2018

NT9953 : LNER train crossing the Royal Border Bridge (detail)

taken 6 years ago, near to Berwick-Upon-Tweed, Northumberland, England

LNER train crossing the Royal Border Bridge (detail)
LNER train crossing the Royal Border Bridge (detail)
A detail of the train seen in NT9953 : LNER train crossing the Royal Border Bridge. The front power car 43318 is named "1978/2018 Celebrating Forty Years Inter-City 125 The Journey Shrinker". It marks the anniversary of 8 May 1978 when 125mph High Speed Trains were introduced between London and Edinburgh.
HST (High Speed Train) 125 trains

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 LinkExternal 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 LinkExternal link
Update May 2019: no more HST 125s in the West Country LinkExternal link

Royal Border Bridge

Royal Border Bridge spans the River Tweed between Berwick-upon-Tweed and Tweedmouth. It is a Grade I listed railway viaduct LinkExternal link built between 1847 and 1850, when it was opened by Queen Victoria. The engineer who designed it was Robert Stephenson (son of George Stephenson). It was built for the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway and is still in regular use today, as part of the East Coast Main Line.
The bridge is 659 metres long. It has 28 arches, constructed of brick but faced with stone.


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Stephen Craven and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Geographical Context: Railways Railway: LNER other tags: Royal Border Bridge High Speed Train Click a tag, to view other nearby images.
1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
+
+
1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
TIP: Click the map for more Large scale mapping
Grid Square
NT9953, 920 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Stephen Craven   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Saturday, 15 September, 2018   (more nearby)
Submitted
Tuesday, 18 September, 2018
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! NT 992 532 [100m precision]
WGS84: 55:46.3766N 2:0.7731W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! NT 995 530
View Direction
Northwest (about 315 degrees)
Clickable map
+
NW N NE
W Go E
SW S SE
Image Type (about): geograph 
This page has been viewed about 74 times
You are not logged in login | register