The Sussex Scot was one of a number of Named Trains introduced by the British Rail

British Rail

British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...

 InterCity (British Rail)

InterCity (British Rail)

InterCity was introduced by British Rail in 1966 as a brand-name for its long-haul express passenger services ....

 sector during the 1980s. The train ran between Brighton

Brighton railway station

Brighton railway station is the principal railway station in the city of Brighton and Hove, on the south coast of England. The station master is Mark Epsom...

 and Glasgow Central

Glasgow Central

Glasgow Central has more than one meaning:*Glasgow Central railway station, a railway station in Glasgow, Scotland*Glasgow Central , a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, from 1885 to 1997 and from 2005 to present...

 / Edinburgh Waverley via Kensington Olympia, Reading

Reading, Berkshire

Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....

, Birmingham New Street and major stations on the West Coast Main Line

West Coast Main Line

The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...

 to Carstairs

Carstairs railway station

Carstairs railway station in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, is a major junction station on the West Coast Main Line , situated close to the point at which the lines from London Euston to Glasgow Central and Edinburgh diverge...

 where the train divided into portions for Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley.
There had been a direct train service between Brighton

Brighton

Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...

 and Manchester Piccadilly since 14th May 1979. The first departure of the Sussex Scot was 16th May 1988. The northbound train departed Brighton

Brighton

Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...

 at 1315 and arrived at Glasgow Central 2248 and Edinburgh Waverley 2252. Southbound the train departed Glasgow Central 1050 and Edinburgh Waverley 1044 and arrived at Brighton 2020. The train was normally formed of 10 coaches. A class 47

British Rail Class 47

The British Rail Class 47, is a class of British railway diesel-electric locomotive that was developed in the 1960s by Brush Traction. A total of 512 Class 47s were built at Crewe Works and Brush's Falcon Works, Loughborough between 1962 and 1968, which made them the most numerous class of British...

 locomotive hauled the train between Brighton

Brighton

Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...

 and Birmingham New Street and vice versa with usually a class 86

British Rail Class 86

The British Rail Class 86 was the standard electric locomotive built during the 1960s, developed as a result of testing with the earlier Classes 81, 82, 83, 84 and 85. One hundred of these locomotives were built from 1965-1966 by either English Electric at Vulcan Foundry, Newton-le-Willows, or...

 or class 87

British Rail Class 87

The British Rail Class 87 is a type of electric locomotive built from 1973-75 by British Rail Engineering Limited . 36 of these locomotives were built to work passenger services over the West Coast Main Line . They were the flagships of British Rail's electric locomotive fleet until the late 1980s,...

 electric locomotive between Birmingham New Street and Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

.
From the 15th May 1989 the departure time from Brighton was moved to the more convenient time of 0845 arriving in Glasgow Central at 1732 and Edinburgh Waverley at 1747. This is when the train acquired its 1S76 headcode.

From 14th May 1990 the departure time from Brighton

Brighton

Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...

 was moved again to 0918 with an arrival time in Glasgow Central at 1810. The Edinburgh portion no longer ran. Southbound departure from Glasgow Central was 1133 with an arrival in Brighton

Brighton

Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...

 at 2021. Over the following years the destination swapped between Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley but the times remained largely unaltered.

The next major change was for the summer 1994 timetable. From 16th May 1994 both north and southbound trains also served Manchester Piccadilly Departure from Brighton

Brighton

Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...

 was at 0920 arriving at Manchester Piccadilly at 1522 and at Glasgow Central 1912. Southbound the Sussex Scot departed Glasgow Central at 1040, Manchester Piccadilly at 1417 and arrived at Brighton

Brighton

Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...

 2028. The locomotive

Locomotive

A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...

 change from diesel

Diesel engine

A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...

 to electric was now done at Preston

Preston railway station

Preston railway station serves the city of Preston in Lancashire, England and is a major station on the West Coast Main Line.It is served by Northern Rail, Virgin Trains, and TransPennine Express services, plus First ScotRail overnight sleeper services between London and Scotland.-Station layout...

. By this date the formation of the train had been reduced to 7 coaches. There was little change over the following years even when Virgin Trains

Virgin Trains

Virgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland...

 won the franchise for the CrossCountry

CrossCountry

CrossCountry is the brand name of XC Trains Ltd., a British train operating company owned by Arriva...

 rail network in 1997.
New Voyager trains were introduced on the service from 2001. The introduction of Virgin Trains

Virgin Trains

Virgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland...

 Operation Princess saw the last run of the Sussex Scot on 28th September 2002, after that date services from Brighton

Brighton

Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...

 whilst increased in number went no further than Manchester Piccadilly.