CrossCountry's Helping Hand - HSTs back on the Great Western Main Line! - May 2021

In the wake of mass withdrawals of Hitachi Class 800 Units for safety inspections, several train operators suddenly found themselves short of stock. GWR, in particular, were down to just two IETs in service, at one point. Happily, CrossCountry Trains stepped in to offer some support, laying on a number of relief shuttles between Bristol and Swindon. These ran during the second week of May, using a combination of their Voyager Units and, more importantly, a few of their HST sets!

Ever since GWR retired their own full length, long distance HST services out of London Paddington exactly two years ago, at the time this video went live, I have lamented that I took them for granted and didn't take the time to film them more. So I relished this opportunity of a mini HST renaissance on part of the Great Western Main Line, heading out on Monday 10th, Wednesday 12th and Friday 14th to capture these 7-car sets at several locations. You should be able to tell which shots were filmed on the Monday, as it was jolly windy and difficult to keep control, at times, so I apologise if the camera work is a little iffy.

Over the week, a number of set swaps occurred, bringing our total number of power cars seen in action to five. These were: 43207, 43239, 43303, 43304 and 43378.

Shots included in this video:

00:00 43239 & 43303, Thingley Junction
01:01 43239 & 43207, Brynard's Hill (Bottom)
01:59 43207 & 43239, Sodom Lane
02:46 43239 & 43303, Box
03:41 43239 & 43303, Newton St Loe
05:35 43303 & 43239, Thingley Junction
06:39 43304 & 43378, Chippenham Station
09:01 43239 & 43303, Twerton Tunnel
09:54 43239 & 43303, Middle Hill Tunnel (East Portal)
11:50 43239 & 43303, Middle Hill Tunnel (West Portal)
13:03 43378 & 43304, Friday Street
14:01 43239 & 43303, Box Tunnel (East Portal)
15:24 43207 & 43239, Christian Malford
16:25 43239 & 43207, Trow Lane Bridge
17:16 43207 & 43239, Dauntsey Bank
18:46 43239 & 43207, Brynard's Hill (Top)

Filmed on a Panasonic HC-X1500 with an Audio-Technica BP4025 microphone.

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Видео CrossCountry's Helping Hand - HSTs back on the Great Western Main Line! - May 2021 канала Speed To The West