APT Books


ADVANCED PASSENGER TRAIN The official illustrated account of British Rail's revolutionary new 155mph train

ADVANCED PASSENGER TRAIN With a collection of unique official photographs, a full descriptive text and detailed technical illustrations, this volume describes the evolution of a dramatic new train design which combines very fast speeds with high standards of passenger comfort and efficient energy utilisation.

An Avon-Anglia Publication ISBN 0 905466 37 3 Geoffrey Body © 1981

 

APT A PROMISE UNFULFILLED

APT A PROMISE UNFULFILLED Hugh Williams' position as APT-E Train Supervisor has given him first-hand engineering experience of the project and he describes the development of APT from the initial concept, through the building and testing of APT-E to the problems encountered by the prototype trains. The reader is drawn into the story, to experience the exhilaration of the 150mph runs and the frustrations of the delays to the programme at the hands of the Government, management and unions. Comparisons are drawn between BR's approach to the problems of high speed rail travel and the solutions adopted by the Japanese and the French with their successful Hikari and TGV trains. Finally the prospects for the next generation of trains are considered as BR continues in its attempt to turn a brilliant concept into engineering reality.

Ian Allan Ltd. ISBN 0 7110 1474 4 Leonard Hugh Williams © 1985

 

TRAINS IN THE EIGHTIES 1 Inter-City 125s & APT

Trains in the Eighties 1 TRAINS IN THE EIGHTIES - Five photographic albums featuring our railway system today -
  1. Inter-City 125s and APT (ISBN 0 7110 1091 9)
  2. Electric Locomotives
  3. Diesel Locomotives
  4. Electric Units
  5. Diesel Units

Ian Allan Ltd. © 1980

 

ON THE RIGHT LINES? The Limits of Technological Innovation

ON THE RIGHT LINES? On the Right Lines? examines a range of key factors that explain the limits to technological innovation. The book concentrates on British Rail's experience with the High Speed Train, Advanced Passenger Train and InterCity 225 projects. Reference is also made to the international experience with studies of similar projects in France, Japan, Germany, the USA, Australia and Sweden.

Frances Pinter (Publishers) London ISBN 0 86187 580 X Stephen Potter © 1987

 

HIGH SPEED TRAINS: Fast tracks to the future

HIGH SPEED TRAINS

A roundup of high speed rail systems worldwide. John Whitelegg is Head of Geography at Lancaster University, and a worlds authority on public transport. Staffan Hultén is Assistant Professor at Stockholm School of Economics, where Torbjörn Flink is a researcher.

Leading Edge press and publishing ISBN 0 948135 45 X © 1993

 

25 YEARS OF RAILWAY RESEARCH

25 years of railway research Twenty-five years ago in May 1964, British Rail Research Division came into being at Derby with the opening of new purpose-built facilities at the Railway Technical Centre. As well as providing BR with a research capability, with the key objectives of helping to secure future traffic, reduce operating costs, improve revenue and enhance safety, the Division also undertakes consultancy work for outside organisations. This book is published to mark this 25th anniversary, and the author has received valuable assistance and encouragement from the Director and Staff of British Rail Research. All the vehicles used by Research are described and a number of the projects, both past and present, and including the much-publicised Advanced Passenger Train (APT), are featured. The test facilities and laboratories at Derby are illustrated and described as are the two special test tracks operated by the Research Division.

Haynes Publishing Group ISBN 0 86093 441 1 Colin J Marsden © 1989

 

TWO MILES A MINUTE The story behind the conception and operation of Britain's High Speed and Advanced Passenger Trains

TWO MILES A MINUTE (First Edition)
TWO MILES A MINUTE (Second Edition)
The superb engineering which Britain's High Speed Train represents, and the technology behind the even more radical Advanced Passenger Train, are achievements of which British industry can be justly proud. With their HSTs, British Rail are now running the fastest diesel-electric service in the world, while the introduction of the APT will permit spectacular time cuts on routes which already have some of the fastest and most frequent trains anywhere.

In this highly documented and well illustrated book the author provides a definitive study of the magnificent engineering technology built into these new trains, and from personal acquaintance from the railwaymen responsible, reviews the basic philosophy behind their introduction, from the viewpoints of financial investment, service, marketing and timetabling.

These extremely fast new trains are being introduced in high service density on to existing lines already carrying a mixed traffic of freight and ordinary express passenger trains, and the author clearly shows how the new HSTs and APTs have been made compatible with existing track and signals.

Detailed reference is made to the ingenious mechanical features which have made possible an exceptionally smooth ride at speeds of up to the full 125 mph, together with a braking ability superior to that of slower locomotives. The author also discusses the proposals for introducing these trains on other routes from an intimate knowledge of current thinking within British Rail, while an important section of the book summarises details of many actual runs, as well as test performances.

