The Bristolian was inaugurated in 1935 by the Great Western Railway (GWR) to celebrate the opening of the Great Western main line from Paddington to Bristol in 1835.,[REF] and is notable in that the route taken differed in the up and down directions.
By 1966 Western diesels had taken over from the Warships, and although not officially advertised as The Bristolian the train, now sometimes having 12 coaches, was still achieving the 105 minute schedule even with a stop at Bath included (the up route having been changed in 1961).