The Aerotrain was a streamlined trainset that the General Motors (GM) Electro-Motive Division (EMD) introduced in 1955. [1] [2] [3] GM originally designated the light-weight consist as Train-Y (Pullman-Standard's Train-X project was already underway) before the company adopted the Aerotrain marketing name. [3]
GM's Styling Section first brought the Aerotrain's train to life, as it did for all of GM's body designs of that mid-century era. Chuck Jordan was in charge of designing the Aerotrain as chief designer of special projects. [3] GM constructed two Aerotrains, each of which used one of the last two (serial numbers 21463 and 21464) of three experimental diesel–electric EMD LWT12 power cars [4] that the company built. [5]
GM based the EMD LWT12's power components on those in the EMD SW1200 switcher. Like the SW1200, the LWT12 used the company's model EMD 567C 12-cylinder prime mover that could produce 1,200 horsepower. [6] The power car featured a cab that mimicked an aircraft's cockpit. The locomotive's overall design was similar to that of General Motors automobiles at the time. [3]
The company completed the Aerotrains by coupling each of the two locomotives to sets of ten modified GM Truck & Coach Division (GMC) 40-seat intercity highway bus bodies. Designed to resemble the new PD-4501 Scenicruiser buses that GMC was building for Greyhound, the Aerotrain's passenger cars had windows with slanted sides. [3] [7] The finned back end of the train resembled the rear of a 1955 Chevrolet or Pontiac station wagon. [8] Each car rode on two axles with an air suspension system that was intended to give a smooth ride, but had the opposite effect. [3] [9]
GM returned to a concept first used at the start of the streamliner era: semi-permanently coupled trains. The cars were 40 feet long, half the length of standard designs, thereby reducing the weight by 50%. To further reduce weight, the locomotives and cars were made of aluminum, rather than steel. [3]
On August 22, 1955, Mrs. N.C. Dezendorf, the wife of GM vice-president and EMD general manager N.C. Dezendorf, christened the first Aerotrain trainset (GM-T1) during a press preview of the train that EMD held at its plant in McCook, Illinois (mailing address: La Grange, Illinois) near Chicago. [3] [10] On January 5, 1956, one Aerotrain made a test run from Washington to Newark on the Pennsylvania Railroad while the other traveled in four hours from Chicago to Detroit on the New York Central Railroad. [8]
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In late February 1956, the Pennsylvania Railroad rented the first train from GM and began operating it between New York City and Pittsburgh as the Pennsy (No. 1000). [3] [8] In June, the Pennsylvania reduced its Aerotrain's route, whereupon the trainset traveled only between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. [8]
After the second train’s initial test run on January 5, General Motors demonstrated it on several railroads, including the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, where in April the train operated in California between Los Angeles and San Diego as a San Diegan . [3] In late April, the New York Central began to operate that train in revenue service as the Great Lakes Aerotrain between Chicago and Detroit during a trial period. [3] [8] [12] From July to October, the New York Central ran the train between Chicago and Cleveland while continuing the trial period, after which it returned the train to GM. [3] [8] [13]
In December 1956, the Union Pacific Railroad began to operate the second train between Los Angeles and Las Vegas as the City of Las Vegas (No. 1001). [8] [14] [15] The Pennsy continued to run between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh until June 1957, after which time the first trainset joined the second in the Union Pacific's City of Las Vegas service. [8] [16] Dissatisfied with both, the Union Pacific stopped operating the trainsets in September and October 1957. [8] [14]
In October, 1958, General Motors sold both trainsets at a discount to the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (the Rock Island line), which designated their locomotives as numbers 2 and 3 while using both trainsets in commuter service between Chicago and Joliet. [8] [17] The two trainsets ended service in 1966, ten years after they first ran. Although the Rock Island scrapped or re-used most of the trainsets' equipment, both locomotives and two pairs of coaches remain on display in museums. [8]
Meanwhile, the first EMD LWT12 locomotive (serial number 20826), began to travel on the Rock Island line between Chicago and Peoria in February 1956 when pulling the line's Jet Rocket train, which bore a strong resemblance to an Aerotrain. [5] [18] [19] The Rock Island later designated the power car as locomotive number 1. [20]
The American Car and Foundry Company constructed the Jet Rocket's coaches, most of which were similar, but not identical, to those of the Talgo II. [18] The last car resembled that of the future Talgo III. [18]
Unlike the slanted sides of the windows on the Aerotrain's ten coaches, [3] the windows on the Jet Rocket's twelve coaches had vertical sides. [18] [21] In addition, the Jet Rocket's Talgo-like coaches had one axle, [22] whereas the Aerotrain's coaches had two. [9]
After less than two years, the Rock Island shortened the Jet Rocket's route. The train then traveled only between Chicago and Joliet, as did the railroad's two Aerotrains. The railroad scrapped the train several years later. [18]
