Cab Ride No 32 – Paddington to Bristol

At last the Great Western Main Line joins our ever-growing range of Cab Rides! With this dvd, Cab Ride No.32, we recorded the route from HST power-car 43179 on 23rd May 1990 on the 08.45 from Paddington.

The route needs no introduction – it’s Brunel’s famous “billiard table” ride, superbly engineered for today’s high speed trains.

Our journey was accomplished exactly to time – except for 18 minutes loss due to signals near Tilehurst – an example of how safety comes first, as a trackman had heard a noise coming from one of the coaches (later identified as a normal suspension ‘groan’) at the station, causing the train to be stopped for static and rolling exams.

We would like to thank all those involved for arranging this cab ride: BR Public Affairs at Swindon, Inspector John Barratt, Driver S. Bailey and D. Stanner.