The National Railway Museum has announced that the nationally significant High-Speed Freight Vehicle 1 (HSFV1) has been donated to Locomotion in Shildon, by the APT-E Support Group.
The HSFV1 made international high-speed travel and freight carrying possible and represents a historic and ground-breaking landmark for rail travel.
It was developed by the Railway Technical Centre in Derby in the late 1960s under Professor Alan Wickens. The outcome of this was the development of new trains to run consistently at high speed across the existing network.
The vehicle was purchased in 2010 by The APT-E Support Group and displayed in Coventry’s Electric Railway Museum, but following its recent closure, a new home was needed and with the help of Shane Wilton and Graeme Gleaves from the Electric Railway Museum, the move became possible.
Senior Curator of Rail Transport & Technology at Locomotion, Anthony Coulls, said: “We thank the APT-E Support Group for their kind donation of this seminal vehicle. The research was part of the development of modern rolling stock and we look forward to placing it on display at Locomotion alongside the APT-E, two of the most significant vehicles of late 20th century railway development.”
Kit Spackman and Paul Leadley of the APT-E Support Group said: “HSFV1 is as important to modern high-speed rail travel worldwide as Stephenson's Rocket was the development of railway travel originally. It's very pleasing that at long last it's been given a proper recognition and a showcase in the National Railway Museum's collection.”
Locomotion, which officially became part of the Science Museum Group portfolio in December last year, will also be the new home to the British Rail class 306 no. 306107 later this year. This electrical multiple unit was introduced in 1949 and used on the electrified suburban lines between Shenfield and London Liverpool Street.
The Class 306 electric multiple unit has previously housed at the East Anglian Railway Museum in Essex, where it has been on loan from the National Railway Museum. The unit will return to Locomotion in Shildon for conservation and for public display.
Locomotion houses over 60 historically significant locomotives and rail vehicles and will give visitors from the North East and across the country access to railway history within the collection.
ENDS
For more information about the acquisitions and Locomotion, please contact:
Rebecca Fuller
Rebecca.fuller@nrm.org.uk
01904 686 271
Pam Porter
Pam.Porter@locomotion.org.uk
01904 685 784.
Notes to editors
Locomotion offers visitors the chance to see highlights of the national collection of railway vehicles in Shildon, the world’s first railway town.
Locomotion forms part of the Science Museum Group, along with the Science Museum in London, the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford and the National Railway Museum in York.
Locomotion is a partnership between the Science Museum Group and Durham County Council, which is a major funder of the museum.
Admission to Locomotion is free.
For more information visit www.locomotion.org.uk
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