Turbo train

The Turbo Train was a high-speed train that operated in Canada and parts of the United States between the late 1960s and the early 1980s. Designed to reinvigorate the floundering passenger rail market, the Turbo Train was powered by a gas turbine engine and was reported to have a top speed of 170 miles per hour. The Canadian Turbo Train offered a four-hour service between Toronto and Montreal. Unfortunately, because it ran on pre-existing tracks and frequently had to slow down or even stop because of freight train traffic, the Turbo Train's trip only managed to shave an hour off the normal travel time between the two cities. For this and other reasons, including rising fuel costs in the 1970s, the Turbo Train was never popular with commuters and failed to achieve much success. As a result, it was ultimately pulled from service in 1982.

Background

By the 1960s, travelers and railroad companies alike were rapidly losing interest in passenger train services. For travelers, the rise of the automobile and the construction of interstate highways made driving a significantly more convenient and efficient way of getting from place to place. As this trend continued, passenger train ticket sales sharply declined and railroad companies, in response, began looking to get out of the passenger line business altogether. Not everyone in the rail industry thought this way, however. A few companies sought to recapture the public's interest in rail travel by investing in new technologies that would make passenger rail service faster and more attractive than ever before.

One of the companies that wanted to get people interested in passenger rail travel again was Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. Its idea for re-popularizing rail travel was the Turbo Train, a high-speed train that was to be powered by the PT6, a modified aircraft gas turbine engine built by Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC). Equipped with four of these powerful engines, the Turbo Train could theoretically cut travel times in half and offer commuters an alluring reason to start traveling by rail again. The Turbo Train would also feature a lightweight aluminum body and a cutting-edge suspension with tilting cars that would allow the new trainset to take corners faster than normal trains.

Ultimately, the proposed Turbo Train concept was approved and went into production. Designed by UAC's Pratt & Whitney, the Turbo Train was primarily built by Montreal Locomotive Works. In total, a fleet of five Turbo Trains were constructed, each one with a locomotive car at either end of the seven-car trainset. The pair of locomotive cars housed five PT6 engines, four to power the locomotives and one to provide electricity for the train's interior.

Once completed, the trains were leased by Canadian National Railway (CN) and put into service in 1968. As the Turbo Train began service late that year, its supporters were hopeful that it would provide the critical boost that the passenger rail industry needed.

Overview

Prior to the Turbo Train's debut, promotional materials sparked the public's interest in CN's new high-speed rail service. Although its speed was certainly a major draw, reduced travel time was not the only thing that made the Turbo Train a potentially attractive option for commuters. People were also excited about the train's comfortable accommodations. The interior of the Turbo Train's main cabins were lined with hand-spun fabric and featured plush seating. Travelers also had the opportunity to enjoy light snacks prepared in the train's catering car. For wealthier passengers, the Turbo Train included a pair of first-class cabins referred to as the TurboClub. Located in the raised portions of the front and rear of the train, the TurboClub offered more luxurious seating and décor. TurboClub travelers could also enjoy cocktails and fine dining that included dishes such as filet mignon, veal cordon bleu, and Cornish game hen. In both its standard cabins and the TurboClub, the Turbo Train gave commuters a chance to travel in style— something that seemed to be sure to get people to give rail transport a second look.

In something of a sign of troubles to come, the Turbo Train's inaugural demonstration run in December of 1968 was marred just a short time into its trip. On that day, a group of reporters was invited aboard the Turbo Train as it made its first public trip from Toronto to Montreal. About an hour after leaving the station, the Turbo Train approached a level crossing where the train tracks passed over a local road near Kingston, Ontario. At that moment, a truck driver behind the wheel of an empty meat truck tried to speed over the crossing before the train arrived. Unaware of how quickly the train was moving, the driver failed to clear the tracks in time. The Turbo Train collided with and split the truck in two. While the driver was uninjured and the train only sustained relatively minor cosmetic damage, the accident made for a less than ideal debut.

The Turbo Train's problems continued after it began regular service. Its brakes froze in the cold Canadian winter and its unique roof windows were quickly covered in soot from the engine's exhaust. These issues were minor, however, when compared to some of the bigger challenges that soon became apparent. One of these challenges was that the Turbo Train was unable to travel as fast as advertised. Although the Turbo Train's engines were capable of propelling it at speeds of up to 170 miles per hour, it did not have a dedicated track. Rather, it ran on existing tracks that were built for freight trains, meaning there were curves that were too sharp for the Turbo Train to take at full speed. Because these tracks also included level crossings, the Turbo Train frequently had to slow down or even stop to pass through safely. These issues slowed the Turbo Train to the extent that it only managed to shave an hour off the normal travel time between Toronto and Montreal. The other major challenge was that the skyrocketing cost of fuel in the 1970s made the gas-powered Turbo Train very expensive to run. In the end, these challenges proved too great for the Turbo Train to overcome. Even after CN transferred the trains to a new company it created called Via Rail in 1978, the Turbo Train continued to flounder until it was permanently taken out of service in 1982.

Bibliography

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