East Midlands Railway has announced that one lucky person can win a cab ride in an HST from Sheffield to London St Pancras!
To enter, you need to donate a minimum of £10 on a JustGiving page that has been set up to raise funds for Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity.
Participants must be 16 or over and leave their full name when donating. £10 is one entry, and participants can enter multiple times.
During the experience, the winner will accompany the driver and driver manager in the cab of the Class 43 locomotive.
First Class rail travel will also be arranged for the winner to go back to Sheffield or another EMR destination after the trip on the HST, and be offered a meal and drink of their choice.
The winner will also receive a voucher for two people to enjoy afternoon tea at the Cocoa Wonderland in Sheffield.
The winner will be announced on EMR's social media pages on the 30th of March 2020, and will then be contacted to arrange a suitable date.
To enter the competition, you can visit the JustGiving page here.
What did the officials say?
Mark Evans, On Train Service Delivery Manager for EMR, said:
“This is a once in a lifetime chance to sit in the cab from Sheffield to London St Pancras on one of our most loved trains, the HST which will sadly not be in service from the end of this year. I want to thank everyone who enters; it is greatly appreciated. This is helping us to raise a lot of money for this fantastic charity, the Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity”.
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East Midlands Railway will replace the Class 43 Mk3 HSTs and Class 222 Meridians with the Class 810 IET (formerly Class 804) from 2022. So it’s best to ride on them until EMR will start introducing their new Bi-mode trains in few years.
43048 and 43089, both EMR locomotives,. Are being donated to the 125 group for preservation. I am sure a few mk3s will follow. That should be a start for the preservation efforts. I was lucky enough to visit the cab of 43048 at the etches park open day where it was a static exhibit. It was a memorable experience.
Wow, This’ll be so Exciting for anyone who does get a chance to ride the cab of one of these intriguing and popular Intercity 125 Express Trains, Especially along the Midland Mainline.
Whoever (or which luckier enthusiasts) does so … I’m sure they (or whoever it is) shall definitely enjoy An Intercity 125 Cab-Ride of a Lifetime out there.
I sometimes dream of riding in a Cab of a HST … I still hope so someday (within the next 15 to 20 years as such), Though in the meantime we’ll wait and eventually see.
By the way … As some (or most of these) beloved Intercity 125 trains are being replaced by newer (just as characteristic) Amuza’s … I do hope some of the 125’s are Potentially Preserved upon Heritage Railways.