Turboliners Move

Matt Johnson wrote:

rohr turbo wrote:Still the fastest non-electric train Amtrak ever ran in revenue service, I believe.

That would be the UA Turbo, which hit 170.8 mph near Princeton Junction on a test run. The Rohr units were officially rated for 125 mph. I read somewhere that they could top 150 but that's unconfirmed. Even if so, still slower than the United Aircraft trains.

I remember the UAC scrap pile very well. It had 6 turbo engines 5 of which were used for power and one for head end power. Sometimes when the thing finally got to New Haven we would have a total of 3 of them running, two for power. We got to Boston but we had to baby it sort of and we did not make track speed sometimes either. I remember a couple of specifici trips one of which they ran a 3 car standard train in place of the UAC and we made better time with the E-8 and three coaches than we could with the turbo. Another time the train arrived New Haven with only 2 turbos running, they annulled the train right there and used us to deadhead it to Fields Point. We limped along although we eventually got there and I got to do some new trackage in Providence. We ended up deadheading back to New Haven on our regular return train from Providence. I shed no tears on their passing either. The sooner they scrap these things the sooner this topic will end, I hope.
Noel Weaver

I second Mr. Weaver's motion. The UACs also had to have a technician on every train. The same guys who did that job moved to Alb-Renns to be rider techs for the RTLs. They did not speak highly of the UAC equipment.

Matt Johnson wrote:

rohr turbo wrote:Still the fastest non-electric train Amtrak ever ran in revenue service, I believe.

That would be the UA Turbo, which hit 170.8 mph near Princeton Junction on a test run. The Rohr units were officially rated for 125 mph. I read somewhere that they could top 150 but that's unconfirmed. Even if so, still slower than the United Aircraft trains.

I meant to stress fastest...in revenue service. I think the UAs were limited to 100 in rev service. We know our Rohrs routinely topped 100 in service.

rohr turbo wrote: I think the UAs were limited to 100 in rev service. We know our Rohrs routinely topped 100 in service.

True. The French units maxed out at 79 in the midwest, after the FRA turned down an Amtrak petition to allow them 90 mph. But the acquisition of the Rohr units for New York coincided with the upgrade of the northern portion of the Empire Corridor to 110 mph standards. The RTL-III did hit 125 mph, if only once.

"Over the night of Feburary 15-16, 2001, this trainset tested at 125mph between Rensselaer and Hudson, NY, the first time it had achieved this speed and a defininte precursor towards its entering into revenue service."

http://www.davehonan.com/turbo/rtl-iii.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Wayside wrote:There's something wrong, though, when there has to be a technician aboard every train.

That arrangement seems to work out fairly well for the Talgos.

dowlingm wrote:

scratchy wrote:Noel, as they were before my time , what was wrong performance wise? Obviously, Turbines a Fuel Hungry beasts (which is why I'm assuming the BBD Jet train got no takers), but what else was wrong with them? Did you ever drive a LRC, when they were leased out?

LRCs were Alcos, not turbines... not sure what the connection is here?

LRC was another attempt at faster speed rail service, which I vaguely recall riding on a demo set from union station, in 1984, I think.

ok and topic was ??? Turboliners move.

Now, now Jaap...we let them have a little rope to discuss the verboten...let them have a little fun.

Say what you want about turbos and other high speed trains that are no longer with us, but as someone who appreciates scenery, I loved them because they had great panoramic windows. At least that's my recollection. I hate Amfleet cars with their tiny slits for windows. While they were running I had good experiences on the Empire line in NY. I don't ever recall a breakdown or any trouble. Maybe I was just lucky. I also rode a UA train in Canada from Kingston, Ont. to Toronto and it was a thrill for me. There was only a clear partition between the passenger section and the "cockpit" so I could see everything going on, including the track ahead. Those of you who never had that experience, you really missed a good one.

I'm not a mod, or a "backseat mod", nor do I want to be one. I am however, the member who started this thread back on the 3rd in hopes of passing along info regarding this upcoming Turboliner move. I see now why I actually had to create a Turboliner thread, and why there were none to begin with. The facts, stories and fantasies shared so far have been interesting to say the least. But please, to all fellow members, keep the thread "on track" and about the future (or whenever it's supposed to occur) Turboliner move so that this thread doesnt get shut down as well.
I don't mean any disrespect to anyone. Just a simple plea. Thanks...
Ben

We appreciate that, Mr. "Jeep"! It's not always an easy job, but I'm pretty happy with my moderators. And we do appreciate everyone keeping things on topic; some drift is to be expected.

KP-701 with GP15-D #576 and GP38-3 #722 took out one of the RTL-III turbo sets out of Bear, DE to Wilmington Shops this afternoon as per a source. From Wilmington it will move up to NJ tonight.

Swan song? Cool and sad at the same time.

Does anyone know if all three sets are making the move, or only this single set?

2 to be moved for training in NJ, 3rd to be scrapped on site at Bear, from what I've heard.