Engines of VIA---UAC Turbo Train---Episode 6 

I rode the Turbo several times from Ottawa to Montreal. Sitting on top in the front was incredible! And this train was fast!!

I used to travel between Toronto and Montreal frequently and loved it huge windows and dome cars. Fast 4 hour train trips. I can’t believe that VIA stopped running the Turbo in 1982. It’s sad that they were all scraped and not left for the new generation of train enthusiasts to see how we travelled back then.

Briefly, there were only seven (7) TurboTrains constructed - two 3 car sets for the U.S. Department of Commerce and five 7 car sets for CN. The CN sets were subsequently reconfigured, as you note, into three 9 car sets PLUS two 4 cars sets; the latter two expected to be conveyed to Amtrak. (5X7=35 = 3X9 + 2X4 = 35) Only one 4 car set was conveyed to Amtrak, the other ,on test in Canada, hit a rail in a freight car that had become loose, burst into flames, burned and was scrapped. The two 3 car U.S. sets were expanded by Amtrak by 2 Intermediate Cars (IC) each and then ran in service between New York and Boston as two 5 car sets in tandem with the former single 4 car Canadian trainset. I worked with Alan R. Cripe, in his Trailblazer Technologies. Inc., headquartered in Richmond, Virginia in the 1990s as he attempted to re-engineer the TurboTrain with numerous upgrades including a single turbine in each Power Dome Car (PDC) or a lightweight, high-speed diesel prime mover coupled to an electric (rather than a mechanical) transmission. Sadly, Mr. Cripe passed away prematurely after we had gone to potential suppliers to build a prototype. I, too, have pix of two of the VIA 9 car trains waiting in the scrap line at Naporano Metals in Newark, N.J. Hope this helps.

Hawaiian music in the background and Canadian trains. Unusual combination, but nice.

I've been a rail fan my entire life and was 10yo when the Turbo Trains were built, showing up on the New Haven like some space aged mode of transportation but they were mired with breakdowns, the jet engines were maintenance intensive and the only fascinating thing beside their livery was the jet engines spooling up or passing by at 35mph in and out of New Haven's Union Station. At that time the NEC was double tracked and the last remaining caternary had been removed save for track 4 where, for a short while the Virginians ran.

The CN Turbo Train was the only one that managed to take me away from my favourite Air Canada and Canadian Pacific Airline’s DC-8 First class seats when going back and forth from Montreal to Toronto. Turbo Club (Club cars being CN’s premium product in the Quebec - Windsor corridor) was always a pleasant experience, whether you sat in the swiveling single seats above the engine or in the cars themselves. Hostesses wearing John Warden’s sassy uniforms and cocktail dresses for the evening trains, with stewards wearing white jackets, catered to passengers with the same care I was accustomed to aboard AC and CP flights. Elegant cocktail service preceded full course meals while the ride, nice and smoot, dashed me within four hours, from Toronto to Montreal, in a very deep cushioned black leather seat. A sheer delight. I miss my CN Turbo Club train rides! Thanks for the post :)

Got pictures of VIA turbo at Naporano scrap yard in Newark, NJ guess just before it was scrapped.

Ohhhh the turbotrain what a cool looking thing they were

Imagine being given a kiss by that train at full speed

My stomach hurts... Also this looks a lot like a danish designed and made train

Interesting stuff, once the long intro is over. Thanks. I remember these trains but never got the chance to ride one.

2:42 The cutaway view shows two Pratt & Whitney of Canada PT-6 gas turbine engines (the blue things connected by a green gearbox) powering each end car. For the whole train, that totals 4 gas turbine engines, 500 hp each. P&W's PT-6 was a mainstay in turboprop aircraft and was adapted as the 747 auxiliary power unit in the late 1960s. Gas turbines are only efficient at full speed, and have a very limited 2:1 speed ratio which doesn't make them useful in land vehicles.

The turbo train isn't a bad idea but honestly needs to be smaller like 4 car sets with an engine and 1 car permanently attached and make it so cars can be added or detached. Southern Pacific had articulated dinners and chair cars which makes sense.

Bro, this was an amazing video! Dont sell yourself short! Some of us do like shorter videos sometimes. This one had plenty of information!

Imagine pronouncing acela "ace-eh-la" instead of a-cell-uh This post was made by the nec gang

Oh what a shame. Even put this train in today's market it is still great to run.

Hi i remember as a kid my mother and i took the first turbo train in the montreal toronto corridor loved the dome on engine but it was stop and go had technical problems. But i did like the ride

Thank you for this excellent presentation. I'm looking for pictures of the Rapido Bistro cars. Do you have any foootage?

