Midland Mainline

22/10/2023

Midland Mainline Rio HST power car 43162 waiting to depart from the newly constructed platform 13 on the east side of St Pancras Station. For a period platforms 11-13 were the interim home for Midland Mainline services. This helped to facilitate the conversion of the wonderful Victorian station into a shopping mall and champagne bar and to allow for the construction of platforms 1-4. Once these were built Midland Mainline services swapped over to their new platforms on the west side of the station which signalled the start of the new South Eastern High Speed services operating from platforms 11-13.

In the background is one of the St Pancras gasometers in its original prominent gasworks location adjacent to St Pancras Station before they were all disassembled to make way for the new St Pancras Square development. Three gasometers were reassembled in a new location on the opposite side of the Regents Canal adjacent to St Pancras Lock. Two of these are now swanky flats, the third is Gasometer Park, and all three gasometers can still be seen from the train on the approach to St Pancras Station.

squaremilehealthwalks.wordpress.com/2017/08/20/st-pancras-gasholders

02/04/2023

'We are family'. How the families that work together, stay On Train together...written by Debbie Louise.
March 2005 cover stars Ian Morrish, Johnny Brown, Leslie and Amanda Mclaren - Rest in Peace Amanda 🙏

18/03/2023

Twenty years ago this week Midland Mainline introduced its wonderful new livery.

30/05/2022

Midland Mainline celebrated its 10th birthday held at Makeney Hall in Derbyshire. Over 120 guests were given the red carpet treatment on arrival with a champagne 🍾 reception. After dinner people danced to a live band as the party continued on into the night.

Photo kindly uploaded by Lindsay Cooper.

12/05/2022

Midland Mainline 2004 relaunch:

Well respected Heidi Mottram OBE, CBE, (Operations Director of Midland Mainline) arriving at Derby Station on 43166 flying the MML leaping stag flag to the best loco soundtrack of a Valenta engine.

Superb photo courtesy of Ryan Tranmer.

08/01/2021

The class of 08/01/01 at the Aston Court Hotel - kindly uploaded by Neil Hoeg.

16/06/2020

The booking office at St Pancras Station was the first building completed and had a magnificent hipped glass and timber lantern roof, along with gothic Windows. All of this, including the wooden booking office can still be seen today as it was sympathetically converted into the restaurant & bar of the St Pancras Renaissance London Hotel, albeit with a much darker atmosphere.

In this photo a black cab waits patiently through the doorway to the old St Pancras taxi rank.

26/05/2020

The influence that brought about the teal and tangerine dream for Midland Mainline's new identity by Saatchi and Saatchi Design.

The best new visual livery of all Britain’s early privatised train companies belonged to Midland Mainline. It looked new and attractive, yet paid subtle tribute to the golden age of the railways. The teal green area around the front of the HST had a very distinctive rounded bottom edge, along with three tangerine-orange bands that also ran along the bottom of the teal green portion. These wrapped onto the front of the HST, where they tucked down onto the lower part of the nosecone. Anyone who knows their railway history will have seen something like this before, in the stripes applied to the Coronation Scot class streamliners (shown below), operated in the inter-war years by the LMS, Midland Mainline’s distant ancestor on the Midland Main Line.

17/05/2020

For members of staff who'd like to see a few old faces (or in the case of this MML corporate video - young faces)...

HST refurbishment video kindly uploaded by Dave Meredith.

This corporate video was released by Midland Mainline to advertise it's new 'orange and teal' livery for it's HST fleet prior to it's press launch on the 10t...

14/05/2020

The Midland Mainline logo looking rather splendid on the emergency coupling door of HST power car 43089.

10/08/2019

Midland Mainline teal green still lives on along the route at two locations.

09/05/2019

Photo on display at the National Railway Museum - kindly uploaded by Mick Forecast.

06/04/2019

6th April 1999, 20 years ago today. Induction day at the Midland Hotel. Happy days on the Midland Mainline. Who can spot Emma Wyatt's great unmistakable smile?

14/02/2019

Same as it ever was!

31/01/2019

Ex MML Train Managers Claire, Keely, Gareth and Jamie catching up in Brisbane, Australia. Great to see the MML family back together again after so many years!

10/01/2019

St Pancras Driver Bill Clinton enjoying a friendly chat with Rachel Hayes 👍

13/12/2018

Today we said a final goodbye at the well-attended funeral of Train Driver and St Pancras Depot Manager John Cole, who sadly passed away on 22nd November 2018 in Guy’s Hospital, after suffering from complications caused by oesophageal cancer. John was a well respected and larger than life character who will be missed by all who knew him. Sadly gone, but never forgotten.

John Michael Cole
28th December 1961 - 22nd November 2018

Photo taken on 10th April 2004, the day Midland Mainline operated it's last passenger services from the old St Pancras Gothic Station before reconstruction of St Pancras, in readiness for Eurostar services in 2007.

John Cole - typing away as usual on his laptop in his old office with teal green skirting. All of his office furniture had just been moved over to the new interim station.

Rest In Peace old friend.

24/11/2018

With a heavy heart MML is very sad to report that ex St Pancras Train Driver and highly respected St Pancras Depot Manager John Cole passed away on Thursday 22nd November. John had bravely battled his illness and fought it with great courage to the end. He will be sadly missed by all. His funeral details are shown in the photo.
Rest in Peace JC.

25/09/2018

L-R: Steve Liddell ex-STP Depot Driver Manager, John Cole ex-STP Depot Driver Manager and Roger Jocelyn, ex-STP Driver/Instructor with ex-STP Driver/Instructor Mick Forecast (taking photo) at the Hamilton Hall, Liverpool Street on 24/09/18. JC is retiring due to ill health on 16th November 2018.

29/07/2018

Photo kindly uploaded by Mick Forecast, taken in 2004 at our 'Interim Station' on Platform 13 St Pancras Station, with a brand spanking new Class 222 Meridian.

11/06/2018

Photo kindly uploaded by Tim Casterton who wrote:
The photo taken after my induction - I'm back row with the hat on - all the other guys were drivers. The lady 2nd from left I remember is Anna and worked at Leicester - the other ladies I think were mostly on train. Happy days - I enjoyed my time with MML.

10/06/2018

Photo kindly uploaded by Chris Kelly - April 2000.

18/02/2018

Who can name these 'Spitting Image' puppets?

11/11/2017

On this day 10 years ago Midland Mainline ceased to operate......free tea or coffee anyone?

08/12/2016

At the National Railway Museum stands 43070 with 43069, 11th November 2004.

21/10/2016

Four decades ago, something came along that many people think helped save the railways. A sleek, pacy, high speed train, the Intercity 125. With it's familiar sloping nose, the 125 symbolised a new era of clean lines and high technology on a network that had been underfunded and getting tatty for decades. The HST is still highly regarded by the train crew who work on-board and by many as a design icon, which makes the HST the most successful train British Rail ever built.

Photo taken at Wellingborough Station.

17/10/2016

On a summer's day, a Midland Mainline HST on loan in the west country for a Saturday service to Newquay.

24/02/2016

St Pancras Station, June 2004 saw the introduction of shiny new Class 222 Meridians, which at this time were using platforms 11, 12 and 13 whilst platforms 1, 2, 3 and 4 were being constructed.

27/04/2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIMpPnYLEkY

This corporate video was released by Midland Mainline to advertise it's new 'orange and teal' livery for it's HST fleet prior to it's press launch on the 10t...