The big 5-0! When the Penn Central Railroad began revenue Metroliner Service on January 16, 1969 with train 2000 operating from Washington D.C. to New York's Penn Station, a new era in American railroading was thought to have begun. Whether the promise of high speed rail has been delivered is certainly debatable, but it did demonstrate progress towards higher speed rail. The cars themselves would not last as long in the service which survived its name until ultimately yielding to Acela upon the delivery of those trainsets. Many Budd Metroliner cars still serve as cab cars on the Amtrak/Pennsylvania Keystone trains, including 9647 (originally 801), seen here set to lead towards Harrisburg, PA from New York's Penn Station on May 16, 2018. But perhaps the biggest legacy of the Metroliner program was the design of the cars themselves, which would be closely replicated for the construction of Amtrak's Amfleet I and II class cars.
The Northeast Corridor cuts through four New York counties on its brief stretch to the Connecticut Line east of Port Chester. There are several photo opportunities along the route.
