50 YEARS AGO JANUARY 1974

Governments sign Channel Tunnel agreement

AT separate ceremonies on November 17, representatives of the two governments signed parallel agreements with the British and French Channel Tunnel Companies, setting out arrangements for the financing and construction of the tunnel; and later a treaty authorising the second phase of the project, costing about £30m, covering access works on the Kent and Normandy coasts and the driving of initial lengths of service tunnel.

Full powers necessary to complete the construction of the tunnel and to establish a British Channel Tunnel Board will be sought in a major Bill being presented to Parliament during the current Session.

Prototype APT-E passes first testing targets

ONLY six weeks after starting technical trials under its three-year development programme, by October 11 British Railways’ APT-E was running at 125 mph over the 13 mile-long Old Dalby test track along which normal trains would be limited to 80-90mph.

The cant deficiency reached so far is 8in, which corresponds to about 8 degrees of body tilt, achieved using soft air-spring hydraulic roll and self-levelling suspensions. The two articulated end power cars and one of the trailers – housing scientific equipment and instrumentation – of the wholly experimental train were involved, while the second trailer car has been used in structural resonance experiments at the Railway Technical Centre, Derby. Having completed the initial track-testing session, the APT-E set returned to Derby for equipping a hydrokinetic braking system.