This promotional film shows the TurboTrain (aka UAC TurboTrain) designed by United Aircraft Corporation. The prototype was entered into service in 1968. This concept tilting train was developed on aerodynamic principles and powered by aircraft-type gas turbine engines that would allow it to achieve high speeds. The film shows footage of demonstration runs noting the various innovations in travel the UAC TurboTrain presented.
The film opens with the TurboTrain zooming by at speeds over 170mph (:14). Footage follows of a web of highways intersecting over one another (:49). In order to bring the project to light it required two years of research (1:14). A 17 foot model is tested in a wind tunnel (1:22). Workers put together the aircraft type gas type turbine engine; the ST 6 by United Aircraft of Canada (1:34). The completed scale model of the engine is shown (1:42). This same engine could be used in boats (2:47) and stock cars (3:01). The engines are set into the dome sections of the train (3:18). A diagram depicts the inner parts of the train and engines (3:33). The third rail pickup is highlighted (4:12). The TurboTrain is comprised of aluminum sheets (4:21). Prior to it’s construction, employees scour over blue prints (4:48). The TurboTrain moves out for its first test run (5:22). It was tested for over a year. A single axle was used between cars (6:30) another innovation of the design. The conventional railroad passenger car is compared to the TurboTrain (6:54). The “power dome” car or locomotive is noted (7:31). The vehicle was specifically designed with ease of maintenance in mind (5:32) and it was equipped with bi-directional capability (8:57), as each end is a “power dome”. The front of car and the nose door are pointed out (9:20). The camera pans around the interior of the aluminum sided train (9:37). Passengers are viewed eating as they might during in-flight service on an airplane (9:42). These operated frequently between Boston and New York on the New Haven Railroad (10:01). This train reduced travel by one hour (10:19). The Canadian National Railways added their own TurboTrains to run in Montreal and Toronto (10:25). Stewardesses assist passengers along the ride (10:43). This film was produced by Sikorsky Aircraft Division of United Aircraft Corporation (11:21).
The UAC TurboTrain was an early high-speed, gas turbine train manufactured by United Aircraft. The trains, which featured articulated cars and cabs on either end of the train, operated in Canada between 1968 and 1982 and in the United States between 1968 and 1976. The TurboTrain concept wasn’t a complete failure, but it wasn’t an enormous success either. The rise in oil prices during the 1973 oil embargo made the gas turbine expensive to operate, and the trains were complex and needed a great deal of maintenance. Notably, the trains also did not operate at anywhere near their anticipated speeds, were noisy and not altogether comfortable for passengers. Amtrak disposed of the trains in 1980, and Canada ceased operations in 1982. All of the existing units were scrapped.
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