TOUR OF THE TURBO

[Music] More than a hundred years ago, a message was splashed across the land and faces began to appear. Crowds began to form. Something new was coming to town. Something new in transportation. Unlike the horse and wagon, it followed rails instead of trails. It was a train. The new iron horse pumped out steam and puffed black smoke, but its clanking wheels relentlessly powered it over the continent. And everywhere it went, it was greeted enthusiastically by the citizenry. For it meant the answer to one of their biggest problems, transportation. The coming of the train meant at last that travelers could go from one place to another faster and with greater assurance. A 100 years later, a new message is flashed to a new populace. A populace that has grown with leaps and bounds and is still growing and still has a problem that increases in intensity. Transportation. I did a nice [Music] turbo. In the summer of 1971, another new train sped across the land. It had no rumble. It had no roar. Except for its horn and its whistle, it was very quiet. It looked somewhat like an airplane without wings. It was the turbo train. It is a comfortable train with an interior like that of a jet liner. I just love the turbo train. I find it very comfortable, very clean. I love the decor. And I love the speed. The coaches have soft reclining seats, carpeting throughout, yearround air conditioned climate control, fold down tables at each seat. On the tour, the turbo train was equipped with an eight track stereo system featuring 90 musical selections of all types. The passengers tuned in a selection and watched the beautiful scenery go by. [Music] The tour of the turbo was sponsored by the US Department of Transportation, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation or Amtrak as it is called, and Sikorski Aircraft, division of United Aircraft, builders of the train. One of the purposes of the trip was to find out what passengers thought of the train. Well, hello everybody. I never thought I'd be on a turbo. Oh, you get to see everything as you roll along in the perfect air condition. It's just wonderful. And coloring in this on this train is the very latest in colors. The walls of incloth material with the grays and the browns and the yellows and the golds and the seats are just exquisite. All the luggage you want to carry, you're able to carries up there. Then again, they have movies just like they do on the 747 or any aircraft. The people on it are so wonderful, so courteous, so nice, and it's just wonderful. That's all. Early in the trip, the phenomenal public interest in the train was indicated by the large crowds that gathered in the cities where the train stopped. The month-long journey began on August the 11th when the train glided out of its maintenance facility in Providence, Rhode Island. The train was utilized as a special section of a regular revenue train until it reached Washington. This was the first of six such runs. Amtrak and DOT wanted to find out what paying passengers thought of the train as well as what guests thought of it. Hey man, this train is cool. I love it. I'm absolutely sold on the turbo train. I think it has a very smooth ride and it's very attractive. I especially like the um trains to come down. As the train progressed on its journey, the crowds grew larger. People from all walks of life came out to see it. The young, the not so young, the famous and the humble. They all were avidly interested in this new machine. In many places, entire classes of school children were brought out to see the train. One of the many new features of the turbo train is its pendulus banking suspension system. This makes the train bank inward instead of outward on curves, enabling the turbo train to round curves with passenger comfort and safety at speeds up to 40% faster than regular trains. Another new and important feature is the train's power plant. Aircraft type gas turbine engines, which turn gears instead of propellers, form the heart of this system. These engines are small, lightweight, and clean burning. In many places, there were official ceremonies held to greet the turbo train. Amtrak and DOT officials receive keys to a number of cities. In one city, even a pet lion came out to see the train. Television newsmen were also present at each stop. They recorded the visit of the Turbo with interviews with passengers, spectators, and officials. The turbo train attracted thousands of photographers, both professional and [Music] amateur. Heat. Heat. [Music] Well, it's been a real nice ride from Winter Haven down to Sabbring. It's been a very smooth ride. I think this is really the train of tomorrow that we're on now. The turbo train traveled clockwise around the nation down the east coast through Florida and back to Atlanta. Then it headed west. It traveled across the southern half of the country, then through California, up the Pacific coast to Washington, then across the northern tier of states. In the Chicago area, it made several demonstration runs to surrounding cities that formed transportation corridors in the Midwest. Finally, it returned home through Ohio and New York State. Passengers enjoyed the beautiful scenery in different parts of the country and always the crowds appeared. Uh I'm also uh impressed by the enthusiasm in which the people along the line of March with the train have accepted it and their eagerness to come aboard and inspect it and it shows that the people are still interested in train passenger service. The train that went on tour is one of two that were built as part of the US Department of Transportation's high-speed ground transportation demonstration program. These two trains leased by the department from Sorski aircraft were placed in regular service between Boston and New York in April of 1969. They quickly proved themselves to be very popular with the traveling public. Although