Did anyone see or ride the French built turbotrains and the Rohr built units and were they successful and what happened to them?I did see the French train painted in Amtrak colours at the La Chapelle depot outside the Gare du Nord in Paris.
http://www.hebners.net/amtrak/amtTurbosROHR.html
http://www.trainweb.org/chris/montilli.html (scroll all the way to the bottom)
http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?p=99056&sid=66b94de752385ec47649e4e689f0dbc1
Hello alfadawg01,
Thanks for the link to the Rhor turboliners Joueff made a few sets I think for the US market but I didnt see any on sale here in the UK.My next question in these forums will be about the ex Dutch railcar sets bought by the Ontario Northland I rode a set from Hoek van Holland to Koln(Cologne) via Venlo and the power unit was pushing.
Malcolm.
I rode one probably close to thirty years ago. Amtrak tried them in several locations around the country. The last place I remember them was in New York state but the one I rode was to Milwaukee from Chicago. Like any permanently coupled train it didn’t offer much flexibility as far as adding or dropping cars. They were done in period gaudy colors and were bright as the windows were very large. My son and I visited almost every car on the trip up and legroom was generous (I’m 6’5"). Everything about it was pretty nice. We opted to wait for the Empire Builder to ride a different train back and the weight difference and ride in the Superliner was noticeable but the ride in the Rohr wasn’t bad - just lighter. It also seemed like it was moving a lot faster as you were lower to the ground. If I had to take a short tripof less than a day it would have been fine. I wouldn;t want to sleep overnight on one though.
I also rode the Rohr Turbo Trains in Amtrak service between Milwaukee and Chicago. I thought they were fast, relatively quiet, and comfortable. I also enjoyed the large windows, especially in comparison to the Amfleet “rifle slits” on the connecting train I took to and from St. Louis.
So long,
Andy
Hello ndbprr,
My trip on the French Turbotrain known as RTG(Rame Turbine Gas)from Strasbourg to Paris Gare du Nord as I had travelled from Basel in Switzerland(a railfans paradise)and while at Strasbourg I saw the usual French traction and pair of Baldwin A1A-A1A switchers and some SNCF BB66xxx mixed traffic diesels used as freight and passenger push-pull services.
The run from Strasbourg to Paris was about 4 hours long but the buffet car helped to pass the time.Thanks for the info.
Malcolm.
Sounds interesting… got any pics or references please?
[8D]
Voila!
http://railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=206075&nseq=0
http://railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=193769&nseq=10
http://railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=186146&nseq=18
http://railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=186140&nseq=20
http://railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=171499&nseq=45
http://railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=128092&nseq=86
[:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D]
They look neat. Did you ride them?
Doe anyone make a model?
[8D]
Hello Dave,
I rode a French turbo train from Strasbourg yo Pars Gare du Nord and I did see the Amrak painted unit at the La Chapelle depot outside Paris and the trip was fast and smooth.
I forgot to add that Jouef in Feance made a five car set in SNCF colours and limted edtion sets only a few sets came into Britain mostly by model fans
Hello,
I saw once in France the RGT, the traine where I was on passed a station and on the other track was an Rgt waiting for departure.
I have a model of the RGT made by Jouef, it is in the colours orange/grey the original livery; later the first TGV had the same colours.
I think the moters og the RGT’s where helicopter motors, the samr they used into the French made “Alouette” helicopters; these are light helicopters. I think that the helicopters are not in production anymore.
Due the fact that the RGT’s used these moters they where very noisy and they consumed a lot of fuel and also they where very polluting.
I do not know if the helicopter motors in the RGT’s uses gasoline or the aviation fuel (LL100).
For what I know the helicopter moter was not directly connected to the drive shaft of the train but I think they catched the exhaust fumes (a gas) to operate a gasturbine that than operated a electricgenerator to operate the electric motors on one or more wheelshafts.
It am pretty shure it was not hydraulic.
By the way the JOUEF model was not running well, because at that time Jouef used a cardan drive shaft from the moter to the weels
southernpacificgs4
I rode one of the Rohr turbos from Grand Central to the CP station in Montreal in October 1977 where I then got a sleeper on VIA to Vanouver BC. I was very impressed. Smooth ride, great accleration, nice large tinted windows. It was a great trip up the Hudson and on the D&H. It was especially good in comparison to the train I took on the other end. An F40 and two Amfleets from Vancouver to Seattle. Left Vancouver at 3:00 AM and hit the US border about 4:00. That was a rough ride, the cars were dirty, and we had a rather surly crew (except for the snack car attendant)
Via was quite a contrast on that trip. The equipment was definitely worn, but clean. And the service was top notch.
Hello Jonathan,
That was some trip you had,I would like to do the trans Canada run myself,an F40 and two amfleet cars? and one with a food section? I rode on a train from Toronto to Niagara Falls behind a P42 and six amfleet cars a complete Amtrak train to New York the amfleet car I found was about the same size as a British rail coach,however the F40 and two cars sonds like a nice train to model.Thank you very much.
Malcolm.
Hello Jonathan,
I was reading about your trip across Canada and the part about the amfleet run from Vancouver and you said the ride was rough was it due to the trucks or the track?
I have seen photos of amfleet cars riding on European trucks and I’m wondering if this has made any difference to the ride?I rode on an amfleet train to Niagara Falls from Toronto(the train was on its way to New York) but I didnt check the trucks when boarding.
Malcolm.
Malcolm
I do not know what the problem was on that run. I have been a passenger on amfleet numerous times both on the NEC from Newark to Philly and on “The Pennsylvanian” from Pittsburgh to Philly and the ride was quite acceptable on most of those runs. I am reluctant to blame the track because we were running on BN and they had a reputation for good track then. Perhaps the trucks on that coach needed some service. When I got to Seattle I had non railfan friends meeting me so I could not spend any time looking at the equipment. I wish that I had taken a photo of that train. It is the only one of that trip that I did not photograph.
That trip even began and ended with commuter runs. I was living in Bound Brook NJ at the time so I took the CNJ (actually NJTransit by then) into Penn Station and then a cab to Grand Central. On the return trip I flew Northwest Orient from Seattle to Newark, then a cab to Newark station and the CNJ back home.
That was quite a trip you had,you must have been travelling for nearly two weeksI would like to do New York to Toronto then from Toronto to Vancouver then possibly fly back to Montreal for a few days then to the UK and home.I did some of the major European lines both standard and narrow gauges especially in Switzerland.
Malcolm.