Special train utilises Henbury and Portishead lines
Date: September 2010
On 25 September 2010, The Brunelian, a High Speed Train chartered by the magazine Modern Railways, ran from London to Bristol to mark the 175th anniversary of the Great Western Railway. From Bristol Parkway, the train ran along the Henbury loop, through Avonmouth and Clifton Down to Bristol Temple Meads, and then along the Portishead line as far as Portbury Dock and back. Several FOSBR members joined the train for the Bristol part of the journey, enjoying a rare opportunity to travel along both sides of the Avon Gorge on lines which we are urging to be reopened to passengers.
On the same day, a double-headed steam train, The Tamar Devonian, hauled by Tornado and King Edward I, passed through Bristol. These two trains were covered in two Evening Post articles: Double delight lined up for steam engine fans (25 September 2010) and Rare delight on the tracks (27 September 2010), which includes a photograph of the HST passing under the Clifton Suspension Bridge:
“Earlier on Saturday a High Speed Train ran along the Avon Gorge beneath Brunel’s Clifton Suspension Bridge to help mark the Great Western Railway’s 175th anniversary. The train, called The Brunelian, was run by First Great Western and had brought passengers down on the day trip from London Paddington. The line to Portbury is normally only used for freight trains running to and from the docks. And this is believed to be the first time a High Speed Train has used it.”