the train was operated at conventional track speeds for each segment of track covered on the tour, it has reached 170 mph on a special test track in New Jersey. There, a 21-mi stretch of the Penn Central's main line between Trenton and New Brunswick was modified for high-speed testing. The train was operated at 157 m an hour on standard jointed rail in Massachusetts in a test run. With the appropriate signal systems, the train could easily operate at speeds above 100 m an hour in many parts of the country without extensive track work. on any track. With the banking suspension system and fast acceleration and braking, the turbo train can significantly improve the service available with conventional equipment. Department of Transportation was interested in participating in this joint tour of the turbo train with Amtrak in order to make an engineering assessment of recent modifications to the gearbox, the ride quality, and noise improvement of the turbo train. In addition, we wanted to determine how the train reacted on different track structures, grades, various terrains, and weather conditions than had experienced in the northeast quarter. It might be interesting to point out that the traveling public responded very well to this train. They like the concept of the fold down food trays at the seats, having the stews on board and the aircraft type interior. As a result of the tour and the response we received from the public, we are very encouraged that this type of equipment can truly bring people back to the rail in the future in those quarters that are non electrified. It might be interesting to point out at this time that some 90% of our passenger quarters throughout the country are non [Music] electrified Heat. Heat. [Music] Heat. Hey, heat. Hey, heat. [Music] One of the most important aspects of the turbo series is it low pollution. The banking suspension system means better performance and existing lights away. The use of existing lights away means you don't have to tear up the countryside and move people's home. The train's lightweight made out of aluminum. This means less horsepower. The use of gas turbine engines for the power plant, less pollution to the atmosphere. This means more people, more miles, and less pollution. Entra was very interested in co-sponsoring this tour for one very significant reason. We wanted to get the reaction to the general public to a new piece of equipment. A new piece of rail equipment, by the way, has not been seen around the country for many, many years. And let me tell you now, we were not disappointed one bit. Hundreds of thousands of people turned out to see that train. 150,000 people actually walked through the train and 7,000 people rode the train from one point to another. And there was one other very significant thing, at least from my standpoint. For the first time in years, there were traffic jams at the train stations. And one other thing, a lot of people saw a train station for the first time. And to us here at Amtrak, this was all very, very refreshing. The train starts up the western side of the Continental Divide. [Music] Even in the mountains, the photographers showed up to take pictures of the train. rather be up and down. Wouldn't you rather wear a smile than around your like a clown riding on the happiness train? Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We wish to inform you that we have reached our maximum altitude of 6,329 ft. [Music] Train in the eastern corridor uh could be the number one mode of transportation if uh the kind of accommodations we have on this particular train were common. These uh interiors are comfortable. The ride is very good. The airline seating which provides a little tray to work on or to read or put your art is a decided advantage to the traveler. I would hope that all trains in the future would provide this kind of setting. I think the view and the decor is very exciting and very progressive and I look forward to more trains like this. You pretty like a clown. Come on and join us. Wouldn't you ra [Music] I've been a transportation buff for years, but I've never seen anything as exciting and innovative as turbo train. It combines all the fine points of and comfort of air travel with the stability and dependability of service travel. Turbo train has taken all of the worries and anxiety of highway traffic out of modern fast travel. You can enjoy the great stereo that we've heard today and uh movies. You have all the comforts and none of the cares that have uh concerned travelers for so many years. Political leaders, including senators and governors, came out to visit and ride the turbo train as it passed through their areas. This turbo train tour is one of the great interesting events of the development of Amtrak and of the DOT high-speed train operation. I think that there is it's clear to everyone who is involved that our highways are overcrowded. Our skies are overcrowded and the only thing that we have left ready to develop is expanded rail service. It is the one area of transportation that is underdeveloped today. We have the high-speed highways of the future already built. They're the rail tracks that exist today. Everywhere the train went, people came out to see it. They viewed it from overpasses, from the roadside, from schooly yards. They even chased the train by boat, by car, and even by airplane. 4 weeks after it began, the turbo train tour ended exactly on time at 9:50 p.m. on September the 8th. The train had traveled more than 12,000 miles over more than half of Amtrak's network. It visited 134 cities in 28 states and the District of Columbia. Untold hundreds of thousands of Americans came out to see it. That was the tour of the Turbo Summer 1971. If things aren't going quite the way you like them, here's a solution to the things that make you come down to the station. It's the only thing to do. Jump on the happiness train.