The 1952 Chesapeake & Ohio Train X

 




A passenger train amde up of wheel-barrow-like coaches, each riding on a single pari of wheels placed at the rear, and supported up front by a massive coupler connection to the car ahead, is well past the blueprint stage on the Chesapeake & Ogio Railroad.

The first of the Train X coach units, now undergoing road tests (1952 - my annotation), is the most radical departure from standard design ever made by an American railroad. Only 10 feet high and 31 feet long-conventional coaches are three feet higher and measure 85 feet between couplers-the test car has unusually smooth riding qualitues. C&O engineers predict that  its trailing action will make 140 m.p.h. operating speeds practical and safe. 

They also point out that flyweight construction will cut both production and operating costs. Today's standard, 76-passenger coach weighs about 110,000 pounds and carries a $140,000 price tag. Three of the Train X cars, seating 84 passengers, will weigh 34,650 pounds, cost about $47,000 and pay for themselves in less than four years.


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excerpts from Popular Science - Zetu Harrys collection