Supercar

On Saturday I visited my cousin in the village of North Weald, Essex, and checked out its former rail and underground station which had been closed down since 1994. For the past decade the attractive Victorian station has been reactivated as part of a local heritage railway line. Parked in front of the station building was a bizarre triple-component vehicle called 'Supercar'.

It had originally been constructed in January 1991 by London Transport, to help promote their new 'One Day Travelcard'. This 'Supercar' was part-London Bus, a section from a 1973 London Tube train, and a replica of a Network SouthEast train for the rear end. It was once viewed by millions on the TV advertising campaign for the Travelcard, but was soon after mothballed and forgotten. And now 'Supercar' has recently been rescued, restored, and is back on the road - turning up at events like real ale weekends and heritage railway shows.

Funny how certain names stick in your head. A previous incarnation of a 'Supercar', was of course Gerry Anderson's 1961/1962 TV series - the first of his SciFi puppet shows - which opened with a neat tune composed by Barry Gray:

Supercar... Supercar...
With beauty and grace,
as swift as can be,
watch it flying through the air.
It travels in space,
or under the sea,
and it can journey anywhere.

Supercar... Supercar...
It travels on land,
or roams the skies,
through a heavens stormy rage,
It's Mercury-manned,
and everyone cries,
"it's the marvel of the age!"

Supercar... Supercar... Supercar!

A section of the cover my old 'Supercar' LP issued by Golden Guinea records in 1961