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Budd Metroliner
The Budd Metroliner was a class of American electric multiple unit (EMU) railcar designed for first-class, high-speed service between New York City and Washington, D.C., on the Northeast Corridor. They were designed for operation up to 150 miles per hour (240 km/h): what would have been the first high speed rail service in the Western Hemisphere. Although 164 mph (264 km/h) was reached during test runs, track conditions and electrical issues limited top speeds to 120 mph (190 km/h) in revenue service. The single-ended units were designed to be arranged in two-car sets, which were in turn coupled into four to eight-car trains.
The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) ordered 61 Metroliner cars from the Budd Company in 1966 as part of a collaboration with the federal government to improve railroad service between New York, Philadelphia, and Washington. After difficulties testing the cars, PRR successor Penn Central began its eponymous Metroliner service on January 16, 1969. Amtrak took over the service in 1971.
Despite high aspirations, the Metroliner cars proved to have poor reliability, with less than two-thirds of the fleet in service at many times. Four cars were successfully overhauled for improved operation in 1974, but the rebuilding cost more than the original purchase price of the cars. Thirty-three more cars were overhauled in 1979–1980. However, by this time, new AEM-7 locomotives pulling Amfleet cars could match Metroliner schedules with higher reliability. Metroliners were withdrawn from Metroliner service entirely in 1981; they served until 1988 on Keystone Service trains.
Despite their electrical flaws, the Metroliners proved mechanically sound. Amtrak ordered over 600 non-powered Amfleet cars (which are based on the Metroliner design and also manufactured by Budd) in the mid-1970s. Beginning in 1987, Amtrak converted 23 former Metroliners for use as cab control cars on corridor trains. Fourteen more cars were used with minimal modifications: six as cab cars and eight as trailer coaches. Most former Metroliners were scrapped between 2003 and 2011. However, some cab cars remain in use on Keystone Service and Amtrak Hartford Line trains. Three former Metroliners have also been converted to technology testing or track measurement cars, and one more is used by Amtrak as a special-purpose business car. One original Metroliner is preserved at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.
On August 9, 1965, with the High Speed Ground Transportation Act of 1965 pending, representatives from the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), the United States Department of Transportation (DOT), and a private consulting firm began setting specifications for an electric multiple unit high speed passenger train. The PRR and the DOT disagreed on several technical details. The PRR wanted cars capable of 125 miles per hour (201 km/h), while the DOT desired 150 miles per hour (240 km/h) or even 160 miles per hour (260 km/h) to beat Japan's Tōkaidō Shinkansen. The higher speed was chosen, but caused numerous design issues. The PRR wanted cars with cabs on both ends for maximum flexibility, while the DOT wanted 4-car sets; two-car sets with a cab on each end were chosen as a compromise. The Act was signed into law on September 30. The Johnson Administration saw the new service as political capital and pushed for an aggressive schedule.
On May 6, 1966, the High Speed Ground Transportation project ordered 50 railcars from the Budd Company, with delivery beginning in September 1967. The PRR paid $10.4 million, with the remaining $9.6 million coming from the federal government. The order consisted of 20 coaches with Westinghouse propulsion systems, and 20 snack-bar coaches and 10 parlor cars with General Electric (GE) propulsion systems. Coaches had 76 seats, snack cars had 60 seats and parlor cars had 34 seats. On August 30, 1966, Governor William Scranton of Pennsylvania announced plans to purchase 11 additional railcars for upgraded 80 mph (130 km/h) PRR regional service between Philadelphia and Harrisburg. The cars were ordered through Philadelphia commuter agency SEPTA, as the state was not permitted to contract directly with the PRR. The state, SEPTA, and PRR reached an agreement on November 3; the state and SEPTA would each pay $2 million, funded mostly by mass transit grants from the newly formed Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the PRR would receive a free 15-year lease of the cars. The PRR soon withdrew after complaints from the Red Arrow Lines and Capitol Trailways (which operated non-subsidized services which competed with the PRR for passengers), and the HUD grants were later found not to be applicable to intercity service, but the order was still placed.
The ancestor of the Metroliner multiple unit railcar was the Budd Pioneer III which had been developed for the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1958 as a new concept in long distance passenger service in the east. The cars used new propulsion technologies and lightweight construction in an effort to improve performance compared with older electric multiple unit technology. After a fleet of 55 improved Pioneer III cars referred to as Silverliners were ordered for commuter trains in the Philadelphia area, the United States Department of Transportation placed a follow-up order for 4 Silverliners, specially modified for high speed operation on the PRR's Northeast Corridor. Equipped with several modifications, including a semi-streamlined slab end on the front of the lead car, the experimental train ran a series of test runs, reaching a speed of 156 miles per hour (251 km/h) on April 2, 1967. This success allowed Metroliner testing to begin.
The new railcars were built for high-floor boarding, with only one door on each car able to serve low platforms. Along with the M1 series built for New York commuter service at the same time, these were among the first high-floor-only railcars in mainline service in the country. High-level platforms were constructed at several stations beginning in 1967. In May 1967, an initial service date of October 29, 1967 was announced. The name "Metroliner" for the railcars was proposed in June, and one unit was displayed at the Budd plant in July.
