Aerotrain (GM)

The Aerotrain was a streamlined trainset introduced by General Motors Electro-Motive Division in the mid-1950s. Like all of GM's body designs of this mid-century era, this train was first brought to life in GM's Styling Section. Chuck Jordan was in charge of designing the Aerotrain as Chief Designer of Special Projects. It utilized the experimental EMD LWT12 locomotive (U.S. Patent D177,814), coupled to a set of modified GM Truck & Coach Division 40-seat intercity highway bus bodies (U.S. Patent D179,006). The cars each rode on two axles with an air suspension system, which was intended to give a smooth ride, but had the opposite effect.

The two Aerotrain demonstrator sets logged over 600,000 miles (970,000 km) and saw service on:

Starting in February 1956 the Pennsylvania Railroad ran the Pennsy Aerotrain between New York City and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, leaving New York at 7:55 a.m.; the schedule was 7 hours 30 minutes each way. From June 1956 to June 1957 it ran between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

In 1956 Aerotrain No. 2 was leased as a demonstrator to the New York Central and ran between Cleveland and Chicago.

In March 1956 the Aerotrain made experimental runs for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in California as a San Diegan between Los Angeles and San Diego. Its use ended because the trainset had to be turned after each trip and it needed helper locomotives on the Sorrento Grade north of San Diego.

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