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Description
  In the 1950s, the railroads of the United States were badly threatened by the amount of people buying cars and using airplanes, which would cause those railroads that didn't go bust in the teeth of the Great Depression to go bankrupt or merge with other railroads throughout the 1970s and 1980s. General Motors wanted to make a train that would bring passengers back. Enter the General Motors' Aerotrain (nothing to do with France's air-powered L'aerotrain used on a concrete monorail system, which was purposely burned up by person unknown 30 years ago). General Motors manufactured 2 of these units, which were numbered 2 and 3. After a promotional tour which ran throughout the United States in 1955, the Aerotrain weas claimed "The Train Of the Future." The Pennsylvania Railroad (which was still using its K4 Pacifics), the New York Central Railroad (which still had around 200 Mohawks), the Union Pacific Railroad (which had already used several similar trains, which included the M10000, M10001, the City of Denver, and others which were scrapped in the early-to-mid 1940s), and the Santa Fe Railroad, curious about these high-speed Diesel sets, took them in to experiment. However, problems were found during running. You see, when these things were manufactured by General Motors, they utilized intercity bus bodies with a suspension system that used compressed air rather than metal springs.

  The I Love Toy Trains Show (produced by Jeff McComas's old man, Tom McComas, before he died in 2008 or whenever he did), had an excellent part when this thing was included in their documentary shows, which their streamlined section utilized high-speed streamlined Diesel trains built from the 1930s to the 50s. These included the GM Aerotrain, the Union Pacific's City of Denver and M10000 high speed Diesel sets, and the Chicago, Burlington, & Quincy Railroad's Burlington Pioneer Zephyr (I saw her in Chicago's Science & History Museum in August 2015). Anyway, the Aerotrain was a rough-rider, as the units ran roughly at high speeds. The intercity bus bodies were deemed uncomfortable at high speeds when on road, so they had the exact same effect on rail. After the two sets were experimented until 1957, the Aerotrains were deemed a failure. There were more problems than riding comfort tho. Compared to the old Southern Cresent when it was Diesel hauled in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, the four unit lash-up could have the train disconnected while the Diesels went to be cleaned and refueled and after the train was turned, the freshly-serviced F7 lashup could be ousted, couple on, let the passengers retrain, and be on the way within an hour after arrival. The General Motors Aerotrain sets had to be turned around due to one locomotive at the head end, making servicing and turning a major pain in the neck. The Aerotrains were underpowered, so they'd need assistance up Sherman Hill on the Union Pacific Railroad. Plus, the Aerotrain couldn't have different style coaches attached to it. So if one car ran a hot-box, the whole train was down. Plus, the engine block was underpowered, so they'd need assistance not only on Sherman Hill, but the Santa Fe Railroad found it underpowered too due to the extremely rocky terrain these things had to traverse on trial runs. So the "Train of the Future" was deemed "The Train of the Failure." So therefore, the 2 units were handed back to General Motors.

  But the story doesn't end there. After agreement was made, the two Aerotrain sets were taken in by the old Rock Island Railroad in late 1957, and there they were put on commuter runs, often running at a slower speed. This combined with passengers constantly training and detraining meant that it wouldn't be as uncomfortable. After they logged 600,000 miles, they were withdrawn from service in 1965, having only spent 10 years in active service. Nos. 2 and 3 were rescued. No. 2 was purchased by the National Railroad Museum at Green Bay, Wisconsin, while No. 3 (she's the one you see in the picture) went to the Transportation Museum in St. Louis, Missouri. There she's stayed for the last 55 years. However, many peoples' reaction is "Wow, that thing looks modern!" Only two cars went with 2 and 3 to their resting places, but that's good. No. 3 was moved here about five years ago, and it was relatively easy because the engine block, generator, batteries, and prime mover equipment had been removed. To be honest, it wouldn't surprise me if they decided to put and engine block in this thing and make it fit to run again. So here's to 65 years of the General Motors Aerotrain!