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Budd Metroliner
The Budd Metroliner was a class of American electric multiple unit (EMU) railcar designed for first-class, high-speed service between New York City and Washington, D.C., on the Northeast Corridor. They were designed for operation up to 150 miles per hour (240 km/h): what would have been the first high speed rail service in the Western Hemisphere. Although 164 mph (264 km/h) was reached during test runs, track conditions and electrical issues limited top speeds to 120 mph (190 km/h) in revenue service. The single-ended units were designed to be arranged in two-car sets, which were in turn coupled into four to eight-car trains.
The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) ordered 61 Metroliner cars from the Budd Company in 1966 as part of a collaboration with the federal government to improve railroad service between New York, Philadelphia, and Washington. After difficulties testing the cars, PRR successor Penn Central began its eponymous Metroliner service on January 16, 1969. Amtrak took over the service in 1971.
Despite high aspirations, the Metroliner cars proved to have poor reliability, with less than two-thirds of the fleet in service at many times. Four cars were successfully overhauled for improved operation in 1974, but the rebuilding cost more than the original purchase price of the cars. Thirty-three more cars were overhauled in 1979–1980. However, by this time, new AEM-7 locomotives pulling Amfleet cars could match Metroliner schedules with higher reliability. Metroliners were withdrawn from Metroliner service entirely in 1981; they served until 1988 on Keystone Service trains.
Despite their electrical flaws, the Metroliners proved mechanically sound. Amtrak ordered over 600 non-powered Amfleet cars (which are based on the Metroliner design and also manufactured by Budd) in the mid-1970s. Beginning in 1987, Amtrak converted 23 former Metroliners for use as cab control cars on corridor trains. Fourteen more cars were used with minimal modifications: six as cab cars and eight as trailer coaches. Most former Metroliners were scrapped between 2003 and 2011. However, some cab cars remain in use on Keystone Service and Amtrak Hartford Line trains. Three former Metroliners have also been converted to technology testing or track measurement cars, and one more is used by Amtrak as a special-purpose business car. One original Metroliner is preserved at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.
On August 9, 1965, with the High Speed Ground Transportation Act of 1965 pending, representatives from the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), the United States Department of Transportation (DOT), and a private consulting firm began setting specifications for an electric multiple unit high speed passenger train. The PRR and the DOT disagreed on several technical details. The PRR wanted cars capable of 125 miles per hour (201 km/h), while the DOT desired 150 miles per hour (240 km/h) or even 160 miles per hour (260 km/h) to beat Japan's Tōkaidō Shinkansen. The higher speed was chosen, but caused numerous design issues. The PRR wanted cars with cabs on both ends for maximum flexibility, while the DOT wanted 4-car sets; two-car sets with a cab on each end were chosen as a compromise. The Act was signed into law on September 30. The Johnson Administration saw the new service as political capital and pushed for an aggressive schedule.
On May 6, 1966, the High Speed Ground Transportation project ordered 50 railcars from the Budd Company, with delivery beginning in September 1967. The PRR paid $10.4 million, with the remaining $9.6 million coming from the federal government. The order consisted of 20 coaches with Westinghouse propulsion systems, and 20 snack-bar coaches and 10 parlor cars with General Electric (GE) propulsion systems. Coaches had 76 seats, snack cars had 60 seats and parlor cars had 34 seats. On August 30, 1966, Governor William Scranton of Pennsylvania announced plans to purchase 11 additional railcars for upgraded 80 mph (130 km/h) PRR regional service between Philadelphia and Harrisburg. The cars were ordered through Philadelphia commuter agency SEPTA, as the state was not permitted to contract directly with the PRR. The state, SEPTA, and PRR reached an agreement on November 3; the state and SEPTA would each pay $2 million, funded mostly by mass transit grants from the newly formed Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the PRR would receive a free 15-year lease of the cars. The PRR soon withdrew after complaints from the Red Arrow Lines and Capitol Trailways (which operated non-subsidized services which competed with the PRR for passengers), and the HUD grants were later found not to be applicable to intercity service, but the order was still placed.
The ancestor of the Metroliner multiple unit railcar was the Budd Pioneer III which had been developed for the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1958 as a new concept in long distance passenger service in the east. The cars used new propulsion technologies and lightweight construction in an effort to improve performance compared with older electric multiple unit technology. After a fleet of 55 improved Pioneer III cars referred to as Silverliners were ordered for commuter trains in the Philadelphia area, the United States Department of Transportation placed a follow-up order for 4 Silverliners, specially modified for high speed operation on the PRR's Northeast Corridor. Equipped with several modifications, including a semi-streamlined slab end on the front of the lead car, the experimental train ran a series of test runs, reaching a speed of 156 miles per hour (251 km/h) on April 2, 1967. This success allowed Metroliner testing to begin.
The new railcars were built for high-floor boarding, with only one door on each car able to serve low platforms. Along with the M1 series built for New York commuter service at the same time, these were among the first high-floor-only railcars in mainline service in the country. High-level platforms were constructed at several stations beginning in 1967. In May 1967, an initial service date of October 29, 1967 was announced. The name "Metroliner" for the railcars was proposed in June, and one unit was displayed at the Budd plant in July.