The Advanced Passenger Train (APT) was an unsuccesful prototype tilting train developed by British Rail during the 1970s and early 1980s. A tilting train is a train with a tilting mechanism that enables increased speed on regular railroad tracks. ... Logo of British Rail British Railways (BR), later rebranded as British Rail, ran the British railway system from the nationalisation of the Big Four British railway companies in 1948 until its privatisation in stages between 1994 and 1997. ... Jimmy Beertow is the most famous pornstar of this decade he starred in movies such as BackDoorSluts3 and the Famous Schoolhouse Confessions Parts 1 through 6. He ultilized the secret school location made famous by the series. ... The 1980s in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1980 and 1989. ...

APT-E at Locomotion, Shildon, County Durham

The introduction into service of the Advanced Passenger Train was to be a three-stage project. Phase 1, the development of an experimental APT (APT-E) was completed. Phase 2, the introduction of three prototype trains (APT-P), into revenue service on the Glasgow - London route, did occur but they were withdrawn after much bad publicity. Phase 3, the introduction of the Squadron fleet (APT-S) did not occur. Although the APT-S trains did not enter service, the experience gained enabled the construction of other high speed trains, including tilting ones. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (681x1024, 304 KB) Summary Photographer: Huw Pritchard (self) Location: Locomotion, Shildon, County Durham Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (681x1024, 304 KB) Summary Photographer: Huw Pritchard (self) Location: Locomotion, Shildon, County Durham Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

Background

In the mid 20th century, British Rail express services were being compared unfavourably, and perhaps unfairly, with France's TGV and Japan's Shinkansen. Experience with High Speed Trains on the East Coast Main Line from London to Edinburgh had shown that reduced journey times could produce a significant increase in passenger numbers, but that line was largely straight and suited to high speeds. Other lines, such as the West Coast Main Line from London to Glasgow, were not straight enough to support high speeds with conventional equipment. Lateral forces would be just too high around corners; passengers would not be able to stand upright easily, and items would move on tables. Superelevation, banking of the track around curves, enabled speeds up to 125 mph but no higher. (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... TGV trains depart from Gare Montparnasse in Paris to western and south-western destinations. ... Shinkansen 0 Series at Fukuyama Station, April 2002 Shinkansen 500 Series at Kyoto Station, March 2005 300 (Left) and 700 Series Shinkansen at Tokyo Station The Shinkansen (Japanese: 新幹線) is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. ... The East Coast Main Line viaduct at Durham. ... Part of the London skyline viewed from the South Bank London is the most populous city in the European Union, with an estimated population on 1 January 2005 of 7,421,328 and a metropolitan area population of between 12 and 14 million. ... Edinburghs location in Scotland Edinburgh viewed from Arthurs Seat. ... The WCML running alogside the M1 motorway in Northamptonshire The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important intercity railway lines in the United Kingdom, part of the British railway system. ... Glasgow (or Glaschu in Gaelic) is Scotlands largest city and unitary council, situated on the River Clyde in the countrys west central lowlands. ...

In order to permit a top speed of 150 mph (240 km/h), and thereby cut journey times, British Rail's engineers at the Derby Research Division developed an advanced active tilting technology, using hydraulic rams controlled by computer to tilt the passenger cars into the curves so that no lateral forces would be felt. In 1972 the APT-E, a gas turbine-powered experimental testbed, was constructed. This was only four cars in length; two power cars, one at each end, and two 'passenger' cars full of instrumentation. Logo of British Rail British Railways (BR), later rebranded as British Rail, ran the British railway system from the nationalisation of the Big Four British railway companies in 1948 until its privatisation in stages between 1994 and 1997. ... The British Rail Research Division came into being in 1964 directly under the control of the British Railways Board, moving into purpose-built premises at the Railway Technical Centre in Derby. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year that started on a Saturday. ... The APT-E (meaning Advanced Passenger Train Experimental) tilting train was the prototype Advanced Passenger Train unit. ... This machine has a single-stage radial compressor and turbine, a recuperator, and foil bearings. ...

The experimental train APT-E having proved the concept, British Rail moved to build three prototype Class 370 APT-P trains. Gas turbines had been chosen for their light weight compared to diesel engines, but Leyland had ceased production and development, and no other was suitable. Thus the new APT-P and APT-S trains were to be electrically powered, and so restricted to electrified track. The Class 370 tilting trains, also referred to as APT-P (meaning Advanced Passenger Train Prototype), were the pre-production Advanced Passenger Train units. ...

