An article from the Midland Region Magazine Nov 1960

Quickest, quietest… that's the Midland Pullman

Says Miles Wyvern

When you board the Midland Pullman at Manchester Central, as I did the other day, the first impression you get is one of luxury and soundlessness. Once through the mirror-finished vestibule doors, the familiar station noises are cut off with disconcerting suddenness. You're in a warm air-conditioned world of foot-hugging carpets, clean table-linen and inviting upholstery. Even the conversation of nearby passengers comes through as a mere murmur, so well are the internal acoustics arranged.

A smart attendant showed me to my seat, seizing hat and coat and placing them quickly on the rack - presumably lest I should attempt, unpardonably, to do that little chore myself. Since most of my fellow passengers were displaying an air of sang-froid, which apparently bespoke a life-time of travelling on such a train, I stifled my interest and curiosity with a similar cloak of sophistication. Settling down in the armchair seat and promising myself a session with the two intriguing seat adjustment controls later in the journey, I opened that morning's Guardian and attempted to read.

A smooth start

It says much for that newspaper that, surrounded by so much to distract my interest, I eventually became absorbed. When a few minutes later I looked at my watch t showed 8.51. Good heavens! A minute past departure time and we hadn't moved. . .correction, we hadn't apparently moved. A look through the windows showed the soundless outside world rolling by. We had actually pulled out of the station without the slightest sensation of movement.

I was able to check the smooth starting of the train after its single intermediate stop at Cheadle Heath, where several more passengers joined the train. The departure was a beauty - and spoke well for the draw and buff gear between the coaches, which was specially designed to assist in smooth pick-up of speed by the train when starting.

Even as we gathered speed there was no increase in noise, no vibration. It was uncanny. Like travelling in a vacuum. Fifty miles an hour felt like five on this train. Trains going the other way glided past the window like ghosts, quickly, silently. The clickety-clack of the rail joints was all but inaudible even in tunnels.

As we slipped steadily along at 70-80 m p h leaving Manchester far astern and entering the beautiful mist-shrouded Peak District, it struck me that one of the effects of quietness and comfort inside the train was that passengers tended to take a much greater interest in the passing scenery. They stared with fascination as the views from the windows changed abruptly when the train emerged from cuttings and tunnels. It was all rather like watching a silent film in glorious colour.

Attracting attention

The windows are double-glazed, so there is no misting, and no penetration by outside noise. In sunny weather Venetian blinds can be lowered and adjusted between the two panes of glass. If you have ever had the luck to travel in a really swish Rolls Royce you will have an idea of what it is like on the Midland Pullman -not only because of the comfort but in the stares you attract from passers-by. For the blue and cream streamliner gets a good looking over from everyone en route - railwaymen, passengers at stations, farm workers and all manner of trackside rubbernecks. There was even one man, oddly enough in his shirtsleeves despite the chilly morning, who grimly shot us with his ciné camera from a perch on the trackside fence near Harpenden. One imagined that he had rushed from his house in mid-shave and then dashed across the damp fields to be in time to record our passing.

Motorway crawlers

One point in the journey where the sensation of speed intruded for a moment was near Luton where the M1 motorway runs parallel to the line for a mile or so. Cars which must have been travelling in the sixties appeared to be crawling as we swiftly overtook them.

While it is difficult to analyse the feeling of well-being experienced as a passenger on this train, it is without any doubt due in large measure to the solicitousness of the train staff. The service is really superb. Meals and drinks are served quickly and quietly with calm efficiency The Pullman attendant - former London Midland dining car men, do a grand job. The Conductor was Maurice Walton, 36 years on the railway, who used to work on the Marylebone -Manchester run. It was he who announced over the train's public address system that tickets were to be collected and, later, that the train was approaching destination. If there had been any delay he could have kept passengers in the picture.

"But it doesn't do to use the p.a. system too much," he told me. "Our passengers wouldn't appreciate such intrusion. I use it only when I think it will be of help to them."

The best in Europe

We drew into St Pancras on time feeling like VIPs. For me it was a memorable trip, a glimpse into the future of railway travel. For even though it will be a long time before all main line trains are like the Midland Pullman, this does represent the ultimate aim.

The six-coach train conveys 132 first class passengers and loadings on the Manchester-London journeys have been good, and are increasing. It received much favour- able Press publicity when it came into service on 4 July last and its reception among businessmen has been outstandingly good. The Midland Pullman made a great impression on a team of eight American railway executives who recently visited Britain and six continental countries. They called it: "the best train in Europe".

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