GM's "lightweight with a heavyweight future" was introduced at a time when passenger train revenues were declining due to competition from airlines and private automobiles. Although they featured a streamlined design, the Aerotrains failed to capture the public's imagination. Their cars, based on GM's bus designs and using an air cushioning system, were rough riding and uncomfortable. The design of the locomotive section made routine maintenance difficult and it was underpowered. [23]
Originally intended to reach speeds of up to 100 mph (161 km/h) and to travel between New York City and Chicago in 10.5 hours, [1] modifications reduced the Aerotrain's maximum speed to 80 mph (129 km/h). [24] [25] The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe needed a helper locomotive to enable the 1,200 horsepower LWT-12 power car to climb the Sorrento grade outside of San Diego when pulling the Aerotrain's ten coaches as a San Diegan. A Union Pacific LWT-12 later required the assistance of a 1,750 horsepower EMD GP9 switcher locomotive to transport the cars of the City of Las Vegas up Southern California's Cajon Pass. [8] [24] Uncomfortable riding conditions associated with the Aerotrain's higher speeds later prompted the Rock Island line to restrict its two cheaply-purchased Aerotrains to low-speed commuter service in and near Chicago, retiring the trainsets in 1966, after a decade of active service with the various operators. [24]
The EMD LWT12 locomotives and two passenger cars of each of the two Aerotrains that GM constructed are now on display. [23] The National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, Wisconsin, exhibits the Rock Island line's repainted Aerotrain locomotive number 2 and two of its coaches (parts of trainset number 2). [3] [23] [26] The National Museum of Transportation in Kirkwood, Missouri (near St. Louis) exhibits the Rock Island's similarly repainted Aerotrain locomotive number 3 and two coaches (parts of trainset number 1). [3] [8] [23] [27] The designs on the repainted locomotives do not resemble those that the power cars bore when last serving the Rock Island line.
Disneyland operated a scale version of the Aerotrain known as the Viewliner from 1957 to 1959. [23] [28] The Washington Park and Zoo Railway in Portland, Oregon, has operated a scale, diesel-powered replica of the Aerotrain (dubbed the Zooliner) to transport zoo visitors since 1958. [23] Idlewild Park in Reno, Nevada, operates a small train whose locomotive is fashioned after that of the Aerotrain. [23] [29]
On June 26, 1957, the narrow-gauge Santa Fe and Disneyland Viewliner (billed by Disneyland as "the fastest miniature train in the world") commenced operation. Two separate trains, designed and built as scale replicas of the futuristic Aerotrain, traveled a figure-eight track through parts of Tomorrowland and Fantasyland parallel to a portion of the Disneyland Railroad (DRR) main line. The Tomorrowland train featured cars that were named for the planets while the cars of the Fantasyland train were named after various Disney characters. [28]
The modern, streamlined trains were placed in service to represent the future of rail travel in contrast to the steam-powered DRR which represented its past. Motive power for each train consisted of an integral head-end unit driven by an Oldsmobile "Rocket" V8 gasoline engine. Oldsmobile also furnished the windscreen, doors and instrument console for each of the two 5,000 lb (2,300 kg) locomotives. The attraction operated until September 15, 1958, when construction began on the Matterhorn and Submarine Voyage; the Disneyland Monorail System took the place of the Viewliner in June of the following year. [28]
The Zooliner, one of three trains on the Washington Park and Zoo Railway operating in the Oregon Zoo in Portland, is a 5/8-scale replica of the Aerotrain. The Zooliner entered service in 1958. [30] On June 14, 2008, the zoo held a "50th Birthday" celebration for the locomotive. [31] The Zooliner remains the primary train for the zoo. [30]
Train-X was a lightweight set of nine short all-aluminum coaches articulated together that Pullman-Standard built and that two 1,000–horsepower Baldwin RP-210 diesel-hydraulic locomotives (one on each end) transported. The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (the New Haven Railroad) operated as the Dan'l Webster the consist that the coaches and locomotives formed. [32] The train traveled between New York City's Grand Central Terminal and Boston's South Station from 1957 to 1958. [33]
A nearly identical train having only one locomotive ran between Cleveland and Cincinnati as the New York Central Railroad's Ohio Xplorer from 1956 to 1957. [33] [34] Timetables show that the Ohio Xplorer ran in 1956 during a time that the railroad was running the second Aerotrain trainset (the Great Lakes Aerotrain) between Cleveland and Chicago. The two left Cleveland at 6:45 and 6:35 a.m. respectively and returned during the evening. [35]
The City of Portland was a named passenger train on the Union Pacific Railroad between Chicago, Illinois, and Portland, Oregon. The first trip left Portland on June 6, 1935, using the streamlined M-10001 trainset. With only one set of equipment, the train left each terminal six times a month. A broken axle derailed the trip that left Chicago on July 23, 1935, and the repaired train resumed service with the trip leaving Portland on February 6, 1936. In May 1936 it started running five times a month instead of six, allowing more time in Chicago between trips.
