WELCOME to the exciting and glamorous world of inter-city train travel, 1982-style.

In the spring of that year, British Rail devoted the bulk of an issue of regional magazine Western Traveller to extolling the virtues of the Inter-City 125.

Rail travellers in Swindon had long been familiar with the machines, as Swindon had always been a key station of the Western region.

The locos, built for seven years from 1975, had originally been intended as something of a stopgap before the introduction of even faster machines with tilting mechanisms.

Problems with the mechanisms had caused a PR disaster during testing the previous year. Fortunately, the 125, which is still in service, was carving out a reputation for speed, efficiency and reliability. It was possibly the last time a locomotive generated even a ripple of excitement among the general public.

“This is the age of the 125s,” the front page story began.

It was an allusion to BR’s advertising slogan of the period: “This is the age of the train.” The words were indelibly associated in the public mind with the gurning face of Jimmy Savile, who was hired to front the campaign.

The article continued: “These streamliners appeared at Paddington first in 1976.

“As more trains were delivered from British Rail Engineering in Derby, so the network spread, taking in all services between London, Bristol, South Wales and the Cornish Riviera.”

The pictures accompanying the PR blurb portrayed 125s as all things to all people. One showed a happy and wholesome-looking family playing a card game to while away a journey.

In another, two sophisticated Yuppie prototypes lounged against the bar in the buffet car enjoying drinks.

The image was captioned: “ Popular priced light meals feature in the Inter-City 125 buffet car.

“Travellers choose from sausage, bacon, egg and chips, toasted sandwiches, fruit pies, beers, spirits, soft drinks, tea and coffee and so on.”