Well I've always assumed it was missing - as in removed. A bit of a surprise to know that it just slides up behind the rest of the front panels. All clever stuff

According to a chap today who's "in the know" regarding Pendo's, apparently a front coupling cover actually fell off, so they were all removed for safety reasons until the cause is investigated.
Whilst mentioning Pendo's, last week i was waiting for a Euston train at Glasgow central, it came in 30 mins. late due to flooding problems in the Carlisle area, within 25 mins. the same train was on its way back to London, now that's what i call reliability!
Does anyone know what mileage the average Pendo will do in a week?

I seem to remember reading that a Pendo unit covers just over 300,000 miles a year