Laira Traction and Rolling Stock Maintenance Depot
Laira Traction and Rolling Stock Maintenance Depot is a railway traction maintenance depot situated in Plymouth, Devon, England. The depot is operated by Great Western Railway (GWR) and is where their fleet of High Speed Trains are overhauled along with those belonging to CrossCountry. These will be withdrawn in 2023 but it will then become the principal depot for GWR's Class 802 InterCity Express Trains. Other trains visit for daily servicing.
Looking south from Laira Flyover
A view from the south in 1972. The carriages are standing where fuel oil was piped from wagons into the storage tanks. A 'Westerns' stand outside the long servicing shed. The main maintenance shed is the taller building behind.
CrossCountry and Great Western Railway Class 43s in the carriage sidings beside the depot.
A shed plate carried by a Laira engine
The InterCity 125 or High Speed Train (HST) is a diesel-powered high-speed passenger train built by British Rail Engineering Limited between 1975 and 1982. A total of 95 sets were produced, each comprising two Class 43 power cars, one at each end, and a rake of seven or eight Mark 3 coaches. The name is derived from its top operational speed of 125 mph (201 km/h). At times, the sets have been classified as British Rail Classes 253, 254 and 255.
An InterCity 125 in original British Rail livery near Chesterfield
The Blue Pullmans, which were in service between 1960 and 1973, are often seen as forerunners of the HSTs.
Class 252 prototype HST at Weston-super-Mare in 1975
An InterCity 125 about to depart Manchester Piccadilly in 1986
