The ambitious Advanced Passenger Train project aimed to build a high speed train that could cope with the curves on Britain's tracks.
The four ATP trains used amazing new technology. The body was constructed like an aircraft which made it the lightest passenger train ever built. Engineers developed a new hydrokinetic braking system using a water turbine and a new specification for the wheelset, still in use today. New safety features included an electronic system to tell the driver what the speed limit was on that section of track. Of course, the most famous feature of the APT was the tilting mechanism. This was to allow the body of the train to lean into corners, so it could go faster without things sliding around inside.
The Advanced Passenger Train prototype was finally launched on Monday 7th December 1981 to a blaze of publicity. But things got off to a bad start.
The tilt mechanism compensated so well that it made the passengers travel sick! Then an unauthorised stop on the return journey (to set down the minor television personality) made the train late into Glasgow! When the winter weather swept in that night, it seems luck was really against the APT. British Rail did their best to keep the service going over the next few days but moisture kept freezing in the air brake lines. In the end, the train was withdrawn from passenger service. The media scoffed and the APT became a favourite joke.
It’s a shame because the technology involved was incredible and engineers soon sorted the problem with the tilt-mechanism to stop the travel sickness problem. By 1982, British Railway quietly introduced the ATP back into service and people who used it remarked on its reliability and comfort. But the PR battle was lost. No more APT trains were built and finally it was withdrawn from service altogether. One train is now at The Railway Age museum in Crewe.
For more information about the APT-P, we found the section on Nick's Serendipitous Virtual Desktop and APT-P.com website very interesting.
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Quick Facts: Advanced Passenger Train Anniversary is a Commemorative Cover Issue date (2006-12-07): 07 December 2006
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