Patrick Stephens Limited ISBN 0 85059 412 X Oswald Stevens Nock © 1980
Patrick Stephens Limited ISBN 0 85059 613 0 Second Edition Oswald Stevens Nock © 1983

 

BRITISH LOCOMOTIVES OF THE 20th CENTURY Volume 3

BRITISH LOCOMOTIVES OF THE 20th CENTURY Coming right up to date, the author finally discusses the motive power of the future in view of the latest developments of the prototype Advanced Passenger Train and its production successor, IC225, now in active preparation.

Patrick Stephens Limited Oswald Stevens Nock © 1985

 

BRITISH RAIL FLEET SURVEY 5 High Speed Trains

BRITISH RAIL FLEET SURVEY 5 Ian Allan Ltd. ISBN 0 7110 1297 0 Brian Haresnape © 1983

 

STRATEGIES FOR CULTURAL CHANGE

STRATEGIES FOR CULTURAL CHANGE

Paul Bate makes sense of a huge range of issues which must be considered in the struggle for change. He has developed a framework that will help students, researchers and practitioners alike to focus on a variety of conceptual and practical matters relating to business culture and cultural change. Strategies for Cultural Change represents one of the most ambitious attempts so far to provide a comprehensive approach to the design and implementation of a cultural change programme.

Elsevier ISBN 0 7506 2328 4 Stuart Paul Bate © 1996

 

BUSINESS BLUNDERS

BUSINESS BLUNDERS

Tells the stories behind some of the world's most disastrous financial mistakes from the collapse of business empires, through huge corporate errors to business bloopers.

Robinson Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1 84119 011 X Geoff Tibballs © 1999

 

ELECTRIC RAILWAYS 1880 - 1990

ELECTRIC RAILWAYS

A survey of electric railway development from the earliest days of the London Underground to modern electrified main line trains.

The Institution of Electrical Engineers ISBN 0 85296 805 1 Michael Ciaran Duffy © 2003

 

EIGHTIES SPOTTING DAYS - OUT OF THE ASHES

EIGHTIES SPOTTING DAYS - OUT OF THE ASHES

An all new 96 page colour photograph album as the book of the decade. If you were on the lineside during the 1980s, memories of those days will come flooding back through the first class colour photography, combined with captions that include memory joggers from the era, with items in the news headlines, culture, music and personalities to bring it all back from our youth. Inside we cover a wide selection of the classes at work all over the country and throughout the eighties. Many livery variations are covered along with informative captions that will be enjoyable for modellers and enthusiasts alike.

Strathwood Publishing Ltd ISBN 1 905276 30 3 Kevin Derrick © 2010

 

BRITISH RAIL - The Nation's Railway

British Rail: The Nation's Railway

British Rail was a success. British Rail is a contentious company, as controversial as Dr Beeching and his axe. However, this examination of BR's passenger services shows just how vital the organisation was. It successfully carried millions of commuters to and from their jobs every day; organised its trunk route services to yield a profit under the brand name 'Inter-City'; and pioneered world-beating research and technological development through its own research centre and engineering subsidiary. It transformed the railway system of Britain from a post-Second World War state of collapse into a modern, technologically advanced railway. And it did all this despite being starved of cash and being subjected to the whims of ever-fickle politicians. British Rail: The Nation's Railway is a story, expertly weaved by Tanya Jackson, of how all this was achieved against the odds. Complemented by stunning black-and-white and colour images, this is certainly a volume that no rail enthusiast should be without.

The History Press Ltd ISBN 9780752492674 Tanya Jackson © 2013

 

APT-E

APT-E

This book tells the story of the development of the iconic APT-E from its inception and construction to preservation and restoration.

Rapido Trains Inc. ISBN 978 0 9783611 1 2 Gareth Bayer, Kit Spackman and Paul Leadley © 2016

 

APT: THE UNTOLD STORY A study of a controversial project and its descendants

APT - THE UNTOLD STORY

The story of the APT is one of ultimate failure. The pioneering project for a tilting train was headline news in the 1970s and 1980s but it failed as much for political reasons as it did for technical reasons.

The story is still controversial, and many still see it as a missed opportunity. Yet the legacy of the original APT project is that tilting trains built by foreign competitors run almost unnoticed on Britain’s railway network today and much of the power car technology heavily influenced the design of the later InterCity 225s and the Class 91 locomotives.

Now David Clough has delved into recently released archive material and has unearthed a story never before told. He reveals some of the top-level thinking behind the APT project, internal politics and some of the real reasons for APT’s eventual, and expensive, demise.

Analytical and balanced, this is a fascinating read for those who would like to know more about what happened behind the scenes of the doomed APT project.

Ian Allan Ltd. ISBN 978 0 7110 3824 0 David N Clough © 2016

 

BRITISH RAIL - A New History

British Rail A New History

You think you know British Rail.

