The Bristolian (train)

The Bristolian (train)

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.

The service was inaugurated in 1935 by the Great Western Railway (GWR). It was one of the three top GWR named expresses. The train was made up of 7 Collett coaches and was hauled by King and Castle class steam locomotives and, from 1959, by Warship class diesel-hydraulic locomotives.

The other top expresses were the Cornish Riviera Express, normally King-hauled, and the Cheltenham Spa Express, hauled by Castles.

The Bristolian name was retained by British Rail and is still used by its successor, First Great Western.

On 12 December 2009, a commemorative train (also called the Bristolian) was hauled from Bristol to London by King class Locomotive King Edward 1st.

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 2 cities for about 50 years. On its 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.