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The Official Rapido APT-E Thread


rapidotrains
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Forgive my ignorance...

....The SA bogies were only used for the inaugural run and thereafter the train was blacked by ASLEF and underwent a rebuild and all the remaining trails were with the E1T....

... but why on earth "black" the APT? I suppose it is an illustration of one of the many poor decisions made on both sides of the management/worker divide that has plagued UK railways..... Who knows what would have happened to British railways had it not been "blacked"?

 

Anyway, back to the matter in hand. I'm not at all interested in the APT, but I really, really wish Jason a huge success with the APT. I see success with the APT as a stepping stone towards Rapido producing other  DMUs and EMUs for the UK market, the ones considered as "untouchable" by the usual manufacturers. I for one would be in the market for a Class 302, 305 or 306.

 

Good Luck Jason

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ASLEF blacked everything in the 70s (or tried to). I didn't begin my railway career until the early 80s, but the legacy was still very much evident. There were some very unhappy people on both sides of the boardroom table.

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i was wondering the above point too?

 

to add to it also my question is what does SA stand for? i've narrowed it down to anything between swinging arm or south african!!

 

ASLEF blacked everything in the 70s (or tried to). I didn't begin my railway career until the early 80s, but the legacy was still very much evident

i didnt start til the 2000s and it was still evedent then (although at a more local level) Edited by big jim
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It was interesting to note in the video that the model APT-E model will be designed to allow for drop-in replacement wheels for EM and P4. The video does not say, but presumably these will have to be sourced separately but nevertheless this does seem to be an enormous step forward for those who model in these gauges as it is unusual for manufacturers to take them into account.

 

I hope the project is successful and given the very high specification I may even be prepared to buy one even though I model the Southern Region in the fifties.

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Forgive my ignorance...

... but why on earth "black" the APT? I suppose it is an illustration of one of the many poor decisions made on both sides of the management/worker divide that has plagued UK railways..... Who knows what would have happened to British railways had it not been "blacked"?

 

Anyway, back to the matter in hand. I'm not at all interested in the APT, but I really, really wish Jason a huge success with the APT. I see success with the APT as a stepping stone towards Rapido producing other  DMUs and EMUs for the UK market, the ones considered as "untouchable" by the usual manufacturers. I for one would be in the market for a Class 302, 305 or 306.

 

Good Luck Jason

Because, at the time ASLEF was fighting to keep two men in the cab on trains that involved 100mph running. APT-E pre-empted the debate by only having one seat in the cab, so it was immediately blacked. What was even worse was the treatment of the Inspector who drove the shunter when APT-E was moved to Derby works for the modifications, because even shunting moves were banned. Having once been 'in the middle' between unions and management (in the print industry) I know how that must have felt.

CHRIS LEIGH

Edited by dibber25
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I couldn't see the video from links on here but I have seen the clip on fb with a googley eyed apt-e.

 

If it's the same one, I thought it was brilliant and funny ! Well done !

 

I will try and get it on locomotions Facebook page today so you can watch it

Yes, thats the one.

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Do feel free to forward the emails on to me and, if appropriate, I'll take action if anyone from here has been abusive. You worked to try and load a video which you couldn't load to Youtube. With such video uploads there can be compatability issues but there's no need for anyone to be abusive just because they can't see a video.

 

It's easy for me to say but there's more of a benefit to everyone through continued involvement which says that any haters can go and do  one.

Thanks Andy, I will not take it any further for the moment, lets get back to E train and the model.  But I will keep them for now in case of any more trouble.

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The last couple of pages appear to be preoccupied with a video clip which is apparently clever/ funny but few can see. Is there any chance of getting back to the subject of the APT-E? and let the person who made the video sort out how we can view it.

 

Ive upload the video to Youtube, and it seems to have worked ok, with sound this time.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTvkjXLqq7E

 

I really really hope this link works, please, please, please!!!

 

LOL, last chance.

