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British Rail Class 370

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British Rail Class 370
Advanced Passenger Train–Prototype
370003 at Carlisle
In service1980-1986
ManufacturerBREL
Built atDerby Works[1][2]
Family nameAPT
Entered service1979[3]
Number built
  • 3 trainsets
  • 1 DTS and 1 TBF car spare[3]
Number preserved7 cars
Formation
  • 14 cars per trainset
  • DTS+TS+TRSB+TU+TF+TBF+M + M+TBF+TF+TU+TRSB+TS+DTS[2]
Diagram
  • BR883 or LC501 (M)
  • BR902 or LE201 (DTS)
  • BR931 or LH101 (TF)
  • BR950 or LH201 (TS)
  • BR960 or LH401 (TU)
  • BR911 or LJ101 (TBF)
  • BR942 or LK201 (TRSB)[4]
Fleet numbers
  • 370001-370006[2] (half-sets)
  • 48101-48107 (DTS)
  • 48201-48206 (TS)
  • 48401-48406 (TRSB)
  • 48301-48306 (TU)
  • 48501-48506 (TF)
  • 48601-48607 (TBF)
  • 49001-49006 (M)[3]
OperatorsInterCity
DepotsGlasgow Shields Road[5]
Lines servedWest Coast Main Line
Specifications
Train length482 ft 0+1⁄2 in (146.93 m)[2]
Height3.5 m (11 ft 5+3⁄4 in)
Maximum speed
  • 155 mph (249 km/h) (Design)
  • 125 mph (201 km/h) (service)
Weight434 tonnes (427 long tons; 478 short tons)
Traction motors4 × Asea LJMA410F[2]
Electric system(s)25 kV 50 Hz AC Overhead
Current collector(s)Pantograph
UIC classification2'2'2'2'2'2'2'+Bo'Bo'+Bo'Bo'+2'2'2'2'2'2'2'
BogiesBP17a, BT11 and BT12[2][4]
Braking system(s)Air/hydrokinetic[6]
Electronic control[4]
Coupling systemAutomatic tightlock (M)
Automatic drophead buckeye (DTS)
Bar (other)[4]
Multiple workingWithin class only
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Further information: Advanced Passenger Train
APT-P Driving Trailer Second (DTS) unit, in revised APT branding, with a black "mask" around the driver's window
APT-P Non-Driving Motor (NDM) unit, with Stone Faiveley AMBR pantograph

British Rail's Class 370 tilting trains, also referred to as APT-P (meaning Advanced Passenger Train Prototype), were the pre-production Advanced Passenger Train units. Unlike the earlier experimental gas-turbine APT-E unit, these units were powered by 25 kV AC overhead electrification and were used on the West Coast Main Line between London Euston and Glasgow Central. The APT-P is the most powerful domestic train to have operated in Britain, the eight traction motors fitted to the two central Motor Cars giving a total output of 8,000 horsepower (6,000 kW). This enabled the train to set the UK rail speed record of 162.2 miles per hour (261.0 km/h) in December 1979, a record that stood for 23 years until an InterCity 225 set reached 162.6 miles per hour (261.7 km/h) in a test run on Stoke Bank.[7]

The APT-P was unveiled to the public on 7 June 1978 and continued to be used for testing into 1986.[5] Due to ongoing technical problems with these pre-production units, and a lack of cash or political will to take the project forward, the planned APT-S (Advanced Passenger Train Squadron Service) production-series units were never built, but did influence the design of the later InterCity 225 sets designed for the East Coast Main Line electrification. The influence is strongest with the Class 91 locos which took many features from the APT powercars. The technology was later sold to Fiat and used for improving their second generation Pendolino trains which have been used worldwide, including the West Coast Main Line.

Numbering

Units were numbered 370001-370006 (plus two spare cars labelled 370007)[3] and were formed as follows:

  • 48101-48107 - Driving Trailer Second
  • 48201-48206 - Trailer Second
  • 48401-48406 - Trailer Restaurant Second Buffet
  • 48301-48306 - Trailer Unclassified
  • 48501-48506 - Trailer First
  • 48601-48607 - Trailer Brake First
  • 49001-49006 - Non-Driving Motor[3]

A full train was made up of two units running back-to-back, with the two motor cars adjoining. The motor cars had no seating accommodation or through-gangway, so the two halves of the train were unconnected for passengers.

Withdrawal

All six units were withdrawn during 1985-1986, and most cars were quickly scrapped. Only a handful of cars have survived;

  • 49006 is a Non-Driving Motor Car, and is at the Electric Railway Museum, Warwickshire, near Coventry on loan from the National Railway Museum.
  • Crewe Heritage Centre, a museum located next to Crewe station, has a rake of six cars formed into a single train:[1]
    • 48103 - Driving Trailer Second
    • 48404 - Trailer Restaurant Second Buffet
    • 48603 - Trailer Brake First
    • 49002 - Non-Driving Motor
    • 48602 - Trailer Brake First
    • 48106 - Driving Trailer Second

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Advanced Passenger Train – Prototype". The Crewe Heritage Centre. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Class 370 (Advanced Passenger Train)". The Railway Centre. Archived from the original on 21 August 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d e Marsden 1983, pp. 119–120
  4. ^ a b c d "Vehicle Diagram Book No.210 for Electrical Multiple Units (including A.P.T.)" (PDF). Barrowmore MRG. BRB Residuary Ltd. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Testing the APT-P". traintesting.com. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  6. ^ "British Rail's Advanced Passenger Train" (PDF). The Railways Archive. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  7. ^ "Train smashes speed record". BBC News. 30 July 2003. Retrieved 2 June 2010.

Sources

Literature

Further reading

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