From the sandwiches to the inefficiency to the violent yellow livery, we haven't looked kindly on this, the last of our great state-owned organizations to be privatized.

But you don't know the whole story. From its creation after the Second World War, through its fifty-year lifetime, British Rail was an innovative powerhouse that transformed our transport system, uniting disparate lines into a highly competent organization - heralding 'The Age of the Train' and for a time providing one of the fastest regular rail services in the world.

Born into post-war austerity, traumatized, impoverished and exploited by a hostile press, the state-owned railway was dismissed as a dinosaur unable to evolve, and swept away by a government hellbent on selling it off.

Now, award-winning writer Christian Wolmar provides a new perspective on national loss in a time of privatization. British Rail is ripe for a new history.

Penguin Random House UK ISBN 978 0 241 45620 0 Christian Wolmar © 2022

 

A HISTORY OF BRITISH RAIL ENGINEERING LIMITED

A History of British Rail Engineering Limited

In 1970, British Railways Board established a new subsidiary company to take over the design, manufacture and maintenance of its rolling stock. British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) was born. The company drove a new era of rail technology and this new company history tells the dazzling story of BREL from its humble beginnings up until its sale in 1992 during the controversial privatisation of Britain's railways.

The company's work in designing the iconic new trains that would take Britain's railways into a new era is examined alongside its relationship with subcontractors and private manufacturers, as well as its tumultuous relationship with British Railways Board. BREL's struggles to deal with the legacy of the outdated and obsolete stock and infrastructure it inherited are examined in the light of new research.

BREL's little known success as an international exporter of British designed and manufactured trains is explored fully.

The company's heyday as a leading-edge technology manufacturer and its relationship with British Railways Research Division left not only a history of iconic trains but a legacy which is still with us on today's modern railway.

Pen and Sword Transport ISBN 978 1 399 06635 8 Richard Marks © 2024


Design

DESIGN FOR PASSENGER TRANSPORT

DESIGN FOR PASSENGER TRANSPORT

This book is based on the inter-disciplinary conference held at the University of Nottingham in 1978. It highlights the importance of good design as an integral part of public passenger transport operation by road, rail and air. It deals with the problems of passenger handling design before and after travel in airports, stations and interchanges, together with design for passengers within aircraft, trains, buses and other forms of public transport.

Pergamon Press Ltd. ISBN 0 08 023735 5 Edited by Frank Height and Roy Cresswell © 1979

 

BRITISH RAIL 1948-78 A JOURNEY BY DESIGN

BRITISH RAIL 1948-78 A JOURNEY BY DESIGN

Three decades of British Rail design development with a broad survey of the first 120 years.

Ian Allan Ltd. ISBN 0 7110 982 1 Brian Haresnape © 1979

 

BRITISH RAIL 1948-83 A JOURNEY BY DESIGN

BRITISH RAIL 1948-83 A JOURNEY BY DESIGN

Ian Allan Ltd. ISBN 0 7110 1319 5 Brian Haresnape © 1983

 

BRITISH RAIL DESIGN

BRITISH RAIL DESIGN

Danish Design Council ISBN 87 87385 32 5 James Cousins © 1986

 

BRITISH RAIL DESIGNED 1948-97

BRITISH RAIL DESIGNED 1948-97

British Rail Designed 1948-97 is about the design successes, and failures, of Britain's most extensive state-sponsored industry. It is a story of people and ideas, movement and design, speed and colour. In a few years every aspect of the railway system, from printed materials to vehicles and buildings, was re-conceived and re-branded by the leading British industrial designers of the mid-twentieth century: individuals and teams who styled much of modern Britain’s environment and consumer goods. This is a comprehensive study of the crafting, operation and marketing of a national transport system, by which four steam-powered empires were transformed into a modern enterprise.

British railway design has led world design trends. It has produced an extraordinary legacy of two and three-dimensional design icons, and is evident today in good, clear British Rail Designed, from the international Eurostar network to contemporary revivals of letter forms conceived in the early 1960s. With railways once again topical, as Crossrail, Crossrail 2, the HS2 network and other projects serve to develop and regenerate regions, it is timely to recognise the considerable achievement of British Rail design.

Crécy Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978 0 7110 3837 0 David Lawrence © 2016

 

AVOCET: In Pursuit Of Style

AVOCET In Pursuit Of Style

This is a unique, authoritative and richly illustrated account of the aesthetic development behind the prototype Class 89 locomotive – British Rail's first and only 125mph electric six-axle design. The book draws on the official British Rail archives and first-hand interviews with those involved in the industrial design exercise. Styling of the Classes 90, 91, the Advanced Passenger Train and the Channel Tunnel shuttle locomotive is also discussed in some detail.

Tolu Solanke © 2016


Bookmarks

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