Black Beatle Railcar

[Subdeacon Joe]

The town of Bryan Ohio is located in the northwest corner of the Buckeye state. It has a small train depot that still operates as an Amtrak station. In the parking lot is a historical marker that recalls the fastest train in America. The sixty-seven miles of railroad track from Toledo, Ohio to Butler, Indiana is the longest multiple track straight railroad line in the world. It was on this stretch of track that the New York Central Railroad Company tested the feasibility of operating high-speed passenger service.

In 1966, the New York Central Railroad modified a passenger rail car. They added an aerodynamic cowling around the bottom and on the top two jet engines for power. The engines were second-hand General Electric J47-19 jet engines, originally used as boosters for the Convair B-36 Peacemaker intercontinental bomber. The railcar M-497 was nicknamed the Black Beetle by the press and tested on July 23, 1966. The railcar with the jet engines strapped to the roof reached a maximum speed of 183.68 mph, an American rail speed record that still stands today.

 

 

https://www.american-rails.com/m-497.html