I had remembered that time well, just finishing GCSEs, only travelled on the BR IC225 a few times before (nice and new then) but thinking it would be great if Virgin got the ECML franchise. Thought they would probably revolutionise it.
In the end GNER got it and they impressed me. They took what they got from BR and built on it. They had a beautiful livery that looked very traditional but with a modern (at the time) twist.
Virgin (CrossCountry) at the time had some knackered stock from BR and didn't seem to want to do much with it. I never saw the interiors of the trains in the BR days but it didn't look like they did anything to them. While GNER got their fleet pained relatively quickly there was still some carriages going around in InterCity colours, there was often a mix of Virgin and BR carriages in the rake of coaches it never gave to me a modern feeling.
Other things I remember from that time were the lack of focus on catering. On GNER the buffet was open from a few minutes after departure until about 20 minutes before the terminating stop and you pretty much knew in standard there was also a trolley and in first it was well staffed. I remember boarding an XC service from Sheffield to Newcastle late evening to find the buffet shut, after a similar thing a few weeks later I decided it was better to get Northern(Spirit) to Doncaster and GNER from there.
As VTEC have discovered thanks to GNER people expect a reliable catering service. East Coast making first class complimentary has also raised expectations on that front (although I preferred the restaurants).
Back when the franchised was announced
I questioned the wisdom of using the Virgin brand as many people would associate Virgin with CrossCountry as if you lived between Doncaster and Scotland that was probably your biggest experience with Virgin Trains.
In many ways this has dissolved the brand. Almost as bad as Stelios, if you look at easy.com he has created loads of 'easy' companies most you've never heard of.
Obviously some people in marketing think the Virgin brand is still cool, otherwise they'd not have used it. I think Virgin Care will likely to be what kills off the last remaining admiration for the brand.
I've never thought of that. It's easy to forget that people who were well known when you were growing up may be someone that the current young generation might not know.
Personally I think most teenagers will probably know who he is, but I imagine many think he's like this embarrassing grandad who tries to be cool in front of their friends.
