#intercity 225

[the-time-lord-oracle]

Intercity Swallow appreciation

Intercity Swallow livery, as carried by HST, class 47s, 73s, 86s, 87s, the 89, 90s and 91s in the early 1990's. A very smart colour scheme which suited all of these classes and is leagues above most modern rail company liveries!

[merpmonde]

A potential unfulfilled: the Intercity 225

As I had some time to wander around before catching the Eurostar back to France, I checked out the trains at King's Cross station. To my slight disappointment, there wasn't a huge amount of variety on display: Azuma, Azuma, Azuma... They're nice trains, don't get me wrong (built by Hitachi, using the same base as JR Kyushu's 885 series), but that's all there was. Still, I decided to check out all the platforms, and, at the far end, hidden behind an Azuma, there it was.

The star in train books during my childhood was the Intercity 125 or High Speed Train (HST), a 125 mph-capable Diesel-powered set, which, I think, still holds the world record for the fastest Diesel passenger service. I would have loved to see one when visiting England, but this was just as good. In fact, I had seen it out of the window while riding into London, taken a crappy photo and thought "oh well, never mind", only to see it had followed us in.

In the early 90s, the Intercity 225 was touted as the next big thing: all-electric, capable of running at 225... km/h (that's 140 mph, using different units was admittedly a bit disingenuous), designed to receive a tilting mechanism later on, completing the Advanced Passenger Train's redemption arc. What could go wrong?

Not long after the introduction of the Intercity 225, Britain's railways were privatised, with the typical lack of ambition for service that it brings. No private company was going to invest in the infrastructure and upgrades to allow the train to reach its full potential; meanwhile France and Germany were expanding their 250-300 km/h networks. Instead, these trains were limited it to 125 mph - the same as the HST, just on electrified lines. Worse still, it was one of these sets that met with the consequences of the privatised rail maintenance's culture of corner-cutting and outsourcing, on a broken rail at Hatfield in 2000.

From the outside looking in, I'm left with a bitter sense of "what could have been" for this train. Perhaps a rail fan from the UK could say more about what they feel the Intercity 225's legacy would be. At least its successor, the Azuma, has the fact that it's bi-mode (Diesel and electric) to shout about.

Still great to see one and its "so 90s" design in the flesh! LNER have also given the trains their original livery back, except with a burgundy main body colour instead of the original graphite grey, while the locomotive was in a special commemorative livery for the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

For more on the Intercity 225: Ruairidh MacVeigh's video

[videomitch]

London North Eastern Railway in Transition

LNER passenger train services through Finsbury Park station in London.

London North Eastern Railway is the major log distance operator on the British East Coast line between London & Edinburgh.

The new Hitachi "Azuma" EMU's were just starting to take over from the Intercity 125 HST diesel and Intercity 225 electric services.

[videomitch]

All Change at Kings Cross...

London North Eastern Railway’s “Azuma” train sets will soon replace the Intercity 225s. 

Intercity 225 loco 91127 & “Azuma” 800107 await their next duty at London’s Kings Cross station.

[the-time-lord-oracle]

91120 at the Crewe Heritage Centre

[fomapan]

[streamlinedtrains]

The Class 91 "Intercity 225". Really wish Hornby would hurry up and retool their model - this would be a perfect addition to anyone's collection. As far as I know these are all the liveries the Intercity 225 have been in over the years - not as many as I thought!