/First own a load of HST's too? Why hire in slam door non compliant charter HSTs with loads of first class short capacity trains, when they can just redeploy 4 car HST shuttles, or remove two powercars reattach the remaining coaches and reintroduce a 8 car plug door hst with all standard class seating more than enough to provide capacity for special events.

I can think of at least one occasion when GWR hired in an extra train not so long ago - I think it ended up doing London to Cardiff sporting event runs and filled in on the Weymouth Wizard.  "Just redeploying" other trains within the franchise becomes harder and harder as there are fewer and fewer trains to redeploy, with many having a lower route availability than the HST.   To what degree extra trains are hired in (to cover extreme peaks) becomes a business decision based on cost, income, whether your contract allows you to pull other services, and how much you're prepared to upset your regular customers who's services you are curtailing or short forming.

Locomotive services have confirmed the livery of their first HST


http://railwayherald.com/uknews/blue-pullman-takes-to-the-rails-in-november

(http://railwayherald.com/images/news/MidlandPullman_Front.jpg)

Christmas Market?   Not so sure about that. Bath Christmas Market has already been cancelled. 

For me, a HST just doesn't look 'right' without some yellow on the front.

Maybe we could have a quick poll set up. I quite like it actually.

Please go ahead ... any member can set a poll up  ;D

Ah ha, I didn't know that. Might have a go later if I can work out the mechanics (so no-one hold your breath there please).

I've allways liked Nanking Blue,much better than what replaced it.

I agree.
To me however liveries of new OR heritage trains are of relatively low importance. I am more interested in comfort and facilities than in the external livery that can hardly be seen once aboard.

Train length/capacity.
Seat spacing/comfort.
Catering.
Toilet availability.
Reservation reliability.
Heating/air conditioning.
Lighting quality.
And internal decor.

Are ALL to me of much greater significance than external livery.

It's true that you don't see it while travelling, but on the basis that trains need painting anyway and if livery variations aren't excessively expensive it might as well look good as well. I find a good livery puts me in a better frame of mind for the journey, but yes the inside also needs to play its part!

Looks like all over white soon, if the train operating companies are disolved by the government.

I rather like that blue livery- it looks lie the old Bristol Pullman!

Rail Advent (https://www.railadvent.co.uk/2020/08/lsl-hst-set-for-pullman-blue-livery-as-new-railtour-announced.html) also reports


LSL for Locomotive Services Ltd ... although in front of HST I am used to it as "Long Swing Link".

It is actually meant to resemble the original 'Midland Pullman' (and will have the 'Midland Pullman' markings).

If only it could still use its original route via Matlock, Monsal Dale, and Buxton.

Was'nt the Midland Pullman an all 1st class service at launch becoming 1st and 2nd class later. On electrification the two 6 car sets transferred to the WR with the two sets coupled running as the up morning and down evening Bristol Pullman's with the sets being split at Padd to form the midday service to Bristol and return with the second set operating a return Padd to Oxford service. WR had 8 car sets which operated the South Wales Pullman, the Birmingham Pullman and the Bristol Pullman. I travelled on it a few times to get home for a weekend but never partook in food or refreshments as the cost was more than the single fare and 5/- (five shillings) Pullman supplementary fare. In the back of my mind I do recall the Blue Pullman set displaced by the transfer of the 2 X 6 cars Midland Pullman sets to the WR and used on the Bristol Pullman was utilised on a Plymouth Pullman but that service didn't last long. Any forum poster able to add further to my comments here as my memory is a bit rusty on this matter although I do clearly remember watching the Farewell Pullman Railtour traversing Westerleigh Junction on its way to Birmingham. I also remember the Bristol Pullman set being on a Bristol to Leeds service on a Saturday carrying the Bristol City Football Club players and Directors and Officials and supporters who could afford the extortionate fare which did include breakfast outbound and dinner returning for an FA Cup match. I had to be content with a seat on one of the other 6 football specials run for the match that day which City lost.

Interesting about the football special,could I ask approx date/year that was?

FA Cup Round 5 9th March 1967.

Preston FC also chartered a Blue Pullman to convey team to Wembly for a Cup Final and West Bromwich did likewise I think for the 1969/70 season final.

I seem to recall that one Christmas Eve the then spare Blue Pullman stock was used as a relief service to Plymouth from Padd returning as a relief from Plymouth after the hol. Traction Inspectors were concerned that with a full load of pax with luggage the set would not make it over the South Devon Banks and instructed that a Western be attached at Exeter to pilot the train to Plymouth and a similar arrangement be put in place for the return after the Christmas Break.

A photo of that train exists, with the Western on the front. Can't think which book I have seen it in, though.

From RMWeb (https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/47862-bachmann-midland-pullman/page/14/)

My own very poor photo (taken with an old Kodak 620 bellows camera)
(https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1iLsOtct963jdpjgVnrODFeDwaKmB5vQ6)

Except they aren't getting dissolved? GWR, SWR etc brands will all remain even if it became fully public again.

This is a railtour not a mainline service, it's bound to be as good inside as it is outside.