It should also be on our facebook page later today

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I wonder if Rapido will sell the book separately perhaps. I've no interest in the model, but that book looks a 'must have' :read:

 

Jason's equivalent book on the Canadian LRC train was sold seperately, so there's a precedent for selling the APT-E book on its own too.

 

Re the ASLEF blacking of the train in 1972, they blacked the Class 252 HST prototype too because it also had a single manned cab originally. In addition they wanted extra pay for driving trains that were capable of over 100 mph, no matter if they were ACTUALLY running at over 100 mph or not!

 

In the HST's case there was space to move the driver's seat to one side and add a secondman's seat, but in E-Train's case it was impossible because of the crash beams that were either side of the cab. That resulted in an additional jump seat being bolted to the rear door that led into the Power Car itself and having FOUR people in the front cab during all the subsequent movements.

 

Those of you who have been in PC2's cab at Shildon will know how tight it is in there anyway, let alone with three people sitting in a row across the rear bulkhead!

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Re the ASLEF blacking of the train in 1972, they blacked the Class 252 HST prototype too because it also had a single manned cab originally. In addition they wanted extra pay for driving trains that were capable of over 100 mph, no matter if they were ACTUALLY running at over 100 mph or not!

 

Actually it was in respect of trains scheduled to run at speeds in excess of 100 mph.  If the train was scheduled to run at at any speed up to and including 100 mph then standard manning arrangements applied and even an HST could be single manned.  I believe they might well have asked for more money but that was not what the Associated was after - their aim all along at that time was to get a second Driver onto trains scheduled to run at speeds in excess of 100 mph (together with a  guarantee that no Secondmen would be made redundant as a direct result of the introduction of HSTs).

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Turbo Train, surely. Unless I really missed something...

 

Adrian

 

Yes, sorry, but I was just looking at a brochure for the LRC at the time.

 

And the ASLEF people in Derby certainly made a lot of noise about wanting more pay for driving at 100 mph and over when I was there, although not the six drivers we had on the project itself.

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Yes, sorry, but I was just looking at a brochure for the LRC at the time.

 

And the ASLEF people in Derby certainly made a lot of noise about wanting more pay for driving at 100 mph and over when I was there, although not the six drivers we had on the project itself.

Always worthwhile to ignore the noisy ones at the front and find out what the ones who matter at the back are thinking - ASLEF had a way of working which was unlike many other unions in that what really went on was very tightly controlled by a close circle (who weren't necessarily on the Executive) and the members of that circle could tell you who would be not only the next General Secretary but the one after that even though they would be elected to office (with no fiddling of any election, genuine contest every time but brilliant succession management and long term planning - and it helps explain why Drivers have done better out of privytisation than just about every other frontline grade).

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Always worthwhile to ignore the noisy ones at the front and find out what the ones who matter at the back are thinking - ASLEF had a way of working which was unlike many other unions in that what really went on was very tightly controlled by a close circle (who weren't necessarily on the Executive) and the members of that circle could tell you who would be not only the next General Secretary but the one after that even though they would be elected to office (with no fiddling of any election, genuine contest every time but brilliant succession management and long term planning - and it helps explain why Drivers have done better out of privytisation than just about every other frontline grade).

 

Democracy rules OK, or not, as the case may be. It sounds just like Communist era Russia to me.....

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It was only a slight diversion, and it was ASLEF's fault anyway..... :no:

Any diversion would be because of the actions of a signalman, and he would have been an NUR man...

;)

Andi

Edited by Dagworth
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I ordered mine two weeks ago and my order number was pi.

 

It was better than Bill's - his order number was the square root of -1.

 

I doubt he'll ever see his train seeing as his order number is a mathematical impossibility.

 

:stinker: 

Edited by rapidotrains
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I ordered mine two weeks ago and my order number was pi.

 

It was better than Bill's - his order number was the square root of -1.

 

I doubt he'll ever see his train seeing as his order number is a mathematical impossibility.

Mmmmm, pie - Homer Simpson.

 

But's Bills number isn't a mathematical impossibility, it's just imaginary. It is only in mathematics that it is possible.   ;)

Edited by Ozexpatriate
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