Current FGW HST formations

[trainmananthon]

Hi all,
Just spent a couple of days at Reading recently, and my book has all the coaching stock numbers in the back, which I want to cover as seen. Was wondering if anybody has access to the current set formations.

Thanks
Anthony

 

[455driver]

It would take about an hour to get them all, why didnt you write them down in set order when you saw them?

The sets are currently being reformed so they are changing all the time.

 

[trainmananthon]

It would take about an hour to get them all, why didnt you write them down in set order when you saw them?

The sets are currently being reformed so they are changing all the time.

What do you mean when you say write them down in set order?

 

[455driver]

When you see the HST rakes write down all the numbers, power cars and coaches .
Such as-
43002, 41002,41003, 40701,42011,42012,42013,42014,44001,43003.

that way you would know trhe formationsa t thetime.

This site-
http://www.abrail.co.uk/
tries to keep up to date but it is a hard and time consuming thing to do and only lists which rake the individual coach was in.

 

[trainmananthon]

Well to be honest, I only write down the power cars as i'm not too bothered about the coaches for the time being.
Just wondering if it was possible for anyone to be able to tell me the current formations and, although it is, I don't want anyone to be wasting time doing it. The website will do me nicely.
Thanks

 

[43167]

The 2015 platform 5 pocket books will be out late november/early december, so that will be the most upto day list when it comes out.

 

[455driver]

FGW formations are in a state of flux at the moment because of the reduction in 1st class so the formations change quite a lot.

 

[trainmananthon]

FGW formations are in a state of flux at the moment because of the reduction in 1st class so the formations change quite a lot.

That'll explain why quite a few of the HSTs I saw kept changing powercars then...

 

[swt_passenger]

That'll explain why quite a few of the HSTs I saw kept changing powercars then...

The power cars do not stay with the same coach sets in the medium term, even when the coaching stock sets are not undergoing changes as FGW's are now. Each HST operating TOC (except for XC) has quite a significant number of extra power cars for routine maintenance swap outs.

So you can't really ever record an individual power car and then go back to a book and look up its associated coaches (or the other power car) - the HST fleet isn't used like that.

 

[Muzer]

That's presumably why they abandoned the idea of numbering them as multiple units quite early on?

 

[swt_passenger]

That's presumably why they abandoned the idea of numbering them as multiple units quite early on?

I believe that's the usual explanation.

 

[bnsf734]

I remember when the HSTs were first introduced on the Western Region I was writing down the 253 xxx set numbers from the front of the power cars, however I soon realised the error of my ways when I saw the same 253 xxx on 2 adjacent platforms at Paddington. I then decided it was better to start again with the 43xxx numbers from the power cars.

The 253 and 254 set numbers were soon removed from the power cars.

 

[theblackwatch]

I remember when the HSTs were first introduced on the Western Region I was writing down the 253 xxx set numbers from the front of the power cars, however I soon realised the error of my ways when I saw the same 253 xxx on 2 adjacent platforms at Paddington. I then decided it was better to start again with the 43xxx numbers from the power cars.

The 253 and 254 set numbers were soon removed from the power cars.

The '253' sets (ie the WR ones) stuck around for a lot longer than the '254s'. Whereas the ER/ScR abandoned the numbers early on, they were still in use on the Western Region sets when they were introduced on Cross Country and even into the mid-80s when they were repainted into Inter-City livery - see https://www.flickr.com/photos/36034969@N08/8510338906 for an example.

I think it was 1987 or 1988 when BR decided to reclassify the power cars as locos and the trailers as coaches (although they remained incompatible with all other coaching stock).

 

[D6975]

The 253 set nos did indeed last quite a long time on the WR, but most sets were running around with different set numbers on each end for a long time before the set nos were eventually abandoned.