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Posted On: October 4th 2026, 03:07 pm
50 years ago today the iconic High Speed Train (HST) or the Inter-City 125 as it was branded made its first journey. At the time it was the fastest diesel train in world and revolutionised the UK railways by massively cutting journey times.
Despite now being retired from service apart from with Scotrail they remain a much loved and iconic piece of British engineering and design, not just with enthusiasts but with the public and those who worked on them.
Yesterday the 125 Groups stunning HST set recreated the first journey from London Paddington to Swansea.
Included in the picture role are two photos from the last day of Western region mainline HST operations where I played a small role in their history as part of the crew on the final public HST departure from Bristol-Paddington and the final HST departure from Paddington where I got to meet the late Sir Kenneth Grange the man behind their iconic design and shape.
50yrs ago today ABBAs equally iconic Dancing Queen was at number 1 in the UK music charts so have that as the sound track. 🕺💃
‘This is the age of train’
Despite now being retired from service apart from with Scotrail they remain a much loved and iconic piece of British engineering and design, not just with enthusiasts but with the public and those who worked on them.
Yesterday the 125 Groups stunning HST set recreated the first journey from London Paddington to Swansea.
Included in the picture role are two photos from the last day of Western region mainline HST operations where I played a small role in their history as part of the crew on the final public HST departure from Bristol-Paddington and the final HST departure from Paddington where I got to meet the late Sir Kenneth Grange the man behind their iconic design and shape.
50yrs ago today ABBAs equally iconic Dancing Queen was at number 1 in the UK music charts so have that as the sound track. 🕺💃
‘This is the age of train’
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