The metroliner were EMUds (electric multiple units) build by the budd company (the same company who build the R32 subway car) which built in the late 60s, it was designed for first-class, high-speed service between New York City and Washington, D.C., on the Northeast Corridor. They were designed to go to speeds around 150 MPH, making them America’s first high speed train. They were owned by the Pennsylvania railroad (PRR) in 1967 then by Penn central and then by Amtrak in 1971. Due to their poor reliability they are converted to NPCU cab cars, (you can find them on the Keystone Service, Valley Flyer and Hartford Lines where they look like ordinary amfleet coaches but with the front of the cab car painted in yellow and black stripes). And thanks to the metroliners, this is where the airplane styled amfleet coaches were based on.
Leah: I rode a weird Amtrak train today on the keystone.
Cordilla: why is the train weird?
Leah: is This train that looks like the coach but with a yellow and black face.
Cordilla: ooohhhh I know what you’re talking about, it’s the budd metroliner cab car. They were converted into cab cars because it’s unreliable like a Maserati
Leah: they look weird but I like them, and that little history you told me about them me like them more
.
Cordilla: why is the train weird?
Leah: is This train that looks like the coach but with a yellow and black face.
Cordilla: ooohhhh I know what you’re talking about, it’s the budd metroliner cab car. They were converted into cab cars because it’s unreliable like a Maserati
Leah: they look weird but I like them, and that little history you told me about them me like them more
.
by EMD F59PHI July 16, 2024
The ex-metroliner cab car is a NPCU (non-powered control unit) cab car made from the Budd Metroliner Electric multiple unit, when Amtrak inherited the metroliners from penn central when it started in May 1st 1971, during their run they were proven to be mechanically very unreliable, Since The trainsets were, except for the propulsion systems, a near-identical match to the Amfleet coaches were converted (29 of them) into NPCU cab cars. While the rest either converted into geometry cars, work trains, DOT Trains or scrapped. The fleet numbers for them are 9630–9652, 9709, 9822, 9825–9828. And primary used on the keystone, valley flyer and Hartford lines. They along with the amfleet coaches will be replaced by Siemens venture/airo trainsets in the early 2030s
One day on the Amtrak Keystone train to New York, I realized this would be one of the last times I’d experience the Metroliner cab car before the Siemens Venture trainsets took over. A group of girls boarded a few rows behind me, their laughter cutting through the train’s hum. One girl stood out: a VSCO girl with an oversized scrunchie, high-waisted shorts, and of course, her bright Pink hydroflask
As she fumbled with her drink, the sounds of “sksksks” filled the air, followed by an exaggerated “and I oop!” I glanced back, and saw her filming a TikTok while her friends dropped their flasks. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any more chaotic, she caught my eye and shot me a bright smile. “Do you want to be in it?” she called, her voice bursting with energy.
“Sure, why not?” I replied, feeling my annoyance fade. Maybe this was the future of train travel: a mix of the old and the new, blending memories with modern trends.
As I joined their TikTok, we struck silly poses, and I found myself laughing at the absurdity of it all. For a moment, we were just kids having fun on a train, capturing a fleeting memory. Despite their vibrant energy being so different from my past train rides, I realized that change could be okay. I might miss the Metroliner cab car, but this unexpected adventure would stick with me long after the trains had changed.
As she fumbled with her drink, the sounds of “sksksks” filled the air, followed by an exaggerated “and I oop!” I glanced back, and saw her filming a TikTok while her friends dropped their flasks. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any more chaotic, she caught my eye and shot me a bright smile. “Do you want to be in it?” she called, her voice bursting with energy.
“Sure, why not?” I replied, feeling my annoyance fade. Maybe this was the future of train travel: a mix of the old and the new, blending memories with modern trends.
As I joined their TikTok, we struck silly poses, and I found myself laughing at the absurdity of it all. For a moment, we were just kids having fun on a train, capturing a fleeting memory. Despite their vibrant energy being so different from my past train rides, I realized that change could be okay. I might miss the Metroliner cab car, but this unexpected adventure would stick with me long after the trains had changed.
by EMD F59PHI November 09, 2024