The Bristolian is a named passenger train service from London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads. It starts at Weston-super-Mare in the London-bound direction.
Inaugurated in 1935 by the Great Western Railway company, the Bristolian name was retained by British Railways and is still used by its successor, Great Western Railway.
The Bristolian was inaugurated in 1935 by the Great Western Railway (GWR) to celebrate the opening of the Great Western Main Line from Paddington to Bristol in 1835, [1] and is notable in that the route taken differed in the up and down directions. The down train (from Paddington) took Brunel's original route via Bath, but the up train (from Bristol) climbed the 1 in 75 of Filton Bank through what is now Bristol Parkway and then continued climbing the 1 in 300 of the Badminton Line to Badminton before rejoining the down route at Wootton Bassett. This meant that the up train had a slightly shorter route of 117.6 miles (compared to 118.3 miles in the down direction via Bath), but with the stiff climb was probably the harder.
The train was scheduled to leave Paddington at 11.00am, and take 105 minutes for the non-stop run to Bristol Temple Meads, with the return leaving Bristol at 4.30pm with the same non-stop time. It was initially made up of 7 Collett coaches and hauled by a King class locomotive, at the time the top GWR passenger class. Later the Castle class steam locomotives and, from 1959, Warship class diesel-hydraulic locomotives were used.
The service was suspended during World War 2, and it was not until 1954 that the 105-minute schedule was again achieved. [1] During this time The Bristolian became one of the few named trains to be scheduled for haulage by a gas turbine locomotive when, between April and May 1952 it was scheduled for haulage by 18100, the Metropolitan-Vickers experimental locomotive; [2] but otherwise the mid 1950s was a time of very fast running under steam haulage, the intention being to reduce the regular schedule below 100 minutes. The fastest recorded was hauled by 7018 Drysllwyn Castle in April 1958, taking 93 minutes 50 seconds with a top speed of 102 mph. [3] The change to diesel traction saw Warship class D805 Benbow haul an 8-coach Bristolian on the opening day of the 1959 summer timetable in 93 minutes 48 seconds, and over that summer several similar times were recorded until civil engineering concerns placed a 90 mph limit on the line, and the 100 mph running required for such times was no longer possible. [1]
By 1966, Western diesels had taken over from the Warships, and although not officially advertised as The Bristolian the train, now sometimes having 12 coaches, was still achieving the 105 minute schedule even with a stop at Bath included (the up route having been changed in 1961). In 1971 the route was again altered: both the up and down trains were routed via Badminton and called at the newly opened Bristol Parkway, and the load was limited to 10 coaches giving an overall schedule of 110 minutes. The final version of the loco-hauled Bristolian came about in 1973[ citation needed ] with the introduction of air-conditioned Mark 2 coaches, and the replacement of the Westerns by Class 47 diesels.
Three different headboard designs were used. [3] Under the GWR there was no headboard, although the three-digit GWR train reporting number was carried: 016, 116 (down trains from London), 470, 473 (up trains from Bristol). When the first post-war BR Bristolian was reintroduced in 1951 there was still no headboard.
The first headboard was introduced in 1953. This used a standard BR Type 3 plate design in black, with polished aluminium letters. As this was the Coronation year, this plate was adorned with a coronation crest. [3]
On 11 June 1956 the headboard design was changed to the new Western Region style of painted brown letters on a cream board, surmounted by the crests of London and Bristol. [3] A headboard was rarely carried in the final years after 1962, until the final run on 12 June 1965.
In 1960 the BR Western Region introduced an all-pullman Blue Pullman set running between Paddington and Bristol, and this was considered the premier train between the two cities, even though the timing was slightly slower than The Bristolian. [4] The first Bristol Pullman ran on 12 September 1960, [5] and in the up direction after leaving Bristol Temple Meads, it called at Bath at 8.00am, and arrived at Paddington by 9.30am. The last service was on 5 May 1973.
On 12 December 2009, a commemorative train (also called The Bristolian) was hauled from Bristol to London by King-class Locomotive King Edward I.
On 17 April 2010, another commemorative train, to mark the GWR 175th anniversary, and also called The Bristolian, was hauled non-stop from London to Bristol, and later the same day back from Bristol to London, by Castle class locomotive no. 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe. These trains were the first non-stop steam trains between these cities for about 50 years. On the return journey, arrival at Paddington was about 45 minutes early, just under 1 hour and 50 minutes after leaving Bristol Temple Meads. The journey time was only a few minutes longer than the schedule for the non-stop Bristolian in the late 1950s, and was achieved notwithstanding the current speed limit for steam of 75 mph, which did not apply in the 1950s.
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838 with the initial route completed between London and Bristol in 1841. It was engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who chose a broad gauge of 7 ft —later slightly widened to 7 ft 1⁄4 in —but, from 1854, a series of amalgamations saw it also operate 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in standard-gauge trains; the last broad-gauge services were operated in 1892.
The 4073 or Castle Class are 4-6-0 steam locomotives of the Great Western Railway, built between 1923 and 1950. They were designed by the railway's Chief Mechanical Engineer, Charles Collett, for working the company's express passenger trains. They could reach speeds of up to 100 mph (160 km/h).
The Great Western Main Line (GWML) is a main line railway in England that runs westwards from London Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads. It connects to other main lines such as those from Reading to Penzance and Swindon to Swansea. Opened in 1841, it was the original route of the first Great Western Railway which was merged into the Western Region of British Railways in 1948. It is now a part of the national rail system managed by Network Rail with the majority of passenger services provided by the current Great Western Railway franchise.
