UAC TurboTrain
| United Aircraft Corporation TurboTrain | |
|---|---|
VIA rail TurboTrain passing through Brockville, Ontario, Canada.
|
|
| In service | 1968–1982 (Canada) 1968–1980 (USA) |
| Manufacturer | UAC |
| Constructed | 1967–1968 |
| Number built | 8 trainsets |
| Number scrapped | All |
| Formation | 9 cars per trainset(Canada - CN/VIA) 7 cars per trainset (Canada - CN) 5 cars per trainset (US - Amtrak) 3 cars per trainset (US - New Haven/DOT) |
| Capacity | 322 (seven-car set) |
| Operator(s) |
Canadian National Railways Via Rail Amtrak New Haven Penn Central Illinois Central Railroad (Proposed) |
| Depot(s) | Tracks 4,5,6 - Montreal Central Station (VIA/CN) Wilmington Shops - Bear,DE (Amtrak) |
| Specifications | |
| Car body construction | Aluminum |
| Train length | 7 cars: 430 ft 8 in (131.27 m) |
| Car length |
Power Cars: 73 ft 3 in (22.33 m) Intermediate Cars: 56 ft 10 in (17.32 m) |
| Width | 10 ft 5 in (3.18 m) |
| Height |
Coach: 10 ft 11 in (3.33 m) Dome: 12 ft 11 in (3.94 m) Exhausts: 13 ft 10 in (4.22 m) |
| Floor height | 2 ft 7 in (0.79 m) |
| Maximum speed | 170 mph (274 km/h) (design) 120 mph (193 km/h) (service) |
| Weight | 7 cars: 165.6 long tons (185.5 short tons; 168.3 tonnes) |
| Traction system | Direct drive through gearbox |
| Prime mover(s) | Pratt & Whitney Canada ST6 |
| Engine type | Gas turbine (Turboshaft) |
| Power output |
7 car: 2,000 hp (1,491 kW) (400 hp or 298 kW per engine) |
| Transmission | Turbine electric |
| Electric system(s) | 600 V DC Third rail into Grand Central Terminal only |
| Current collection method | Contact shoe |
| UIC classification | 7 car: B′1′1′1′1′1′1′B′ |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) |
The UAC TurboTrain was an early high-speed, gas turbine train manufactured by United Aircraft that operated in Canada between 1968 and 1982 and in the United States between 1968 and 1976. (Amtrak disposed of the trains in 1980.) It was one of the first gas turbine powered trains to enter service for passenger traffic, and was also one of the first tilting trains to enter service.
A series of design studies carried out by Chesapeake and Ohio Railway in the 1950s used the second-generation Talgo design for their car suspensions. The suspension arms for each neighboring pair of cars were attached to a common bogie ("truck") between them, as opposed to having a pair of separate bogies for each car. The bogies rode the common curve between the two cars, centered by traction springs that centered the axle between adjoining car bodies. TurboTrain cars are 2 1⁄2 feet (76 cm) lower than conventional cars, to lower the center of gravity in relation to the swinging point at the top of the arms. The arms included air springs to smooth out the motion, although it still felt "odd" while the train navigated short turns in switchyards and stations.
Like the earlier articulated trains, this meant that train lengths would be difficult to change. Their solution to this problem was to modify the power cars (engines) to allow the trains to be coupled end-to-end. Since articulated trains required "special" cars at either end anyway (to fill in the otherwise missing bogie), the C&O was double-ended, with a power car at each end. The power cars were organized with their two diesel engines on either side of the train, and the operators cabin in a "pod" on top. This left enough room for a passageway to run between the engines and under the pod to the nose of the car, where a coupling and doors were hidden behind a pair of movable clamshell covers. That way the train could be attached front-to-end with another, providing some of the flexibility in train lengths that coupled cars offered, while still being as lightweight as a normal articulated design.
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