European Railroad Discussion > English HST's

Question for anyone familiar with the passenger situation in Great Britian...

Are there still original HST's running in England and Scotland?  I believe they came online in the late 1970's and have seen some YouTube clips of HST's in service but do not know if these are original units, heavily rebuilt units or ones that have been delivered since the 1970's.  I always liked the way the HST's looked and I know their performance was good.  

Any information would be appreciated.

Thanks.

There are still full length HSTs operating on the East Coast Main Line (London to York and Scotland) but they are in the process of being replaced.

The Cross Country routes have a small number running on the Plymouth/Bristol/Birmingham/Derby/York/Scotland axis.

Midland Mainline is the other full length operator with a few operating from St Pancras to Nottingham.

Scotral has some short units (4 & 5 cars) but they have been wihdrawn temporarily in the last couple of days according to reports. They operate on route from Edinburgh and Glasgow to Perth, Dundeed and Aberdeen.

GWR have some shrtened 4 car units operating on Cardiff/Taunto and Exeter/Penzance.

All of the power cars have been reengined over the years. The shortened units are in the process of having their slam doors cut out and new, centrally operated, slding doors installed.

There is  one other on the main line and that's the Network Rail measurement train which operates across the network on a 4 weekly cycle. It's difficult to miss as it's painted yellow. The consist varies but a lot of the time it runs with 6 cars.

The prototype power car is extant and (if memory serves) lives on the Great Central at Loighborough.