The original Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad was an American Class I railroad. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock.
A streamliner is a vehicle incorporating streamlining in a shape providing reduced air resistance. The term is applied to high-speed railway trainsets of the 1930s to 1950s, and to their successor "bullet trains". Less commonly, the term is applied to fully faired upright and recumbent bicycles. As part of the Streamline Moderne trend, the term was applied to passenger cars, trucks, and other types of light-, medium-, or heavy-duty vehicles, but now vehicle streamlining is so prevalent that it is not an outstanding characteristic. In land speed racing, it is a term applied to the long, slender, custom built, high-speed vehicles with enclosed wheels.
Talgo is a Spanish manufacturer of intercity, standard, and high-speed passenger trains. Talgo is an abbreviation of Tren Articulado Ligero Goicoechea Oriol.
The City of Los Angeles was a streamlined passenger train between Chicago, Illinois, and Los Angeles, California via Omaha, Nebraska, and Ogden, Utah. Between Omaha and Los Angeles it ran on the Union Pacific Railroad; east of Omaha it ran on the Chicago and North Western Railway until October 1955 and on the Milwaukee Road thereafter. The train had number 103 westbound and number 104 eastbound.
The EMD E6 was a 2,000-horsepower (1,500 kW), A1A-A1A, streamlined passenger train locomotive manufactured by Electro-Motive Corporation, and its corporate successor, General Motors Electro-Motive Division, of La Grange, Illinois. The cab version, E6A, was manufactured from November 1939 to September 1942; 91 were produced. The booster version, E6B, was manufactured from April 1940 to February 1942; 26 were produced. The 2,000-horsepower (1,500 kW) was achieved by putting two 1,000-horsepower (750 kW), 12-cylinder, model 567 engines in the engine compartment. Each engine drove its own electrical generator to power the traction motors. The E6 was the seventh model in a long line of passenger diesels of similar design known as EMD E-units.
The EMC-TA was a model of diesel locomotive produced for the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad by the Electro-Motive Corporation in 1937. The original six Rock Island Rockets streamliners were three- or four-car stainless-steel semi-articulated trainsets built by Budd Company, powered by six identical locomotives, #601-606. The locomotives were classified as model TA—the T indicating Twelve hundred hp (890 kW), the A indicating an A unit. The Rock Island Line was EMC's only customer for the TA locomotive model.
The EMC E1 was an early passenger-train diesel locomotive developing 1,800 hp, with an A1A-A1A wheel arrangement, and manufactured by Electro-Motive Corporation of La Grange, Illinois. They were built during 1937 and 1938 for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway for a new generation of diesel-powered streamlined trains. 8 cab-equipped lead A units and three cabless booster B units were built. The initial three locomotives were AB pairs built to haul the Santa Fe's Super Chief diesel streamliners, while the others were built as single A units to haul shorter trains. The locomotives were diesel-electrics with two 900 hp (670 kW) Winton 201-A engines each, with each engine driving its own generator to power the traction motors. The E1 was the second model in a long line of passenger diesels of similar design known as EMD E-units. All Winton 201A-engined Santa Fe passenger units, including the E1s, were extensively rebuilt into the 80-class E8M engines in 1952–53. These were similar to production E8 models, but derated to 2,000 hp so as not to burn out the early traction (axle) motors.