Description
  In the 1950s, the railroads of the United States were badly threatened by the amount of people buying cars and using airplanes, which would cause those railroads that didn't go bust in the teeth of the Great Depression to go bankrupt or merge with other railroads throughout the 1970s and 1980s. General Motors wanted to make a train that would bring passengers back. Enter the General Motors' Aerotrain (nothing to do with France's air-powered L'aerotrain used on a concrete monorail system, which was purposely burned up by person unknown 30 years ago). General Motors manufactured 2 of these units, which were numbered 2 and 3. After a promotional tour which ran throughout the United States in 1955, the Aerotrain weas claimed "The Train Of the Future." The Pennsylvania Railroad (which was still using its K4 Pacifics), the New York Central Railroad (which still had around 200 Mohawks), the Union Pacific Railroad (which had already used several similar trains, which included the M10000, M10001, the City of Denver, and others which were scrapped in the early-to-mid 1940s), and the Santa Fe Railroad, curious about these high-speed Diesel sets, took them in to experiment. However, problems were found during running. You see, when these things were manufactured by General Motors, they utilized intercity bus bodies with a suspension system that used compressed air rather than metal springs.

  The I Love Toy Trains Show (produced by Jeff McComas's old man, Tom McComas, before he died in 2008 or whenever he did), had an excellent part when this thing was included in their documentary shows, which their streamlined section utilized high-speed streamlined Diesel trains built from the 1930s to the 50s. These included the GM Aerotrain, the Union Pacific's City of Denver and M10000 high speed Diesel sets, and the Chicago, Burlington, & Quincy Railroad's Burlington Pioneer Zephyr (I saw her in Chicago's Science & History Museum in August 2015). Anyway, the Aerotrain was a rough-rider, as the units ran roughly at high speeds. The intercity bus bodies were deemed uncomfortable at high speeds when on road, so they had the exact same effect on rail. After the two sets were experimented until 1957, the Aerotrains were deemed a failure. There were more problems than riding comfort tho. Compared to the old Southern Cresent when it was Diesel hauled in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, the four unit lash-up could have the train disconnected while the Diesels went to be cleaned and refueled and after the train was turned, the freshly-serviced F7 lashup could be ousted, couple on, let the passengers retrain, and be on the way within an hour after arrival. The General Motors Aerotrain sets had to be turned around due to one locomotive at the head end, making servicing and turning a major pain in the neck. The Aerotrains were underpowered, so they'd need assistance up Sherman Hill on the Union Pacific Railroad. Plus, the Aerotrain couldn't have different style coaches attached to it. So if one car ran a hot-box, the whole train was down. Plus, the engine block was underpowered, so they'd need assistance not only on Sherman Hill, but the Santa Fe Railroad found it underpowered too due to the extremely rocky terrain these things had to traverse on trial runs. So the "Train of the Future" was deemed "The Train of the Failure." So therefore, the 2 units were handed back to General Motors.

  But the story doesn't end there. After agreement was made, the two Aerotrain sets were taken in by the old Rock Island Railroad in late 1957, and there they were put on commuter runs, often running at a slower speed. This combined with passengers constantly training and detraining meant that it wouldn't be as uncomfortable. After they logged 600,000 miles, they were withdrawn from service in 1965, having only spent 10 years in active service. Nos. 2 and 3 were rescued. No. 2 was purchased by the National Railroad Museum at Green Bay, Wisconsin, while No. 3 (she's the one you see in the picture) went to the Transportation Museum in St. Louis, Missouri. There she's stayed for the last 55 years. However, many peoples' reaction is "Wow, that thing looks modern!" Only two cars went with 2 and 3 to their resting places, but that's good. No. 3 was moved here about five years ago, and it was relatively easy because the engine block, generator, batteries, and prime mover equipment had been removed. To be honest, it wouldn't surprise me if they decided to put and engine block in this thing and make it fit to run again. So here's to 65 years of the General Motors Aerotrain!