Our new and improved Advanced Passenger Trains are just what the model railway world has been waiting for!
The APT is a popular model subject. Our latest version boasts many improvements on past offerings, so your APT can easily move around your tracks.
Magnetic couplings and realistic crew figures bring the design to life. The highly detailed locomotive includes a 21-pin decoder fitment and is HM7000 compatible. The motor car is now slightly heavier to improve traction, and we’ve upgraded the NDM motor pivot mounts too.
We’ve also redesigned the cab windows to reflect the original train more accurately and modified the pantograph, making the model more robust and efficient. Plus, we’ve updated the lighting PCB, so the capacitor is no longer visible.
History
The idea behind the APT was solid. Engineers wanted to create a train that was faster and more efficient than anything else available at the time. Their plans were ambitious – the trains included a computerised tilting system that could effortlessly navigate the tight turns of Britain’s ageing railways, speeding up journeys by 40%!
The first APT-P rolled onto the railways in 1979. They were continuously developed until 1987, with mixed reactions, including a period of passenger service between 1983 and 1985. When the cheaper IC125 HST made its way onto the tracks, the APT was withdrawn, deemed too unreliable, expensive, and complex to compete.
However, the APT legacy continues. The IC225 programme used elements from the design, and as did the world-famous tilting Alstom Pendolino trains that still operate today on the West Coast mainline.
