Pendolino

Here's a picture of one of the Virgin 'Pendolino' units taken at Lancaster not so long after the were introduced on the faster servives up to Scotland in 2004. This one was headed for Glasgow, or would have been if they could have got the doors to shut. I seem to remember a lot of cussing and hammering going on further up the train, which I had just got off. Teething troubles eh? But they must have got it fixed somehow because it wasn't still there the next time I went to Lancaster!

They look OK eh? But somehow all these express units these days are variations on a theme - what we gricers like to call "flying bananas".

Being a fully paid up member of the Nostalgia Club I have to say that these Penolino's aren't a patch on the clapped out old Class 87's they replaced for atmosphere on dark rainy Lancashire autumn nights. I'm venerable enough now to remember five generations of 'top link' motive power here on the West Coast Main Line. No prizes for guessing which I liked the best Norman!