Ahead of the Curve
It was sleek, secretive and fast, with technologies imported from previously unknown sources. No, not a US spy plane from the Cold War, but BR’s secret weapon in the fight against road and air transport in the late-1960s and early-1970s.
The Advanced Passenger Train (APT) concept was first mooted in the early-1960s and over the next 20 years developed from an idea to a working prototype and eventually pre-series trains that BR hoped would help it to win passengers back from the motorways and airlines. It’s a fascinating story, packed with imagination, intrigue, triumph and, ultimately, disappointment.
Fifteen years after its creation, British Railways was in financial turmoil and facing ever-growing competition from air travel and mass car ownership. Around the same time, BR’s research, development and engineering teams were brought together as the new Railway Technical Centre (RTC) which
