The Rail Enthusiast thread

[robjh]

I was in Stirling on my bike at the weekend, and took time to track down some of the ScotRail HST sets (branded as Inter7City or similar) on services to and from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness and Aberdeen. I had half hoped to take one of these trains while up here but the timings didn't work out, and I was also unsure how strictly the compulsory bike reservations would be enforced.

 

[Paulus]

9

I was in Stirling on my bike at the weekend, and took time to track down some of the ScotRail HST sets (branded as Inter7City or similar) on services to and from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness and Aberdeen. I had half hoped to take one of these trains while up here but the timings didn't work out, and I was also unsure how strictly the compulsory bike reservations would be enforced.
View attachment 812463

View attachment 812464

I understand the Scotrail are going to replace the HST sets with redundant class 222 units from EMR.

 

[robjh]

I understand the Scotrail are going to replace the HST sets with redundant class 222 units from EMR.

Yes, it's clear they won't be around for much longer. Any idea of the timescales for replacement?

 

[Paulus]

According to Rail magazine it is 2027/8.

 

[Jameshow]

According to Rail magazine it is 2027/8.

Where are they still running? I fancy a last ride!!

 

[robjh]

Where are they still running? I fancy a last ride!!

Between Edinburgh/Glasgow and Inverness/Aberdeen, also Inverness to Aberdeen. They're not on every service, but you can download timetables from the ScotRail website and the HST services are marked 'IC7' above the columns.

 

[Andy in Germany]

I was in Stirling on my bike at the weekend, and took time to track down some of the ScotRail HST sets (branded as Inter7City or similar) on services to and from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness and Aberdeen.

They're looking pretty good considering they're older than me: a true tribute to their designers. The livery helps as well.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Went on a ride to Burladingen Station. This is in the old province of Hohenzollern, and by a complex and occasionally rather silly set of historical events, the line doesn't belong to Deutsche Bahn but the state of Baden-Württemberg and a couple of local counties, so their trains, signals and station signs are slightly different from those on Deutsche Bahn.. This is one of their Alsthom Lint 54 units, recently bought to replace the older Stadler RS1's.

The bike logo on the side isn't decoration; they have several spaces by each door.

The colour scheme is based on the state colours of Black and Yellow. Like Scotland, the state has their branding on all trains regardless of operator; you can see the "SWEG" logo on the end, and the lion on the side is made up of lots of tiny "SWEG" logos.

The town sits on the Rhine-Danube watershed, and this is the planned terminus of the ambitious new "regional S-Bahn" system which will be based in Reutlingen and Tübingen. This will see these units replaced by tram-trains, a new tram network in Reutlingen (and Tübingen if the older generation can finally agree to it) and several rural branchlines reopened, some for the first time since the 1950's.