At the time, pantograph technology could not support current collection from both ends of the train at the high speeds envisaged. Therefore, the APT-P trains were designed as two half-trains with twin power cars in the middle, sharing one pantograph. There was a passage through the power cars, but it was noisy, cramped and not normally permitted for passengers; therefore, each end of the train had to duplicate facilities. The Z-shaped pantograph of the electrical pickup on German light railway. ...

Demise of the APT

Political and managerial pressure to show results led to the three APT-P trains being launched in 1981 when, in hindsight, it was not ready for service; many technical problems persisted and reliability was not high. Predictably, the train suffered highly visible problems. Two APT-Ps were intended to be available for service at any given time, with the third out of service for overhaul and maintenance. The APT was often jokingly referred to by passengers as the 'Accident Prone Train' because of this. 1981 (MCMLXXXI) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Members of the press riding the first demonstration train apparently reported high levels of motion sickness, and this caused much bad publicity; though it has been suggested by some that the 'motion sickness' suffered by the press may have had more to do with them over endulging in BR's liquid hospitality. None of the other passengers on this demonstration run, or subsequent runs noticed the problem. It turned out that perfectly compensating for lateral forces around curves could induce motion sickness, since the eyes could see turning but the body did not feel it; reducing the tilt by a few degrees so that the curves could be felt cured this.

The first "public" APT-P run on 7th December 1981, from Glasgow Central to London Euston, was successful. Even so British Rail played safe by running a scheduled service out of Glasgow some 15 minutes later. However, some APT-P cars suffered tilt failures during the return trip out of London, and this was widely publicised by the media. The extreme cold weather also caused problems with the brakes freezing. The trains were withdrawn from revenue service four days later. This highly visible failure was eventually to prove terminal for the project. December is the twelfth and last month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Heilanmans Umbrella Inside Glasgow Central Glasgow Central Station is the larger of the two main-line railway stations in Glasgow, Scotland. ... Euston station, also known as London Euston, is a major railway station to the north of central London and in the London Borough of Camden. ...

The APT-P trains were quietly reintroduced into service in the summer of 1982, and ran regularly, the problems having been apparently corrected, but the political and managerial will to continue the project and build the projected APT-S production vehicles had evaporated. 1982 (MCMLXXXII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

One APT-P set was kept at Glasgow Shields Depot and found use once or twice as an "EMU" to take journalists from Glasgow Central to Anderston railway station and back, for the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre. A second APT-P was stored in a siding behind Crewe Works; it is now on display at The Railway Age, Crewe. The "Glasgow" APT-P and the third APT-P were scrapped very quietly without publicity; while the APT-E is in the National Railway Museum in York. A classic Belgian multiple unit of type 74 A multiple unit is a passenger train whose carriages have their own motors, either diesel (DMUs) or electric (EMUs), and do not need to be hauled by a locomotive. ... Platforms at Anderston Anderston railway station serves Glasgows Financial district. ... Overview of the SECC site The Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC), located on the north bank of the River Clyde in Glasgow, is Scotlands national venue for public events. ... The Railway Age is a Railway Museum in Crewe, England. ... Map sources for Crewe at grid reference SJ705557 Crewe is a large town in south Cheshire, in the north west of England. ... The APT-E (meaning Advanced Passenger Train Experimental) tilting train was the prototype Advanced Passenger Train unit. ... Locomotives arranged around the turntable in the Great Hall. ...

Williams notes that work continued on a new variant the APT-U and that the project was later retitled Intercity 225, perhaps to distance it from the bad publicity surrounding the APT-P. The InterCity 225 is the fastest domestic train in the United Kingdom, comprising a Class 91 electric locomotive, nine Mark IV coaches and a Driving Van Trailer. ...

APT versus TGV and Shinkansen

In contrast to the APT, France's high speed train, the TGV, developed around the same time, has been a great success. SNCF decided to develop not only a new train, but a new infrastructure for it to run upon as well. They built completely new Lignes à Grande Vitesse (high speed lines) with long, straight tracks designed for high-speed running, and so avoided needing a complicated tilting system, as did the Japanese with their Shinkansen. TGV trains depart from Gare Montparnasse in Paris to western and south-western destinations. ... An SNCF multiple unit. ... Shinkansen 0 Series at Fukuyama Station, April 2002 Shinkansen 500 Series at Kyoto Station, March 2005 300 (Left) and 700 Series Shinkansen at Tokyo Station The Shinkansen (Japanese: 新幹線) is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan. ...

