Production InterCityHST enters
theheritagesector44years on
ByRobin JonesTHE first production Class43High
SpeedTrain (HST)powercar has
been displayedatSTEAM–Museum
of the GreatWester nRailway in
Swindon, priorto taking its placeint he
NationalCollection.
No.43002SirKenneth Grangewas
takenby low-loaderto STEAMfor
the opening ofauniqueexhibition
of nameplates, and lefttos tartits
journeyto York on July 18.
Itsfirst stop,however ,was Ely,
Cambridgeshire, wherecompletion
of therequired paperwork andthe
final preparations forits permanent
displayweretobemade.
Built in 1975 and launched into
servicethe followingyear,No. 43002
wasthe first of 197 production
examples of the class,following the
building oftwoprototype units.On
May2,2016, it wasunveiledat Bris tol
in its originalInterCit y125 li very
and named afterits designer in his
presencetomarkits 40th anniversary
in service. Industrial designer
Kenneth Grange,who celebrated his
90th birthdayonJuly 17, and who
also came up with the style of the
KodakInstamatic camerain1963,
wasknightedfor se rvices to designin
the 2013 NewYear Honours list.
Charitytour
No.43002’ slastday in pr e-preservation
serviced wasonJune 1,whe nith auled
aspecialGreatWester ncharit yrailtour
whic hraised£30,000forAction
forChildren.
Thetour included three trips,firstly
from Bristolto Paddington, and then
areturntripfromPaddingtonto
Carmarthen, running outwardsvia
Gloucester and thenreturning via
Carmarthen andSwindon, and finally
arun fr om Paddingtonto Pl ymouth
nonstop.BackatLairadepot,it
underwent cosmeticrestor ation to
showroomcondition.
TheInterCit y125 units have been
hailedby observers as the most
successful UK passenger traction of
all time.The Class 43 is officially the
fastest diesel locomotiveint he world
with an absolutemaximum speed of
148mph andaregularservic espeedof 125mph.Therecor drun wasled by
No.43102 andtrailed by No.43159.
Theofficial preservation of
No.43002is alsoalandmarkint hat
it marks the entryoft he class into
the heritage sector, begging the
questions asto whichothers will
follow, andmightaheritage line ever
take acompleteset.
Angel Trains technical director
MatthewProsser said:“WeatAngel
Trains areextremely proud thatour
locomotivehas been chosento be
preservedand put on displayatt he
NRM.As the very first production
powercar,itl ed thewayinchanging
InterCit yrail travel the length and
breadth of thecountr y.”
Thenameplate exhibitionat
STEAMincludes the newCastle class
nameplatesproducedby Newton
Replicas in Nottingham which are
being fittedto GreatWestern’s new
fleet ofIntercityExpressTrain and
which arenow operating alongroutes
fromSouth Wales to the southwest.
Each IETwill ha ve its ownidentity,with its name accompaniedby an
individualcoin specifically designed
to reflec tthe person themselves.
Amongst the first IETs to be named
wasNo. 800004IsambardKingdom
Brunel/SirDanielGooch.Naming
This practiceisi nspiredby the o riginal
GWR’s heritage whereits flagship 4-6-
No.6000KingGeorge Vboreaset of
commemorativecoins.
Grea tWestern deputymanaging
directorMatthewGolton said:“The
tradition of naming locomotives has
been around sincethese invaluable
machineswereinvented.They
representwhatisg reat about the
people andcommunities therailways
serve,recogn isingcourage,sacrifice,
admiration and achievement.”
STEAMmuseum managerFrances
Yeosaid: “These platesare an
importantpartoft he historyand
heritage of the GWR and theregion it
serves. We arethrilled they will be on
displayfor th erestoft he year.”Above: Pi oneerproduction
Clas s43No. 43002Sir
Kenneth Grangebeginsits
heritageeralifebybeing
displayedoutsidethe
STEAMmuseumon
July17.GWRRigh t:Th enameplate
fromNo.43002Sir
Kenneth Grangeinthenew
exhibitionat ST EAM.GWRMYSTERYsurroundinga‘hush
hush’filmingcontractwhich
closed partoft he SevernValley
Railway in July ledtowild
speculationonsocial media.
Public services between
Monday, July 15 andWednesday,
July 17,were re stri cted to just
the Bridgnorthto Highley
section.Thepriceoft he Freedom
of the Line ticket,which includes
free entryintoTheEngine
House,which remained open
throughout,was ac cord ingly
reducedforthe th reedays.
Therailway declined to say
whatwas being filmed on the
line,other than thatitw as
“standardclosed set filming
contract.” Unconfirmed lineside
gossip pointedtoaHolywood
film being in theEdwardian era
with anA-list cast of three.
Filming on theMondaysaw
runpastsat Ar ley. Adiesel towed
the cameracrewonaflatbed
wagonand GWR 2-8-0 No.
wasinaction.Theadjacent
road appearedtobeclosed
during filming and passers-by
were notallowed on to the
road overbridge.
Filmingcontinuedat
Kidderminster on theTuesday
andWednesday, whereboth
the station and its car parkwere
closed offto visitors.One visitor
who turned upto Bewdley
stationfound securitybarring
hisentry.
An SVR spokesman said:
“Weknowlittle and it’s very
secretat this stage,not even
the volunteers know about
it.Weapologiseforany
inconveniencecause d.
“Becausewe rely on ourown
incometo maintain andrepair
our buildings,locomotives,
carriages andwagons,filming
contractsare asignificant
opportunitytoc ontributetot he
railway’s future.”
Local residents spotted trailers,
film crews, and ahelicopter
linkedto the filming.
Therewas speculation that
anew Sherlock Holmes movie
or even aJamesBond filmwas
being made.One webuser said
thatnames on the sides of some
of th evehicleswerethose of
Sherlock characters.Sherlock
Holmes3starringRobert
DowneyJra nd Jude Lawisdue
to be released in 2021.CanSherlock
Holmesor
JamesBond
solvethisSevern
Valleymystery?
Writetous:Heritage Railway,MortonsMediaLtd,POBox43,Horncastle, LincsLN 96 LZ. eritagerailway.co.uk 13
Four chargedwith Stamford model exhibition damage
FOURteenagershave been charged
with criminal damage afteramodel
railway ex hibitioninStamfordwas
wrecked earlyonMay 18.
Theboys, threeaged 16 and
one aged 15, who cannot be
namedforlegal reasons,aredue to appearat LincolnYouth
CourtonAugus t19, accusing of
damaging the displaybyMarket
DeepingModel Railway Club at
WellandAcademy.
As reportedini ssue 255, an
online fundraising page,whichwasoriginally set upto raise £
forthe club,received£107,
in donations from as farawayas
Australia andJapan, while pop
star SirRodStewart gave £10,
and presenterJeremyVine
also contributed.