For several hours in Manhattan last week, the presidents of the four biggest eastern railroads met with the train builders of ACF Industries to discuss a radical train. The roads: New York Central, New York, New Haven & Hartford, Baltimore & Ohio and the Pennsylvania. The train the railroaders had in mind was similar to ACF's swift "Talgo" express, which has been running for four years on Spanish railroads (TIME, April 18, 1949).
Built of aluminum and other lightweight metals, Talgo's cars are only 7 ft. 6 in. from floor to ceiling, 4 ft. lower than current coaches. Inside, travelers sit in reclining airplane-type seats, look out big picture windows, put their luggage in forward compartments. The low train can whip into curves smoothly at 90 m.p.h., v. the 50-60 m.p.h. of today's flyers. It weighs only one-third as much as current trains, requires only 40% as much fuel for the same speed, can be built at an estimated $1,300 a seat, v. $2,300 for present cars. The Midwest's Rock Island Railroad has already ordered one of the new trains from ACF for Christmas 1955 delivery.
On the 157-mile run between New Haven and Boston last week, the New Haven's new president, Patrick B. McGinnis, who wooed stockholders with the promise of better passenger service, put on a demonstration of ACF's speedy train. With special ICC permission, the engineer disregarded the 60-m.p.h. speed limit on curves, went into the turns at 87 m.p.h. On the long straightaways, he pushed ACF's Talgo up to 102.8 m.p.h. and pulled into Boston in 150 minutes. Though it was a stop-and-start experimental run, the time was still ten minutes better than the best previous record.
After his ride, fast-flying President McGinnis said: "If enough Eastern roads get together, we can jointly order on a wholesale basis. In that case, I'd place an order within months."