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rlkitterman — British Railways APT-E Experimental Prototype

#britain #durham #england #nrm #railcar #gasturbine #expresstrain #highspeedtrain #railmotor #shildon #britishrailways #railroadmuseum #nationalrailwaymuseum #experimentalprototype #passengertrain #high_speed_rail
Published: 2016-02-04 14:20:49 +0000 UTC; Views: 1416; Favourites: 22; Downloads: 2
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Description In 1970, British Railways commissioned Derby Works to build an experimental high-speed train known as the Advanced Passenger Train (APT), which was meant to accelerate West Coast Main Line (WCML) express passenger services to match the Japanese Shinkansen and French TGV.  The APT-E experimental prototype train was the first British train to be powered by gas turbine engines, and also the first British tilting train.  It was tested from 1972 to 1976, exceeding 150 miles per hour in testing, but the APT never entered commercial service due to bad press generated by the troubled APT-P, and the British government withdrew funding for the project.  The APT-E train, which has been a museum piece for forty years while Britain has turned to importing foreign-designed high-speed trains, is on display at the National Railway Museum's Locomotion Museum in Shildon.
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Comments: 7

LTBD312-YouTube [2022-10-20 16:26:13 +0000 UTC]

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GDupons [2016-05-15 23:13:50 +0000 UTC]

I always wondered what they thought giving the cabin just this tiny front window for a train which should run with high speed where it's important that the driver has a good sight.

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evantulacmaster [2016-02-04 23:31:24 +0000 UTC]

wonderful.

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evantulacmaster [2016-02-04 23:30:54 +0000 UTC]

wonderful.

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Midway2009 [2016-02-04 18:20:47 +0000 UTC]

Impressive!

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Rockyrailroad578 [2016-02-04 14:47:56 +0000 UTC]

Looks a bit like K-9, fitting for the time it was built.

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kanyiko [2016-02-04 14:42:07 +0000 UTC]

The "ugly little stephchild" of the British Railways...

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