British Rail Class 370 Advanced Passenger Train – Prototype | |
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![]() Class 370 at Carlisle | |
![]() First-class saloon in a preserved vehicle. (The plain blue seat covers are post-withdrawal replacements for the original tartan material.) | |
In service | 1980–1986 |
Manufacturer | British Rail Engineering Limited |
Built at | Derby Works[1] |
Family name | Advanced Passenger Train |
Constructed | 1977–1980[2] |
Entered service | 1979[3] |
Number built | 3 full sets (6 units plus 2 spare vehicles)[3] |
Number preserved | 7 vehicles |
Formation | 7 cars per unit: DTS-TS-TRSB-TU-TF-TBF-M (full set is 2 units back-to-back) |
Diagram |
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Fleet numbers | 370001–370006[3] |
Operator(s) | British Rail InterCity |
Depot(s) | Shields Road (Glasgow)[4] |
Line(s) served | West Coast Main Line |
Specifications | |
Car body construction | |
Train length | 147 m (482 ft)[5] |
Car length |
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Width | 2.720 m (8 ft 11.1 in) |
Height |
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Wheelbase |
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Maximum speed | 125 mph (200 km/h) |
Weight |
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Traction motors | 4 × ASEA LJMA 410 F |
Power output | 3,000 kW (4,000 hp) continuous |
Electric system(s) | 25 kV 50 Hz AC overhead |
Current collection method | Pantograph |
UIC classification | 2′(2′)(2′)(2′)(2′)(2′)2′+Bo′Bo′ |
Bogies |
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Minimum turning radius | 91 m (300 ft) |
Braking system(s) | Hydraulic and hydrokinetic[6] |
Safety system(s) | |
Multiple working | Within class (max. 2 units) |
Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
Notes | |
Specifications given for seven-car units as at August 1981,[8] except where otherwise noted. A full set train would be formed of two units coupled back-to-back. |
British Rail's Class 370 tilting trains, also referred to as APT-P (meaning Advanced Passenger Train Prototype), were the pre-production Advanced Passenger Train units. Unlike the earlier experimental gas-turbine APT-E unit, these units were powered by 25kV AC overhead electrification and were used on the West Coast Main Line between London Euston and Glasgow Central. The APT-P is the most powerful domestic train to have operated in Britain, the eight traction motors fitted to the two central Motor Cars giving a total output of 8,000 hp. This enabled the train to set the UK rail speed record of 162.2 mph in December 1979, a record that stood for 23 years.[9]