Rolling stock
HST services were first introduced in 1976 on the Great Western Main Line from London Paddington to Bristol, Cardiff and Swansea. Formations consisted of 2 first-class, a Restaurant Buffet and 4 standard-class Mark 3 carriages with a Class 43 power car at each end.
East Coast – InterCity 125 HST services started in 1977: Typically 2 first-class, a Restaurant Kitchen, Buffet Standard and 4 standard-class British Rail Mark 3 carriages with a Class 43 power car at each end. These progressively replaced Class 55 "Deltics" which were finally withdrawn in 1981. Later, as catering needs changed, the Restaurant Kitchen was replaced by a fifth standard-class coach. InterCity 225: a Class 91 electric locomotive, nine Mark 4 coaches and a Driving Van Trailer (DVT) operating in push-pull mode; introduced in 1990, with electrification completed in 1991. This saw most of the HSTs transferred to Great Western, Midland and Cross-Country routes, but some remained for the runs to/from Aberdeen, Inverness and Hull.
West Coast – London Euston to Wolverhampton used Class 86 electric locomotives hauling Mark 2 carriages and operated at 100 mph. Euston to Glasgow services used Class 86, Class 87, and Class 90 locomotives hauling Mark 3 coaches and operated at 110 mph. Euston to Holyhead services used Class 47 hauled Mark 2s or HSTs. From 1988, West Coast trains operated in push-pull mode with a DVT at the London end of the train. Before DVTs were introduced, larger fleets of Classes 81–87 were used to haul the trains conventionally. Class 50s operated in pairs north of Preston until electrification was completed in 1974.
Midland – Class 45, 46 and 47 locomotives hauling Mark 1 and Mark 2 carriages. HSTs replaced the loco-hauled trains in the 1980s.
Great Western – InterCity 125s from new, which replaced Class 50s, which in turn, replaced Class 52s. Other services were also operated by Mark 2 carriages hauled by Class 47s and 50s; later these were transferred to Network SouthEast and replaced by Class 165 DMUs.
Great Eastern – Class 47 diesels hauled Mark 1 and Mark 2 carriages before electrification of the route in the mid-80s. Class 86 electrics were introduced to haul trains from Liverpool Street to Ipswich from 1985, with through electric trains reaching Norwich by 1987. Mark 2 Driving Brake Standard Opens were cascaded from Scotland in the early 90s, so that trains could operate in push-pull mode. Some routes transferred to Network SouthEast, leaving London-Norwich and the London-Harwich boat-train with InterCity.
Cross Country – Some routes were operated by InterCity 125s, but with only one first class carriage and standard class seats in the buffet car replaced the restaurant. Other routes saw Mark 2 carriages hauled by Class 47 diesel locomotives. Services operating north of Birmingham on the West Coast main line switched to electric traction using Class 86 and Class 90 locomotives. DVTs were not used.
Gatwick Express – Originally used dedicated Class 423 electric multiple units as part of the Southern Region. Prior to being transferred to InterCity, the service ran from London Victoria calling at Clapham Junction, East Croydon (sometimes via Redhill) and Gatwick Airport running via Haywards Heath to Brighton. The service was transferred to InterCity with Class 73 electro-diesel locomotives (electric third-rail current or diesel-powered) hauling Mark 2 coaches and a modified Class 414 driving motor carriage were introduced in 1984 in push-pull mode. When InterCity took over, the service only served London Victoria and Gatwick Airport.
Sleepers – Originally consisted of Mark 2 or Mark 3 seating coaches with Mark 1 sleeper cars. Mark 3 sleeper cars replaced the Mark 1s in the early 1980s. DVTs were not used. The Night Riviera (Paddington-Penzance) was hauled by Class 47s while the Euston-Scotland sleepers were usually hauled by Class 86, 87 or 90 electric locomotives as far as Edinburgh and Glasgow. The sections north of Edinburgh were hauled by Class 37 or 47 diesel locomotives to/from Aberdeen and Inverness, while the section to/from Fort William was hauled by Class 37s. The London Euston to Stranraer Harbour service worked on the same basis with a change from electric to diesel at Carlisle. The service to Holyhead saw locomotive changes at Crewe.
Main destinations
East Coast Main Line: London Kings Cross, Stevenage, Peterborough, Grantham, Newark North Gate, Retford, Doncaster, Hull, Wakefield Westgate, Leeds, York, Northallerton, Darlington, Durham, Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Dunbar, Edinburgh, Glasgow Central, Dundee, Perth, Aberdeen, Inverness.
West Coast Main Line: London Euston, Watford Junction, Bletchley, Milton Keynes Central (opened 1982), Rugby, Coventry, Birmingham International, Birmingham New Street, Wolverhampton, Stafford, Stoke-on-Trent, Crewe, Macclesfield, Wilmslow, Stockport, Manchester Piccadilly, Runcorn, Liverpool Lime Street, Chester, Llandudno Junction, Bangor, Holyhead, Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan North Western, Preston, Lancaster, Oxenholme, Carlisle, Motherwell, Glasgow Central.
Great Western Main Line: London Paddington, Reading, Didcot Parkway, Swindon, Bath Spa, Bristol Parkway, Bristol Temple Meads, Weston-super-Mare, Newport, Cardiff Central, Bridgend, Port Talbot Parkway, Neath, Swansea, Taunton, Tiverton Parkway, Exeter St David's, Newton Abbot, Paignton, Totnes, Plymouth, Bodmin Parkway, St Austell, Truro, Penzance.
Midland Main Line: London St Pancras, Luton, Bedford, Wellingborough, Kettering, Market Harborough, Leicester, Loughborough, Nottingham, Derby, Chesterfield, Sheffield, Leeds, York, Scarborough.
Cross Country Route: Penzance, Truro, St Austell, Plymouth, Totnes, Paignton, Torquay, Newton Abbot, Exeter St. David's, Taunton, Bristol Temple Meads, Bristol Parkway, Cardiff Central, Newport, London Paddington, Poole, Bournemouth, Southampton, Brighton, Gatwick Airport, Reading, Oxford, Gloucester, Cheltenham Spa, Coventry, Birmingham International, Birmingham New Street, Wolverhampton, Stafford, Crewe, Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan North Western, Stoke-on-Trent, Macclesfield, Stockport, Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Oxford Road, Bolton, Hartford, Runcorn, Liverpool Lime Street, St Helens Central, Preston, Blackpool North, Lancaster, Oxenholme, Penrith, Carlisle, Motherwell, Glasgow Central, Derby, Sheffield, Doncaster, Leeds, York, Darlington, Durham, Newcastle, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Edinburgh, Kirkcaldy, Dundee, Arbroath, Aberdeen.
Great Eastern Main Line: London Liverpool Street, Chelmsford, Colchester, Manningtree, Harwich International (for the ferry to Hook of Holland), Ipswich, Stowmarket, Diss, Norwich.
Gatwick Express: London Victoria, Gatwick Airport.