Turboliner

RTG Turboliner
An RTG Turboliner at Union Station in St. Louis, Missouri in 1974
A conductor collects tickets aboard a Midwestern Turboliner in 1974.
In service	1973–94
Manufacturer	ANF
Constructed	1973–75
Number built	6 trainsets
Formation	Five cars
Fleet numbers	58–69
Capacity	296 passengers
Operator(s)	Amtrak
Specifications
Car length	86 ft 1 in (26.2 m)
Width	9 ft 5 1⁄2 in (2.9 m)
Maximum speed	125 mph (201.2 km/h)
Engine type	Turboshaft
Power output	2,280 hp (1,700.2 kW) (RTG) 3,000 hp (2,237.1 kW) (RTG-II)
AAR wheel arrangement	B-2
Bogies	Creusot-Loire
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Notes

RTL Turboliner
An RTL Turboliner crosses the Seneca River near Savannah, New York, in 1984
Third rail shoe installed on the front truck of an RTL-II car for operation into New York Penn Station
In service	1976–2003
Manufacturer	Rohr Industries
Constructed	1976
Number built	7 trainsets
Formation	Five cars
Fleet numbers	2150–2163 (formerly 150–163)
Capacity	264 passengers
Operator(s)	Amtrak
Line(s) served	Empire Corridor
Specifications
Train length	425 feet (130 m)
Width	10 ft (3.0 m)
Maximum speed	125 mph (201 km/h)
Weight	308 short tons (275 long tons; 279 t)
Engine type	Turboshaft
Power output	2,280 horsepower (1,700 kW)
Acceleration	1 mile per hour per second (1.6 km/(h·s))
Electric system(s)	600 V DC third rail into Grand Central Terminal or Pennsylvania Station
Current collection method	Contact shoe
AAR wheel arrangement	B-2
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Notes

The Turboliners were a family of gas turbine trainsets built for Amtrak in the 1970s. They were among the first new equipment purchased by Amtrak to update its fleet with faster, more modern trains. The first batch, known as RTG, were built by the French firm ANF and entered service on multiple routes in the Midwestern United States in 1973. The new trains led to ridership increases wherever used, but the fixed consist proved a detriment as demand outstripped supply. The high cost of operating the trains led to their withdrawal from the Midwest in 1981.

The second batch, known as RTL, were of a similar design but manufactured by Rohr Industries, an American company. These entered service on the Empire Corridor in the state of New York in 1976. The RTLs remained in service there through the 1990s, supplemented by several rebuilt RTGs. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, New York and Amtrak partnered to rebuild the RTLs for high-speed service; this project failed, and the last RTL trainsets left revenue service in 2003. After the settlement of legal issues, New York sold the remaining trainsets for scrap in 2012.

Amtrak assumed control of almost all private sector intercity passenger rail service in the United States on May 1, 1971, with a mandate to reverse decades of decline. Amtrak retained approximately 184 of the 440 trains which had run the day before. To operate these trains, Amtrak inherited a fleet of 300 locomotives (electric and diesel) and 1190 passenger cars, most of which dated from the 1940s–1950s.

Amtrak acquired the Turboliners with multiple goals in mind. The Turboliners were expected to cost less to operate than a comparable diesel locomotive with conventional cars while having a higher operating speed, though this would be constrained by track conditions. Amtrak also hoped that introducing new equipment would generate favorable publicity. Two years into its existence, Amtrak was fighting the perception that it was making "cosmetic changes to hand-me-down equipment". New gas turbine trainsets could change that perception.