Hi All
Thought I'd say hello properly, as a new member of this email list.
Rob Latham's recent prod for me to resend him some APT-P shots for his site's gallery
managed to spark off that latent APT-philia I've been suppressing for the last few years...
I've spent the last few days reading back through the past posts (yes, all of them);
absolutely fascinating stuff - it's great to see that so much interest is retained by people
who actually worked on and designed the trains, especially with regard to the E-train. If
only every historical/preservation group could claim that!
I had the pleasure of a journey on the P-train back in 1984 (see photos on Rob's site) at
the tender age of 12. My Dad had secured boarding passes for the family for a run from
Preston to Euston during the period of regular service running. Our seats were
(surprisingly) in the TBF immediately behind the power cars, and all I can remember about
the run to Euston was seeing some church passing the windows at a very high speed, and
at a very peculiar angle!
At Euston I naturally shot off up the platform to take photographs (87006 and 87012 were
also both there in their then-new experimental liveries), much to the annoyance of the
family who had to come and find me after 20 minutes or so as we were supposed to be
going around London for the day...
By some miracle on our return to Euston we managed to get another set of boarding cards
for the northbound service, so returned in the same style we had arrived (only in second
class this time). The driver let us cab 48107 on arrival at Preston, and I recall him
explaining how he would apply power to depart up the steep curving bank out of Preston's
Platform 6 before easing off.
I also recall that, as the train pulled out for Glasgow, I had this feeling that I'd never get
another chance to ride anything like that again... I've since sampled the 390 on the same
return run, complete with entertaining toilets and a complimentary 100%-window-pillar
seat reservation (at least it was dark at the time!) - it was smooth and fast, but just not the
same.
Earlier posters had been asking about the whereabouts of the de-articulated car
RDB977527 (ex Sc48204) - I wish I could say it was in my garden, but I've seen it reported
as cut at Vic Berry's in November 1989 (Ashley Butlin's MU disposals books). As for
RDB975636 (Lab 8, "Pilot", the pre-production P-train artic bodyshell (APT-pP?) later
sandwiched between the POP cars), www.departmentals.com says it was cut in October
1985 at RTC along with the POP vehicles. (Does anyone have a photo of the "other" side of
Pilot - i.e. the side with the windows and without the Expelair vent? Possible future
modelling venture!)
Living in Aberdeenshire means I'm a fair way from either APT, so thanks to the authors of
both websites for giving us geographically-challenged folks the chance to keep up. I'm let
out every so often, but the challenges of restoring, maintaining and (heaven forbid)
operating another group of similarly-unappreciated vehicles takes the majority of my free
time. Nevertheless, the problems associated with conserving, maintaining and restoring
the P-train are pretty similar to those we face in our group - perhaps ten years from now
we'll have the full history of WCML 25kV traction under cover somewhere appropriate.
I've not seen the P-train close up for several years (although you'll be pleased to hear it is
easily visible from 32,000ft), but the last time I was at The Railway Age, I glanced out the
of the door of Crewe North signal box up the WCML, and still did a double-take. All those
old instincts cried "Look! There's the APT!"
This picture sums it up really:
http://www.apt-e.org/index/apt150.htm
APT? Marvellous!
Owen Hodgson
(Secretary)
The AC Locomotive Group
http://www.aclocogroup.org.uk/