Doing this in Britain would have been more problematic with public enquiries necessary and nimbyism, as shown with the initial difficulty in obtaining permission to build the more recent Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL). In Britain's crowded island the cost and upheaval would simply be prohibitive, particularly as British Rail was looking for a solution, not only for the West Coast Main Line, but others routes such the Western Region's services to Bristol, and the Midland Main Line to the Midlands and Yorkshire. In the politics and government of Commonwealth countries such as Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom, a public inquiry is an official review of events or actions ordered by the government. ... NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) is an acronym for the opposition by local residents to construction of intrusive facilities, which are often intended primarily to serve people living far away: such as new roads or rail lines, power plants, waste storage facilities or the like, or intended to serve... A Eurostar train on the CTRL, near Ashford Model showing the current redevelopment of the Kings Cross area with the Channel Tunnel Rail Link terminal behind the barrel-vaulted St Pancras Station on the left. ... The Western Region may be: Western Ghana Western Region of British Railways This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Bristol is an English city and county and one of the three administrative centres of South West England (the others being Plymouth and Exeter). ... The Midland Main Line is a main railway line in the United Kingdom and is part of the British railway system. ... In general, the midlands of a territory are its central regions. ... The White Yorkshire rose. ...

What is often not acknowledged is that the TGV was only a small part of France's total rail network, while, in Japan, the Shinkansen was conceived as a totally new system to replace an increasingly inadequate narrow-gauge service. There was a need to carry upwards of 120 million passengers per year, which meant that its financiers could safely predict a rapid return on investment.

Further uses of APT technology

The initial research into vehicle dynamics was at the cutting edge in the 1960s. The knowledge obtained has passed into mainstream theory such that it is taken for granted. An early benefit was that freight trains could be speeded up, such that hundreds of miles of relief track ('slow lines') could be dispensed with. The 1960s in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1960 and 1969, but the expression has taken on a wider meaning over the past twenty years. ...

Much of the knowledge gained was applied to the design of the High Speed Train which built upon the design of existing trains. The APT-P was new throughout and, perhaps, should have remained a 'concept vehicle'. However, the APT technology was imported almost wholesale, though without the tilt, into the design of the Class 91 to the extent that the Mark IV coaches used by the Class 91 were built to accomodate tilt mechanisms. This Virgin Trains High Speed Train is shown here running along the Dawlish sea-front. ... Class 91/1, no. ...

While tilting trains had been in development in other countries for some years, and even seen service, so-called 'pendular tilt' had not been particularly satisfactory. The 'powered tilt' of the APT was sold to the similar Pendolino project being developed in Italy. Italian Pendolino systems incorporating original APT technology have since been sold internationally to various rail networks, including the British Class 390 Pendolino introduced on the West Coast Main Line from late 2003 onwards, culminating in September 2004 with the introduction of a full passenger timetable, with tilting enabled from Manchester and Birmingham to London Euston. Pendolino is a tilting train used in Italy, Portugal, Slovenia, Finland, Czech Republic and the United Kingdom. ... [[Image:390029_City_of_Stoke-on-Trent_at_Birmingham_New_Street. ... The WCML running alogside the M1 motorway in Northamptonshire The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important intercity railway lines in the United Kingdom, part of the British railway system. ... 2003 (MMIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Manchester is a city in the North West of England. ... The city from above Centenary Square. ... Facade of Euston Station, London Euston Arch: the original Euston Station, as enlarged, ca 1851 Euston station concourse Euston station (also known as London Euston), is a large railway station in Central London. ...

External links

• APT-E
• APT-P Support Team
• http://www.lexcie.zetnet.co.uk/apt.htm
• Wickens, A., (1988) APT - With Hindsight Newsletter of the Friends of the National Railway Museum, No.84, Summer 1988
• The Manufacturer (24, February 2004) The great train robbery

Reference

• Williams, Hugh, (1985). APT: A Promise Unfulfilled. London: Ian Allan Ltd. ISBN 0-7110-1474-4.