InterCity 225 formations

[ainsworth74]

I was watching this interesting documentary and spotted what appeared coach K next to the DVT at Kings Cross when forming a down Pullman to Leeds as well as the buffet/kitchen being fitted out with first class seats. I do recall reading somewhere that when they were first delivered that IC225s ran around in different formations to the present uniform 3xFO, 1xRSB, 4xTSO and 1xTSOE. So my question is what formations did they have when first delivered and when did it change to the present uniform formation?

 

[theblackwatch]

The current formation is something relatively new (when the latest refurb took place, in 2004/5 from memory). The original standard formation was 2xFO, 1xRFO, 1xTSOD, 4xTSO and 1xTSOE (but see below for an exception). The new formations effective gave an additional half coach of FC seating, although SC was increased in coaches by removing one of the toilets. This mean altering the Catering Cars from First to Std seating and turning the vehicle round, and also converting a number of Std coaches to First, as well as 2 catering cars (11998/11999, known as Annie and Clarabelle).

Also, when originally delivered, a number of sets ran as 'Pullmans', with 2 catering cars in the set and (I think) 3 FC coaches, with less Standard cars - for this reason there were 34 Catering cars constructed.

 

[jopsuk]

I've heard tale that British Rail orginally specced the sets as having 11 passenger carriages- was this a realistic ambition? Don't think Kings Cross has 46m spare on the platforms, let alone intermediate stations etc?

Was it simply a case of putting in a larger wish in order to get what they were really after? They also wanted a rather larger number of sets.

 

[D365]

We certainly could have used the extra sets now, what with a number of services being HSTs fully under the wires.

 

[ainsworth74]

The original standard formation was 2xFO, 1xRFO, 1xTSOD, 4xTSO and 1xTSOE (but see below for an exception).

Interesting, so they were in fact, much closer to HSTs in their formation originally?

We certainly could have used the extra sets now, what with a number of services being HSTs fully under the wires.

Indeed. Even an extra three or four sets would be very handy and probably enough to get rid of those turns.

 

[Helvellyn]

If InterCity hadn't lost out to Network SouthEast in the early 1990s, then an extra 16 Class 91s and Mark 4 sets would have been built for Euston-Manchester services on the West Coast instead of the 41 Class 365 units (which were split originally 16 for Kent Coast services and 25 for Great Northern services). It's likely those Mark 4 sets would either be on Euston-Birmingham services now, or if Virgin had still gone all Pendolino on the West Coast, they'd be on the Great Eastern Main Line with a few extra sets at East Coast (GEML ops wouldn't have required 16 sets).

 

[D365]

I'm having a[nother] 'what-if' moment; if the above mentioned 225s were built instead of the 365 Networker Express, what would be doing the job that the latter does now? I'd imagine an add-on batch of 377s?