The General Pershing Zephyr was the ninth of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad's Zephyr streamliners, and the last built as an integrated streamliner rather than a train hauled by an EMD E-unit diesel locomotive. It was constructed in 1939 with bodywork and passenger cars by Budd Company and diesel engine, electric transmission, power truck, and other locomotive equipment by General Motors Electro-Motive Corporation. Because its intended Kansas City to St Louis route passed near the birthplace and boyhood home of famous World War I General John J. Pershing, the train was named after him. The power car was named Silver Charger, after Pershing's horse Charger, while the passenger cars were named after United States Army badges of rank—Silver Leaf, Silver Eagle, and Silver Star.
The City of Las Vegas was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Union Pacific Railroad between Las Vegas, Nevada and Los Angeles, California. It operated from 1956 to 1968. It was one of several trains to operate with the experimental General Motors Aerotrain, although this experiment was short-lived. After 1961 the train was known as the Las Vegas Holiday Special.
The Denver Zephyr was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad between Chicago, Illinois, and Denver, Colorado. In peak years it ran to Colorado Springs. It operated from 1936 to 1973. The Denver Zephyr continued operating after the Burlington Northern Railroad merger in 1970. BN conveyed the train to Amtrak in 1971; Amtrak merged it with the Denver–Oakland City of San Francisco to form the San Francisco Zephyr and dropped the "Denver" name in 1973.
The EMD LWT12 was a diesel–electric power car that was built in 1955 by General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD), to pull a lightweight passenger trainset. The General Motors Company developed both components under the project name, Train Y, but later marketed them as the Aerotrain. Diesel power was provided by an EMD 567C 12-cylinder engine, which produced 1,200 hp (890 kW). Two other GM Diesel engines provided current for train-heating, lighting and air-conditioning.
The Golden Rocket was a proposed named passenger train of the Rock Island (CRIP) and Southern Pacific (SP) railroads. Planned in the late 1940s, Southern Pacific eventually pulled out of the agreement and service never commenced.
TheNational Museum of Transportation (TNMOT) is a private, 42-acre transportation museum in the Kirkwood suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1944, it restores, preserves, and displays a wide variety of vehicles spanning 15 decades of American history: cars, boats, aircraft, and in particular, locomotives and railroad equipment from around the United States. The museum is also home to a research library of transportation-related memorabilia and documents.
The RP-210 was a streamlined 1,000 hp (750 kW) locomotive built in 1956 by Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton, specifically to operate with the experimental, all-aluminum Train-X coaches that were built by the Pullman-Standard Car Manufacturing Company. The model represented Baldwin's attempted entry into the lightweight passenger locomotive market, but only three of the low-slung diesel-hydraulic units were produced. The first RP-210 was built for the New York Central Railroad to power their Ohio Xplorer train between Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati, and a pair was purchased by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad to double-end their Dan'l Webster, running between New York City and Boston.
The Roger Williams was a six-car streamlined lightweight DMU passenger train built by the Budd Company in 1956 for the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. The train was based on Budd's successful RDC DMU cars. The end two cars were equipped with streamlined locomotive style cabs and noses, resembling those on the Fairbanks-Morse P-12-42 Diesel locomotives. The four intermediate cars lacked operating controls and cabs.
The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Rockets were lightweight, streamlined diesel-electric passenger trains built by the Budd Company. These six trains were the first streamlined equipment purchased by the Rock Island, as well as being its first diesel-powered passenger trains. Four of the trains consisted of three cars each, the other two each had four cars.
Only three LWT12 units were built. First one, EMD serial number 20826, entered service with the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad to pull the "Talgo Jet Rocket" train between Chicago and Peoria. Second and third units, EMD serial numbers 21463 and 21464, became integrated into the Aerotrain. Two of the three LWT12 locomotives are now in the care of museums.[ permanent dead link ]
The Aerotrain ran on the UP from December 18, 1956, until September 14, 1957, when it was replaced by conventional service.
In addition, the cars would ... have only one axle with two wheels at the rear end, while the front end would be mounted on the next car's axle.
Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific RR ... "Aerotrain No. 2" at the National Railroad Museum, Green Bay, 8/70
From KETC, Living St. Louis. Producer Jim Kirchherr visits the Museum of Transportation where the GM Aerotrain is on display.Video: 9:12 minutes.
The Aerotrain on display at the Museum of Transportation did not live up to its billing as "the train of the future" despite its modern styling and engineering innovations.Video: 8:06 minutes.
Aldo opted for another engine the brothers had built, this one a gasoline/propane powered replica of a 1957 General Motors passenger diesel ... .
In 2015, the train will run daily from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. beginning Saturday, March 28 through Sunday, April 12.
Media related to Aerotrain (GM) at Wikimedia Commons
