Geograph - photograph every grid square

Written by Brian Robert Marshall

The HST 125 Inter-City trains had their genesis in the 1960s and, following trials, they came into service in 1976. They are diesel-electric and benefit from a high power-to-weight ratio meaning they can accelerate rapidly to their designed top speed of 125 mph (201 kph). They have been designed to be omni-directional so they don't need to be turned round at the end of each journey. There are driver's cabs and sets of red and white lights at each end. Replacements are on the horizon after almost 40 years and millions of miles but the timescale is uncertain not least because, on 26 February 2010, Transport Secretary Lord Adonis announced that an assessment of the multi-billion pound, 30-year procurement plan had been ordered. If the review is ultimately favourable, the likely replacement will be the Japanese Hitachi Super Express. Following withdrawal of the Class 180 'Adelante' after a brief period HST 125s will continue to be a regular feature on the railways for some time to come.
Update March 2015: see Link
update July 2018: the Hitachi Class 802 train sets are now in service, for the moment alongside the HST 125. Because the electrication programme has been truncated so that some lines due to be electrified now won't be for the foreseeable future these Hitachis will be 'bi-mode'. More here Link
Update May 2019: no more HST 125s in the West Country Link

Written by Brian Robert Marshall
The line, also known as the Golden Valley Line, dates back to the early days of railway development in the 19th century. The first section, from Cheltenham to Gloucester, opened in 1840. In 1841 a line was opened from Swindon Junction to Cirencester via Kemble. Then in 1845 a line from Kemble to Gloucester was opened (Kemble became a junction in its own right with branches to Cirencester to the east, and Tetbury to the west both of which closed on the 1960s). At one time there were twenty stations or halts between Cheltenham, at the northern end of the line, and its terminus at Swindon. Now only six remain open (Cheltenham, Gloucester, Stonehouse, Stroud, Kemble and Swindon). In 1968, the hitherto twin track line was butchered by the then British Rail (under a Labour government) and the stretch between Swindon and Kemble was singled (the plan had been to single the entire section between Swindon and Stonehouse but protests led to the abandonment of the project once it had reached Kemble leaving the section from Kemble north to Stonehouse still a twin track). Proposals to restore the twin track between Kemble and Swindon were made in 2008 but were kicked into the long grass by the Office of Rail Regulation (again under a Labour government). Thankfully the Coalition government that took office in 2010 revived the moribund proposal and announced in 2011 that the project could go ahead. Work on the £45m project started in July 2013 and was expected to be completed by Easter 2014. However, on 07 February 2014 Network Rail announced that completion of the project would be put back until August 2014 because "The very high volume of works during Easter nationally, coupled with ongoing remedial work from flooding earlier this year, means our engineering resources will now be operating at full capacity during one of the busiest phases of the Swindon to Kemble redoubling scheme.
"To minimise risk to the work, and avoid the possibility of unnecessary inconvenience to customers, we are now working towards completing the scheme between Swindon and Kemble by August 2014 rather than Easter as originally planned." Anecdotal evidence suggests that the local residents are looking forward to a considerable hike in property values as the increased rail traffic that will be enabled by the doubling of the line will make the all-important London Paddington destination even more accessible.
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