Design
The Blue Pullmans had a maximum speed of 90 mph (140 km/h). The fixed couplings reduced much of the jerky movement experienced by conventionally-buffered carriages and allowed smooth acceleration and stable running. The bogies featured hydraulically-damped helical springs, and the axles were pneumatically braked in a two-stage system, allowing highly controlled stopping.
The entire train was air-conditioned with automatic humidity control. Motor cars contained a large primary diesel engine and generator for motive power. A secondary diesel engine and auxiliary generator provided electrical power for the air-conditioning, fridges and ancillary equipment. A single auxiliary was sufficient to power the train systems normally. An onboard technician monitored the supply of services.
The passenger areas had armchair-type table seating in a 2+1 formation, each with a table lamp and steward call button. The saloons were protected from track noise by extra insulation in the bodywork and double-glazed windows with Venetian blinds between the panes.
Read more about this topic: British Rail Classes 251 And 261
Famous quotes containing the word design:
“The reason American cars don’t sell anymore is that they have forgotten how to design the American Dream. What does it matter if you buy a car today or six months from now, because cars are not beautiful. That’s why the American auto industry is in trouble: no design, no desire.”
—Karl Lagerfeld (b. 1938)
“Nowadays the host does not admit you to his hearth, but has got the mason to build one for yourself somewhere in his alley, and hospitality is the art of keeping you at the greatest distance. There is as much secrecy about the cooking as if he had a design to poison you.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“If I commit suicide, it will not be to destroy myself but to put myself back together again. Suicide will be for me only one means of violently reconquering myself, of brutally invading my being, of anticipating the unpredictable approaches of God. By suicide, I reintroduce my design in nature, I shall for the first time give things the shape of my will.”
—Antonin Artaud (1896–1948)