Introducting the APT-P - British Rail's Advanced Passenger Train
Unveiled to the public on 7th June 1978, the APT-P was a tilting train developed by British Rail for the InterCity sector and was designed to provide faster journey times on the West Coast Main Line. It was designed to run at an enhanced maximum line speed of 155 mph and with tilt enabled, the APT could negotiate curves 20% – 40% faster than conventional trains.
The APT-P was built by BREL at Derby and the allocation was divided between Glasgow Shields Electric Traction Depot and Crewe ETD, which consisted of six rakes and a spare driving second & brake first vehicles, numbered 370 001 – 370 007 (Class 370). Each rake would contain up to six articulated trailer vehicles and one non-driving motor vehicle, so that each train set would comprise of two rakes back-to-back with the motor vehicle(s) being situated in the center of the train.
Between 1979 and early '83 the Non-Driving Motor car and three trailer vehicles underwent separate tests, many, many tests. Once those tests were completed, the APT-P entered service between 1983 and 1985, operating a relief passenger service between London and Glasgow which ran three days a week. Between 1985 and 1987 it was then used for the development of future electric locomotives.
In mid-1984, TS Sc48204 was withdrawn from Set 370 004 and was sent to the Engineering Development Unit (EDU) at Derby RTC for conversion to an APT-U test vehicle, with rebuilding of the underframe being done to incorporate tilting bogies based on the BT12. Following this conversion some static testing was undertaken at Derby, as well as dynamic testing on the West Coast Mainline in an APT formation, where the coach was inserted between the TBF and NDM vehicles. The APT-U project evolved into the IC140 project which, once tilt was dropped from the specifications, became the IC225 Class 91/Mk IV sets used on the East Coast Mainline.
The following APT-P Kits are currently available:
| Code | Description | Formation | Cost | |
| APT01 | 14-car APT-P twin set for motorising - Requires Pantographs and a Tomytec TM-25 chassis. |
DTS-TS-TU-TRSB-TF-TBF-M M(dummy)-TBF-TF-TRSB-TU-TS-DTS |
£370 | |
| APT05 | 5-car APT-P set for motorising - Requires a Pantograph and a Tomytec TM-25 chassis. |
DTS-TFB-M-TFB-DTS | £160 | |
| APT07 | 7-car APT-P set for motorising - Requires a Pantograph and a Tomytec TM-25 chassis. |
DTS-TS-TBF-M-TBF-TS-DTS | £195 | |
| APT11M | APT-P Non-Driving Motor vehicle kit for motorising - Requires a Pantograph and a Tomytec TM-25 chassis. |
M | £40 | |
| APT11D | APT-P Non-Driving Motor vehicle kit (dummy) - Requires a Pantograph | M(dummy) | £40 | |
| APT13 | 3-car APT-P Trailer kit - can be hauled from TFB end only. |
DTS-TS-TFB | £100 | |
| APT23 | 3-car APT-P Trailer kit (with raised nose) - can be hauled from TFB or DTS end. |
DTS-TS-TFB | £100 | |
| SC48204 | APT-D Non-Articulated Test Coach Sc48204 (977527) | TS | £40 | |
| One additional vehicle added to existing order | £35 | |||
| Three additional vehicle added to existing order | £95 | |||
| Five additional vehicle added to existing order | TS-TU-M(dummy)-TU-TS | £150 | ||
| APT-TRANS | One sheet of APT-P Waterslide Transfers to complete a 14-car set. | £6 |
Each kit comes with the required bodies, chassis (with correct seating layout), bogies, transparent glazing and couplings. The only thing required to complete your kit are a Pantograph (or 2 for APT01), suitable wheels and livery application.
The bodies, chassis and bogies are printed in SLS Nylon PA12 and then polished, with the glazing being printed in transparent resin. Most items are made to order so you should receive it in around 4 weeks.
The following APT-P RTC Test Train kits are currently available:
| Code | Description | Formation | Cost | |
| RTC01 | 3-vehicle APT-P Power Car (Non-Driving Motor) test rake | Test Car 5 - APT-P M (dummy) - Test Service Car 8 | £100 | |
| RTC02 | 4-vehicle APT-P Trailer test rake | Test Service Car 9 + APT-P TFB-TS-DTS | £125 | |
| RTC03 | 4-vehicle APT-P Trailer test rake (with raised nose) | Test Service Car 9 + APT-P TFB-TS-DTS | £125 |
APT01 - 14-car set for Motorising - £370 |
A complete 14-car train suitable for motorising comprising of DTS-TS-TU-TRSB-TF-TBF-M-M(dummy)-TBF-TF-TRSB-TU-TS-DTS comes with 4 couplings, 14 trailer car bogies, 2 dummy motor bogies, 14 vehicle bodies, 13 chassis, 4 air dams, underframe valances for the motorised NDM vehicle and all glazing.
You will additionally need 2x Pantographs, 32 x Graham Farish blackened coach wheels and a Tomytec TM-18 chassis (for DCC modellers, this is extremely easy to convert) to complete this kit.
APT05 - 5-car set for Motorising - £160 |
A 5-car train suitable for motorising comprising of DTS-TFB-M-TFB-DTS comes with 2 couplings, 6 trailer car bogies, 5 vehicle bodies, 4 chassis, 2 air dams, underframe valances for the NDM vehicle and all glazing (18 pieces).
You will additionally need a Pantograph, 12 x Graham Farish blackened coach wheels and a Tomytec TM-25 chassis (for DCC modellers, this is extremely easy to convert) to complete this kit.
APT11 - Dummy Power Car Kit - £40 |
A single dummy power car which will come with 2 couplings, a pair of BP17 dummy bogies, body and underframe.
You will additionally need a Pantograph of your choice and 4 x Graham Farish blackened coach wheels to complete this kit.
APT13 - 3-car trailer set - £100 |
|
APT23 - 3-car trailer set (nose up) - £100 |
3-car Trailer formation DTS-TS-TFB comes with a coupling, 4 trailer bogies, 3 vehicle bodies, 3 chassis and all glazing (13 pieces).
APT13 is suitable for hauling from the trailer end. APT23 is supplied with the nose up and is suitable for hauling from cab or trailer end.
You will need additionally 16 x Graham Farish blackened coach wheels to complete this kit.
Sc48204 - APT-D Test Coach (977527) - £40 |
A single unarticulated coach which will come with a pair of BT12 style bogies with couplings, body, glazing and underframe.
You will additionally need 4 x Graham Farish blackened coach wheels to complete this kit.
Finishing off your models
Electra Rail (formerly Electra Railway Graphics) produce a wide range of vinyl overlays in both the original and revised APT livery, and also in some fictitious liveries including RTC red/blue, Virgin Trains red/black and GNER blue/red - to purchase the APT with included vinyls please visit the Electra Rail website at www.electrarail.co.uk for more information.
For those wishing to paint finish their models, waterslide transfers produced by RailTec Transfers are available for your APT-P kit for £6 a sheet.
Many of my other vehicles also have transfers available from RailTec Transfers, and, where known, these are detailed on individual model pages.
