AN historic vehicle which represents a landmark in rail travel has been donated to The National Railway Museum.

The nationally significant High-Speed Freight Vehicle 1 (HSFV1) has been donated to Locomotion in Shildon by the APT-E-Support Group.

The HSFV1, developed by the Railway Technical Centre in Derby in the late 1960s under Professor Alan Wickens, made international high-speed travel and freight carrying possible.

This led to the development of new trains to run consistently at high speed across the existing network.

The groundbreaking vehicle was bought in 2010 by The APT-E Support Group and had been displayed at Coventry’s Electric Railway Museum.

Following its recent closure, Shane Wilton and Graeme Gleaves from the Electric Railway Museum brought about the vehicle's move to a new home in County Durham.

Anthony Coulls, senior curator of rail transport and technology at Locomotion, said: “We thank the APT-E Support Group for their kind donation of this seminal vehicle.

"The research was part of the development of modern rolling stock and we look forward to placing it on display at Locomotion alongside the APT-E, two of the most significant vehicles of late 20th Century railway development.”

A spokesperson for the APT-E Support Group, said: “HSFV1 is as important to modern high-speed rail travel worldwide as Stephenson's Rocket was the development of railway travel originally. "It's very pleasing that at long last it's been given a proper recognition and a showcase in the National Railway Museum's collection.”

Locomotion will also house the British Rail Class 306 no. 306107, which was used on electrified suburban lines from 1949, from later this year. It had been at the East Anglian Railway Museum in Essex, on loan from the National Railway Museum, but will return to Shildon for conservation and for public display.