[REL] The Flight of the M-497
Posted: 26 Oct 2008 01:53
The record for the fastest train in America is not the modern Acela, cousin of the TGV. It is not the famed Turbo-Train with its Jet Turbine engines. It is not the Aero-Train, M-1000 or even the Pioneer Zephyr....
It is an every day Budd RDC that was used all over the country for day to day commuter service. To be more specific,
an RDC-3.....
this particular RDC-3 was built in Jan. 1953 for NYC as M-497.
(a self-propelled diesel commuter car, which seated
48 passengers—12 rows of 2 x 2 seating—and had both
a baggage and RPO (railway post office) compartments.
Known as a “Beeliner” on the NYC). The first of three
RDC-3s bought by the NYC, the M-497 was used in
several assignments, first in “doodlebug-style” service
running between Detroit or Bay City to Mackinac City,
Michigan run.
13 years later, as a "test" of high speed passenger service possibilities, the New York Central RailRoad Picked up a surplus jet engine for a intercontinental bomber from the US Air Force. strapped it to the roof of M-497, the rest is history......
In the summer or 1966, the American Speed record was set... 183.85 MPH by a light rail vehicle with a jet strapped to it.
It is an every day Budd RDC that was used all over the country for day to day commuter service. To be more specific,
an RDC-3.....
this particular RDC-3 was built in Jan. 1953 for NYC as M-497.
(a self-propelled diesel commuter car, which seated
48 passengers—12 rows of 2 x 2 seating—and had both
a baggage and RPO (railway post office) compartments.
Known as a “Beeliner” on the NYC). The first of three
RDC-3s bought by the NYC, the M-497 was used in
several assignments, first in “doodlebug-style” service
running between Detroit or Bay City to Mackinac City,
Michigan run.
13 years later, as a "test" of high speed passenger service possibilities, the New York Central RailRoad Picked up a surplus jet engine for a intercontinental bomber from the US Air Force. strapped it to the roof of M-497, the rest is history......
In the summer or 1966, the American Speed record was set... 183.85 MPH by a light rail vehicle with a jet strapped to it.
The Download for this fine unit is located on AMI trainsBob Scheurle wrote:The NYC was actively seeking to find a way to draw ridership back to rails back in the 1960s.
They invested heavily in three experiments:
1. The GM Aerotrain
2. The Xplorer
3. Testing whether the (then) present-day tracks could handle high-speed passenger traffic.
This is where the M497 comes into play. The B-36-H jet pod was installed to provide sufficient thrust to get a rail car moving at or above 180 mph for purposes of the test. This was the least expensive way to accomplish the goal. Wind tunnel tests were conducted at Case Western Reserve in Cleveland and the pair of jet engines were purchased on the surplus market from the good old USAF.
After the test, the engines were used for snow blower research, so the investment was well made. This was an engineering effort all the way. Some have erroneously labeled it as a PR stunt. The most important thing learned was that the tracks COULD accommodate high-speed travel without special preparation. So, the test proved just what was hoped.
After its moment of glory the M497 went back to Cleveland, where it was dismantled. The torque converters were reconnected and the seats restored. It returned to its Quotidian life as an NYC commuter car. After the tests, M497 spent it's last years as a pedestrian RDC3 running on the Hudson Line between Poughkeepsie and Harmon for Metro North.
As of a result of the Penn Central Merger (1968) M497 was renumbered No. 97, and renumbered again in 1969 as No. 98. It was maintained in Croton Harmon N.Y. and usually used on upper Harlem and Poughkeepsie runs. It was sold to Conrail in May 1976.
The ex-M497, ex No. 97 actually was signed over to MTA as No. 98 but never ran for MTA. The car was shopped and cannibalized and retired in Dec. 1977. After sitting ignominiously in the deadline surrounded by the weeds of Croton East yard for seven years, it was finally scrapped by Metro-North in 1984. - per Hank Morris
The New York Central's jet RDC RDC3 #M497, set the US speed record at 183.681 mph in 1966, in an experimental run between Butler, IN and Stryker, OH. The September issue of Smithsonian's Invention and Technology mag (right in the back) has more about the jet tests. The only practical result of this car was the jet snowblower now used in Buffalo.
So, here's the US rail speed records, as best as I can tell:
183.85 mph jet-RDC July 24, 1966
183.681 mph jet-RDC 1966
170.8 mph TurboTrain December 20, 1967
168.3 mph Metroliner
168 mph Acela October 11, 1999
2001 (power car) 3401 (end car, coach, aka Businessclass)
3506, 3508, 3504,3507 (coach)
3200 (end car, first class, aka Firstclass)
2003 (power car)
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