InterCity was introduced by British Rail in 1966 as a brand-name for its long-haul express passenger services.
The Blue Pullmans were luxury trains used from 1960 to 1973 by British Rail. They were the first Pullman diesel multiple units, incorporating several novel features.
The British Rail Class 42 Warship diesel-hydraulic locomotives were introduced in 1958. It was apparent at that time that the largest centre of expertise on diesel-hydraulic locomotives was in West Germany. The Western Region of British Railways negotiated a licence with German manufacturers to scale down the German Federal Railway's "V200" design to suit the smaller loading gauge of the British network, and to allow British manufacturers to construct the new locomotives. The resultant design bears a close resemblance, both cosmetically and in the engineering employed, to the original V200 design. Warship locomotives were divided into two batches: those built at BR's Swindon works were numbered in the series D800-D832 and D866-D870, had a maximum tractive effort of 52,400 pounds-force (233,000 N) and eventually became British Rail Class 42. 33 others, D833–D865, were constructed by the North British Locomotive Company and became British Rail Class 43. They were allocated to Bristol Bath Road, Plymouth Laira, Newton Abbot and Old Oak Common.
The Torbay Express is a named passenger train operating in the United Kingdom.
The South Wales Main Line, originally known as the London, Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway or simply as the Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway, is a branch of the Great Western Main Line in Great Britain. It diverges from the core London-Bristol line at Royal Wootton Bassett beyond Swindon, first calling at Bristol Parkway, after which the line continues through the Severn Tunnel into South Wales.
The Night Riviera is a sleeper train operated by Great Western Railway (GWR). It is one of only two sleeper services on the railway in the United Kingdom. The Night Riviera runs six nights a week (Sunday–Friday) between London Paddington and Penzance with one train in each direction.
Pullman trains in Great Britain were mainline luxury railway services that operated with first-class coaches and a steward service, provided by the British Pullman Car Company (PCC) from 1874 until 1962, and then by British Railways from 1962 until 1972. Many named mainline service trains have subsequently used the word 'Pullman' in their titles, but most of these have been normal trains with increased first-class accommodation. Since 1982 however, some railtours have been operated by companies using Pullman coaches dating from the 1920s to 1950s to recreate the ambience of the heyday of Pullman travel.
The Cornish Riviera Express is a British express passenger train that has run between London Paddington and Penzance in Cornwall since 1904. Introduced by the Great Western Railway, the name Cornish Riviera Express has been applied to the late morning express train from London to Penzance continuously through nationalisation under British Rail and privatisation under First Great Western, only ceasing briefly during the two World Wars. The name is also applied to the late morning express train running in the opposite direction from Penzance to London. Through performance and publicity the Cornish Riviera Express has become one of the most famous named trains in the United Kingdom and is particularly renowned for the publicity employed by the Great Western Railway in the 1930s which elevated it to iconic status. Today it is operated by the Great Western Railway train operating company.
The Cornishman was a British express passenger train to Penzance in Cornwall. From its inception in the 19th century until before World War II it originated at London Paddington. Under British Railways the name was applied to a different service, starting variously from Wolverhampton, Leeds or Bradford.
The Flying Dutchman was a named passenger train service from London Paddington to Exeter St Davids. It ran from 1849 until 1892, originally over the Great Western Railway (GWR) and then the Bristol and Exeter Railway. As the GWR expanded, the destination of the train changed to Plymouth and briefly to Penzance.
From 1920, the cab side of Great Western Railway (GWR) steam locomotives bore a letter on a coloured disc, which enabled staff to quickly assess the capabilities of locomotives without the need to check tables of data. The letter showed the power classification, and the coloured disc showed the weight restriction. This system continued after the GWR became the Western Region of British Railways.
Westerleigh Junction is a railway junction in Gloucestershire, England, where the Cross Country Route (XCR) from York to Bristol Temple Meads meets the South Wales Main Line (SWML) from London Paddington to Swansea, near the village of Westerleigh.
St Philip's Marsh depot is a railway depot located in the St Philip's Marsh district of Bristol, England. It was established as a steam locomotive shed in 1910 but this facility closed in the 1960s. A new diesel facility opened nearby at Marsh Junction in 1959). This has since been combined with a new shed which was opened in 1976 to maintain new InterCity 125 trainsets.
The Cathedrals Express was a named passenger express introduced in 1957 on the Western Region of British Railways. It connected the cathedral cities of Hereford and Worcester to London Paddington.
The Weymouth Wizard was a named summer service operated by Great Western Railway (GWR) via the Heart of Wessex Line between Bristol Temple Meads and Weymouth. The special service was named when GWR started running a single Saturday summer InterCity 125 service between Bristol Temple Meads and Weymouth.
The Badminton railway line is a railway line opened in 1903 by the Great Western Railway between the Great Western Main Line at Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire and Patchway and Filton, north of Bristol, England. Forming the eastern section of the South Wales Main Line, it shortened the distance between South Wales and London for heavy mineral traffic and for express passenger trains, and relieved congestion on the line through Bath.
The Merchant Venturer was a named train of British Railways. It ran over eleven Summer seasons from 3 May 1951 to 9 September 1961.
| Main routes |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Related companies | ||
| Locomotives | ||
| Works and depots | ||
| Rolling stock | ||
| People | ||
| Other | ||