Time's winged chariot:
WE WELL REMEMBER spending a sunny day in 1965 just north of Crewe taking our first look at one of the new Type AM 10 (now Class 310) emus. The train was on braking trials — odd how no one then thought the smell of brake pads a problem whereas now, to judge from letters to the press, it virtually calls into doubt the whole Inter-City 125 concept — which only shows how standards have changed. These reflections were prompted by a number of journeys recently in Class 310s and the Eastern Region's press demonstration of the Class 312 trains for the Great Northern outer-suburban services. What seemed a luxury train 10 years ago now appears — even in Mk2 form — frankly dated. The moquette bench seats, the vast areas of real tree wood take us back to before.the plastics revolution and show very clearly just what the interior design people have achieved with the Class 313 and the Mk3 coach. The difference between first- and second-class seems almost feudal. Nor is it just the ambience. The noise, particularly over jointed track, seems — subjectively — on a par with the dmus and aged coaching stock the new trains will replace. Yet the Class 312s will still be running at the turn of the century. Will Modern Railways in 1990 be carrying letters from readers urging a mid-life refurbishing for these vehicles? All this is not to call into doubt the Class 312's ability to perform and boost still further the growth of traffic on the GN. Rather, it is a demonstration, as we said earlier, of how standards have changed, changed under the influence of the giant strides in passenger accommodation and ride made by BR in only 10 years. And even so, we suspect that the true extent of the change will not be appreciated completely until the next generation of outer-suburban emus is unveiled on the newly-electrified St Pancras-Bedford route in 1981.

The new dmu — off to too good a start?:
BRITISH RAIL'S PLANS for the long-awaited diesel multiple-unit replacement, described elsewhere in this issue, demonstrate how railway engineers — like the military — prepare to fight the next war with the ideal equipment for the last. True, the new Class 210 is in essence a modern version of the trains the Southern Region produced 20 years ago when it needed a dmu and used standard rolling stock, a conventional traction engine (the English Electric 4SRKT) and electric transmission to nose-suspended traction motors of the same type as those used in its emu trains. But there is much more to the new units than a proper engine in its own compartment and electric transmission — although to many depot staff that will be more than enough. For they have clearly been designed to do properly all those things which the current fleet falls down on. For the passenger there will be air-and rubber-sprung comfort and comprehensive electric heating in place of rattle and vibration in a fug-or-freeze fume-laden atmosphere. While for the operator, the 1104hp (that 4hp shows a touching faith in the setting of fuel racks) will allow the Class 310 to mix it in suburban services where low top speed and acceleration cause existing dmus to hold up Inter-City trains. And with extensive use of standard parts and existing coach body pressings, the Class 210 should provide all these benefits at moderate expense.