I will be doing engines of Nagatuck Railroad and after Nagatuck Railroad is new york city subway and providence and Worcester

You did good man I appreciate it I didn't know about these

In May 1966, Canadian National Railways ordered five seven-car TurboTrains for the Montreal-Toronto service. They planned to operate the trains in tandem, connecting two trains together into a larger fourteen-car arrangement with a total capacity of 644 passengers. The Canadian trains were built by Montreal Locomotive Works, with their ST6 engines supplied by UAC's Canadian division (now Pratt & Whitney Canada) in Longueuil, Quebec. The Canadian Turbotrains were originally planned to have been in service by the summer of 1967, but technical difficulties with the trainsets delayed passenger service entry until December 12, 1969; the primary failures concerned the auxiliary equipment and caused the power on the trains to go out.[15] CN and their ad agency wanted to promote the new service as an entirely new form of transit, so they dropped the "train" from the name. In CN's marketing literature the train was referred to simply as the "Turbo", although it retained the full TurboTrain name in CN's own documentation and communication with UAC. A goal of CN's marketing campaign was to get the train into service for Expo 67, and the Turbo was rushed through its trials. It was late for Expo, a disappointment to all involved, but the hectic pace did not let up and it was cleared for service after only one year of testing - most trains go through six to seven years of testing before entering service.[16] The Turbo's first demonstration run in December 1968, included a large press contingent. An hour into its debut run, the Turbo collided with a truck at a highway crossing near Kingston. Despite the concerns that lightweight trains like the Turbo would be dangerous in collisions, the train remained upright and largely undamaged. Large beams just behind the nose, designed for this purpose, absorbed the impact of the collision and limited the damage to the fiberglass clamshell doors and underlying metal. The train was returned from repairs within a week. No one was killed, though this event has been cited as a main deterrent to Canada's efforts to develop modern passenger rail.[17] Initial commercial service started soon after. On its first westbound run the Turbo attained 104 mph (167 km/h) 10 minutes outside of Dorval. During speed runs on April 22, 1976, it achieved 140.55 mph (226 km/h) near Gananoque, the Canadian record to this day.[16] However, in regular passenger service the Turbotrains were limited to 95 mph (153 km/hr) in Canada because of the Canadian route's numerous grade-crossings, estimated at 240 public highway grade-crossings and 700 agricultural or private crossings between Montreal and Toronto.[7] Technical problems, including brake systems freezing in winter, required a suspension of service in early January 1969. Service resumed in May 1970; however, technical problems again caused the Canadian National to withdraw all Turbotrains from service again in February 1971.[7] At this point, the CN management publicly expressed great dissatisfaction with these trainsets, with one vice-president claiming, "the trains never did measure up to the original contract and they haven't yet"; the manufacturer United Aircraft Company publicly claimed that CN suspended Turbotrain service for relatively minor technical problems.[7] Railroad analysts, including Geoffrey Freeman Allen (editor of Jane's World Railways), noted that the Turbotrains employed too many advanced, derived technologies which had been packed in "without extended practical evaluation in railroad conditions. From transmission to suspension to auxiliaries, far too many vital components seemed to have been translated straight from the drawing board to the series production line.[18] During the "downtime" CN changed their plans, and in 1971 a rebuild program began, converting the five seven-car sets to three nine-car sets. Several minor changes were added. The engine exhaust fouled the roof windows of the power car, so these were plated over, and a grill was added to the front of the engines just behind the clamshell doors. The remaining power and passenger cars were sold to Amtrak as two 4-car sets. One of those sets sideswiped a freight train on a test run in July 1973 and three of the cars were written off.[19] The sale of the surviving Power Dome Coach car was cancelled, and it stood spare until a sister unit caught fire and burned in September 1975.[19] The three rebuilt 9-car sets entered service for CN in late 1973. CN ran the Turbos from Toronto-Montreal-Toronto with stops at Dorval, Kingston and Guildwood on the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. Original train numbers were Train 62 which left Toronto at 12:45 p.m. and arrived in Montreal at 4:44 p.m. Train 63 left Montreal at 12:45 p.m. and arrived in Toronto at 4:44 p.m. (Both were daily trains.) Train 68 left Toronto at 6:10 p.m. and arrived in Montreal at 10:14 p.m., while Train 69 left Montreal at 6:10 p.m. and arrived in Toronto at 10:14 p.m. (The evening trains did not run on Saturdays.) The trip took 3 hours and 59 minutes downtown-to-downtown on trains 62 and 63, while the evening trains were slightly slower, taking four hours and four minutes to complete the run. Turbo service was about a full hour faster than CN's previous express trains, the "Rapido". However, even the runs made by the Turbotrains in the late 1970s still fell substantially short of their intended 120 mph design speed; the fastest average speed for the Turbotrain in regular scheduled Canadian passenger service was an intermediate booking from Kingston to Guildwood (102 minutes for the 145.2 miles between the two cities nonstop at an average speed of 85.4 mph (137.4 km/hr).[20] By 1974, after substantial modifications of the gearbox device and pendular suspension, and reinforcement of the sound insulation, the Turbotrains finally took up untroubled service.[20] CN operated the Turbos until 1978, when their passenger operations were taken over by Via Rail, who continued the service.[21] One of the three remaining trains developed an oil leak and caught fire on the afternoon run from Montréal to Toronto on May 29, 1979.[21] It was stopped west of Morrisburg. It took some time for the fire engines to arrive as they were forced to drive on the trackbed. The power car and two coaches were totally destroyed. There were no injuries, although rapid disembarkation was needed. The train was eventually towed back to the Turcot yard in Montréal and remained there for several years, covered by tarpaulins.[citation needed] The Turbo's final run was on October 31, 1982, when they were replaced by the all-Canadian LRC trainsets from Bombardier Transportation, which employed conventional diesel-electric locomotives. Although they had an early reputation for unreliability, according to CN's records, the rebuilt TurboTrains had an availability rate of over 97% for their careers with CN and Via.[16] The LRC suffered from similar teething problems, notably with the tilt system locking the cars in a tilted position.[citation needed] The withdrawal of the Turboliners was also precipitated by the rise in oil prices during the 1973 oil embargo and the following years, which destroyed "one of gas turbine traction's prime advantages, fuel cost economy".[20] None of the UAC TurboTrains were preserved.

