Those mid-1950s attempts at futuristic trains never interested me much, but now Con-Cor has released the Aerotrain in HO scale and this month also an N scale version. That piqued my interest enough to go back through some reference material on the Xplorer as well as the Aerotrain. You might also find some interesting reading here: http://www.discoverlivesteam.com/magazine/31/31.html and here: http://www.carofthecentury.com/the_aerotrain.htm I never knew that Harley Earl, the famous auto designer at GM, was responsible for the Aerotrain. Somehow I missed seeing it. Originally it ran between Chicago and Detroit. Later it was put on a Cleveland-Chicago run. I don't know the routing out of Cleveland. It probably came out of CUT on the Big Four through Linndale, then at Berea would have switched to lines west to Toledo. That would explain why I missed it because in 1956 I railfanned along the NYC former LS&MS route west of Cleveland. Then there was New York Central's Baldwin Train-X, the Xplorer. It definitely ran the Big Four route Cleveland-Cincinnatti. Like the Aerotrain, it didn't last very long either. The New Haven also had a Train-X, the Daniel Webster. It was double-ended with a power unit at each end of the train. Although the New Haven ran theirs longer than the New York Central, they seemed to have even more problems with theirs. The locomotives caught fire several times and caused traffic tie-ups.
Mike, thanks for the links. Harley Earl was quite the designer. I loved his Buick concept cars back in the '50's, but at the time did not know of him. Message being sent from daughter's home in SoCal. We made it despite some serious weather enroute. A mere 926 mile drive. :tb-biggrin:
Glad ya made it safely Fitzie! Wherebouts in SoCal? I have family,friends and Army buddies all over SoCal! CT
NyC's X-Plorer Hello Mike, I just collecting infromation on NYC's X-Plorer. I intend to built the loco in 1/8th scale to accompany my Aerotrain. So far I have a rather crude diagram and several photos and articles from the 'NYCS diesel locomotives' and the 'Trains of the future'. I'd really appreciate if you have some further information about the DH-1 / RP210H - I'm especially interested in diagrams or photos of the roof (arrangement of exhaust stack & vent grids). It would be nice of you if you would share some info. Many thanks in advance Norman
Hello Norman: I would be happy to share anything I have, but it sounds like you already have found more than I have. I never got the Trains of the Future book. That drawing in the NYCSHS diesel roster publication is the only one I have seen. It gives only overall dimensions. No roof shots either. All I have seen are typical publicity photos. Have you tried asking for help on the Yahoo NYC-Railroad list? The people there might suggest some better references. Keep us updated. Your 1/8 scale projects sound interesting! Will these be powered and operating, or static display models?
Charlie, we're in Santa Clarita. Tomorrow off to Kingman, AZ. Wish I could help with info on the lightweight train experiments, but as you guys know I am a steam nut. :tb-biggrin:
Hi Mike, Meanwhile I got some support (great diagrams) from a really helpful guy from the NYC-RR-forum. Also I found some information in books about Baldwin diesels. Finally I was able to buy a photo on ebay with a quite reasonable overhead view. So, I'm on a good way to make up my design. As with my Aerotrain this loco will be built for running - one or two motors of 750-1000W in the leading truck (as the prototype) should work well. Only problem is with building the appropiate cars -even my three Aerotrain cars give me some headache with storing in my house (garage, basement, attic). Everything is full of trains. Either it has to run with the Aerotrain cars or it'll receive at least one car (of course, no Talgo-design then). Regards Norman
Norman, if you have that book "Trains of the Future", does it mention anything about the Xplorer ever running anywhere else on the NYC System? The reason I ask is that on another forum, a gentleman remembers riding the train when the locomotive failed somewhere on the Hudson Division. The train had to be dragged away by another locomotive. He was only ten years old at the time and does not remember any details. Could the train have been on display in New York City? Was it being delivered from its manufacturing facility to its normal route? Maybe the book mentions something about this.
I believe the XPlorer was on display at Grand Central Terminal for a short while before it went into regular service in 1956. So it's possible the "gentleman" in question was the son of a Central employee accompanying his father on the XPlorer's delivery (return?) to Ohio.
Here's a footnote to the Aerotrain discussion. Norman answered the question I posed on another forum about all those lights on the front of the Aerotrain. I knew the center light on the front of the locomotive was a red light which was used when backing. Some photos I had seen showed only the outer pair of white lights on. Other photos seemed to show the inner pair of white lights illuminated. I wondered how they were used. Norman tells me the outer pair of lights were used as normal headlights. In a video he saw of the Aerotrain on the Union Pacific, the inner pair of white lights were flashing simultaneously (not alternating) when the train was entering a station. It is not known whether the inner lights might also have been used at grade crossings, but that is another possibility. It seems like this concept was a precursor to the use of ditchlights in later eras.
When you mentioned the outer pair of white lights on the power car, my initial thought was that they may have been classification lights. Though this may not have been the case with the Aerotrain. The New York Central used class lights on locomotives to indicate schedule or timetable exceptions for train movements. For instance white lights and/or flags indicated an unscheduled extra train movement not listed in the employee timetable, green lights and/or flags indicated that one or more sections of the same train was immediately following. Class lights/flags were used for both passenger and freight moves. Even the Twentieth Century Limited ran multiple sections (green class lights/flags) when passenger traffic was heavy, especially during the Christmas holidays. There may have been other colors, but these are the only ones I remember.
The Aerotrain locomotive appears to have no provision for classification lights. The Xplorer, on the other hand, has obvious numberboards with classification lights. The style is similar to what you see on EMD FTs and early E7s.
Hi Mike, There were classification lights on the side - located between the tip of the loco and the numberboard. @Hytek When Mike mentioned the outer lights he spoke of the outer of the 4 white lights on the front of the train. Here's a picture of my model (I prefer this to avoid any trouble by posting photos with whatever copyrights)
Thanks Morten, I never saw the Aerotrain, so was just guessing at what lights Mike was referring to. BTW, that's a lovely model, though I'd prefer a different logo on the pilot, I'm sure you understand.....:tb-wink:
