Didn't catch all three until a second look. Truely amazing! It seems that it was close to this time when people stepped up efforts to preserve more equipment in one way or another.
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These trains ran during a down time for the American passenger train. There was no constituency for preserving them. Your shot is a photo commentary on our misplaced priorities. One thing that most railfans do not get is that you could ride behind the engineer in the dome sections over the machinery.
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| Posted by on March 24, 2008 | |
What factor doomed these trains besides low ridership? If it was only ridership effecting their doom, then there should be no reason why these turbo trains can't run once more. The problem is, none exist. The thing to remember is we already have several semi-fully articulated train sets with just as much class. You just have to travel to the Pacific Northwest to see them.
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| Posted by JDay on March 24, 2008 | |
What a great historical shot, and with excellent composition. Check out the metal grid over the cab!
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The Turbos were initially problematic and may have gotten a bad taste in management's mouth, however, prior to their retirement (the last sets ran on VIA in Canada where they own the Canadian speed record), they were actually quite reliable and remarkably, not one single set ever derailed (though one did catch fire due to a problem with the fuel). One oft sited issue was the train was built as a set and consequently it was problematic to add or remove a car, and worse if one car needed service as the entire set had to be taken out of service. The grills by the windshield were installed after someone dropped some rocks from an overhead bridge. The set hung low allowing the only use of domes ever on the NE Corridor - from the dome car, you could see out the front window, as well as a view to a large speedometer. Thanks for your interest. Be sure to view George Hamlin's pics as well.
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