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We are pleased to announce that we now have on our site at Coventry a key part of the story of high speed rail, the forerunner of most high speed trains in the world today.

When BR first considered high speed, it was in fact in order to speed up freight. Traditionally, freight was carried in slow moving trains that got in the way of passenger services. Simply running the freight vehicles faster led to bad riding (and the potential for derailments) and damaged the track. The BR Research Department at Derby came up with an improved suspension system to provide better stability at speed, and in 1966, after scale testing, incorporated it into a new flat wagon known as HSFV1 (High Speed Freight Vehicle 1).

The wagon survived at Derby for many years, and earlier this year was acquired by the APT-E Support Group in view of its signficance. Electric Railway Museum is very pleased to be able to provide a home for the vehicle, and it will be on display at our Open Weekend in September.

Our own vehicles are continuing to see work carried out. The Class 309s are now three-quarters complete in priming paint, and work has been done on roofs and gutters. Internal cleaning is also underway, with particular attention being paid to the toilets.

We are also pleased to see that privately owned vehicles are not being neglected, with a gang working on external cleaning of the Class 312 at the weekend.

Full reports on all these stories and more will be in our magazine, due out soon! See How you can help for details of how to join our Supporters Association and ensure you don't miss out.