Just bought my train tickets for the Brighton Ruby conference - thought I’d go a bit off-piste. Sheffield to Birmingham on a Cross Country HST (catch them before they are gone!) - followed by a loco hauled (well pushed) leg from Birmingham Moor Street to Marylebone - then Thameslink to Brighton from St P. Will be returning in a more orthodox fashion on Friday evening to ensure I get home!

#Ruby #BrightonRuby #InterCity125

The first route to receive #Intercity125 (aka #HST) trains was the #GreatWestern Mainline (GWR).

Constructed by #IsambardKindomBrunel and completed in 1841, the line's alignment and gradients (Between Paddington and Didcot 1 in 1320 - 0.075 %) are well suited to high speeds trains.

Whilst largely superceded now, HST's were quite comfortable for passengers but they could produce significant fumes and noise (similar to a jet engine) especially when powering up.

See:

https://youtu.be/C1ICcOu0NkM