STANDING on Platform 4 at Plymouth station in early September 2023, casual observers could have imagined they had been enveloped by a time warp. At the east end of the station was HST power car No. 43007 in the livery in which it had first appeared here in 1976. A two-minute walk to the west end, and time had moved on a decade as No. 43008 was the centre of photographic attention in its InterCity ‘Swallow’ colours.
Such reverie was soon shattered by spotting an Hitachi IET over on the up side, for this was indeed 2023, for better and arguably worse. The imminent removal of the emblematic CrossCountry (XC) 2+7 HST formations from the remaining Plymouth-Leeds/Edinburgh/Glasgow turns had brought enthusiasts out in large numbers for either one last run or last-ditch mileage accumulation. These sets are now well into their 40s, but their fan-base is wider, spanning teens to 70s.
Full marks to XC for marking the significance of the HSTs’ withdrawal with the ‘retro’ makeovers to the power cars. Less praise, however, for the fact that their disappearance means the hard-pressed Class 220/221 ‘Voyager’ fleet will have to be spread more thinly across a timetable that has already been pared past the point of inconvenience.
For instance, at the time of writing, the last departure from Birmingham to ‘west of Exeter’ is 19.10 and considerably earlier from the Northern cities. I would be the first to admit that British Rail would have responded to a catastrophic drop in earnings on the scale of the Covid repercussions with even more swingeing cuts, but such reactions are unlikely to stimulate recovery. Is this due to Department for Transport accountants, or a sensible response to cost reduction in the light of impending repair and maintenance figures?
None of these thoughts was going to spoil the enjoyment of the next nine hours though. It was pure luck my farewell journey had coincided with the appearance of Nos. 43207 and 43208, carrying only their original numbering, as the timing of my trip had depended on hotel prices in Edinburgh and a rapidly approaching withdrawal date.