queer how filthy Via let its new livery become...Can o' duhhhhhh

The b is the truck style as in 2 axel, both powered. The 1 designates a single unpowered axel.

It´s kind of a Talgo (Tren Articulado Ligero Goicoechea Oriol, spanish) like construction. The single wheels between the carriages, the tilting. Long intro though. Thanks. Didn´t know this train.

I wonder how these turbotrains would prefrom on the north east corridor

The bell on the uac is like ding ding ding DING DING like crazy its going fast

What is about a single axle bogie between the cars? I do not think it is comfortable on the poorly maintained tracks... (...as same as Germans were complaining about their Senators...)

Via’s Turbo train looks like the NS livery

3:16: That's 7 1's, not 6.

1:20 hay thats my screan saver

The problem was that these engines used gas turbines. Which if you have watched videos on the M1 Abrams' engine, you may know that turbines maybe powerful, and multi-fuel, but they consume a lot of it.

Soon i will post a picture in deviantart to people who are railfans and it's called there must be 6 UAC turbotrains built & people will do tilting in mechanical issues

One does notice that while CN ran the Turbo they were kept pristine, Via at least in the shot you have make the Turbo look like the Clampet's truck on the Beverly Hillbillys.

Nice VIA Rail video.

that color of the trainset at 1:20 look likes the Florida brightline, if the train was still alive, florida would probably start out with these type of trainset.

Train go vrooooooooom

UH SELL UH EXPRESS

That train in thumb reminds me blue-yellow train with top cab

wish that vehicle was back in service only this time use hydrogen fuel cells

Why all videos about turbotrain have only background music without real engine sound? :(

The acelas cars come apart but nice vid

These look like dutch passenger trains.

I live in West haven

You were just saying how better the CN turbo is better than the Amtrak turbo

AAAAYYYEEEE

These were what are known as Talgos.

did u just mispronounce the Acela?

Soon there is gonna be 8 turbotrains built and they will have new speed limits and they will be built up to 2018 and also they will also there is gonna be a shinkansin built and it Will be used in Japan and it will have a new speed limit and it will be up to 220mph and it can travel up to 210mph and it will have the same pantograph as the jr700 people will be doing tilt controls and so it won't derail on curves and it Will be an electric turbotrain and it will beat the jr700s speed and it will be shipped to Japan and it will pull 9 cars

Acela “Uh-Cell-Ah”

For real videos and history of the Turbo Train go to: ru-vid.com/group/PLxe77bflftUtL-0caS_eY_Qab0vIs1DfT

It’s a-cell-a

It’s Acela

did this got inspired from engines of Amtrak

It's pronounced (Acell-a) not (ace-la). good video I never really liked the turbo trains they looked too much like a commercial jet without wings than a locomotive but coming from an aircraft company what do you expect.

Correction the way you pronounce Acela is Au-cell-la

Looks like a dutch train

are u reading this off a script ?

It’s Acela [acksela]

i for some reason i dont like the lrc egine but i like the lrc cars

Neat-O! Thanks for this post! Was a prop powered train like this ever built? Patent 3007421 . I'm sort of into replacing the Hooterville Canon Ball steam train with a Rail Zeppelin build by the students at Hooterville High auto shop class that would end up looking something like this , ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-EDli8mwcrB4.html . TO INFINITY AND BEYOUND!

Amtrak “Asla Express”

is the tubo train still in serves in canada because ive never seen one

1:02 what music?

VIA RAIL copyd CN's Turbo Train THY DID FOR REAL

Instead of the Acela (which comes apart easily ) How about the British Rail Class 373 Eurostar Because the Acela is a shame to us americans

You said Acela wrong

#acela

#acelaexpress

what about the gpa-30h?

Do you play Roblox?

A cel a

I know this video is old but its pronounced "uhh-cell-uhh" express.