Amtrak Rohr RTL Turboliners 1990's

I occasionally recorded Amtrak Rohr RTL Turboliners in service on the Empire Corridor and the Adirondack service to Montreal. These trainsets were by all accounts a performance disappointment and were not duplicated. This is a compilation of all of the video clips I have of there trains.

[@rebelroar78]

I remember seeing a Turboliner once in the late 90s. I thought it was this very futuristic train. Had no idea it was almost obsolete and built 20 years before I was born.

[@douglasnorth4703]

For the interest of those who are TL fans, Rapido Trains has just announced they will be building an HO Scale model of this in all four paint schemes. They are taking pre-orders to gauge interest. They will only build it if they see enough interest. Rapido are known for their museum quality level detail and fully complete and detailed interiors. If you are Turbo-liner fan this might be your only chance to get model of it. They also have a cool video on TH-cam of a walk through of TL set presently being used for EMS training where she is stored in NJ. It's all linked via their website. Enjoy. I am just a fan who would like to see this happen. I do not work for Rapido.

[@anb7408]

And for what they’re charging for a 5-car set, they can keep them! $600-800. They’re very proud of the stuff they make.

[@MrAlex-ej8ov]

@@anb7408 For what you get, it's a wonder they aren't charging more. They are very much high-end models. Of course, you aren't obligated to buy something if you don't want it. But it's not overpriced lol.

[@davehenderson4137]

I'm from the UK and have rode the French version of this train from Paris Nord to Calais, probably late 70s early 80s..... sound nice !!

[@cehayes74]

Oh Yeah, I remember these bad boys !!! This here is definitely old school, I use to hang out here on the weekends & holidays during the late 1980's & watch all the train movements !!!

[@railroadingrambler218]

Very interesting look-back, Jay!

[@PowerTrain611]

Amtrak still has a set or two of these in their roster. They don't run, they barely hold air, and they only exist as a set for EMT/EMS Training situations. At least they still serve a purpose...

[@gabrielgamer4458]

Kind of wish Amtrak would occasionally hold like a heritage excursion or something using their older equipment, imagine a set of metroliners in this day and age actually being in service

[@PowerTrain611]

@@gabrielgamer4458 It's never gonna happen under current administration... These are the same folks who kicked 611 excursions from the mainline because they don't want them using vintage coaches.

[@gretchenchadwick8343]

My special needs son thinks that Siemens, Progress Rail, or any other company that builds railroad equipment should build full size working replicas of Turboliners with modern features like recycled ♻️ aluminum bodies and frames, Plexiglas and/or safety glass windows 🪟, Cummins, Caterpillar, or Genset diesel motors with mufflers and catalytic converters that run on biodiesel or renewable diesel, LED headlights, ditch lights, taillights, strobe light, rechargeable batteries 🔋for the electrical systems and Wi-Fi.

[@PowerTrain611]

@@gretchenchadwick8343 For the right price, anything is possible!

[@CSXEMDTrainLover]

awesome train video

[@mike92586]

Would have been nice to see them still running.

[@stephaniewensler6332]

I know right

[@nyshortline]

Some of these trains are RTG II's, which are the original French-built RTG Turboliners with new RTL noses. The easiest way to tell them from the RTL's is the snack car. If the blank windowless space is in the center it's an RTL. If the space is off to one side it is an RTG II.

[@dhcoloniemain9358]

Looks like the movies were shot in Utica, NY and Saratoga Springs, NY.

[@jaywinn481]

Indeed they were

[@je19662008]

I wouldn't call them a disappointment. It's true they did have their share of mechanical problems, but so did all turbotrains. Their late 1960's - early 70's predecessors were so bad they only lasted five years before they were scrapped. But I remember the RTLs as being a smooth, quiet, comfortable ride where you could actually see out the window. They were a damn sight better than those shitty amfleet coaches Amtrak has been using since the RTLs were retired. Those are as old as the RTLs, but nowhere near as comfortable.

[@trainrover]

It was that fleet that revealed new prohibitive smoking measures not boding well for smokers, because its front coaches were the ones designated for smoking and consequently had their air conditioning disengaged, making it swelteringly uncomfortable for their fare-paying passengers up front.

[@damionrowe9763]

Early acela

[@DavidSanchez-ks4ub]

I don't know if I could say if they were a true disappointment. Amtrak first bought them second hand from the French in the 1970's yet they remained in service into the 21st century. When the P30CH proved to be a maintenance nightmare and the F45 spread out curves they were quickly retired from service and sold off. At least one Turboliner survives under the ownership of New York State for some future rail project. So they were bought second hand over 40 years ago, used continuously for nearly 30 years by Amtrak and yet at least one still waits for a 3rd reprive to service. If that doesn't mean reliability then I don't know what does (unless the government loves funding failed projects, which has happened).

[@oubrioko]

I think the disappointment was how much they cost to operate. While the RTG and RTL turboliner trainsets are much lighter in weight than a consist of Budd Amfleets and EMD F40PH diesels with equivalent passenger capacity, turboliners cost more to operate per-hour over the same route even though they could cover the route quicker than a diesel powered train. The turboliners' only advantage was their top speed, which diesels locomotives could not match. Leaving aside any maintenance or reliability issues, their very small turbine engines were fuel hogs despite their diminutive size. This is a symptom of every turbine powered vehicle. Anytime a turbine powered vehicle operates at less than top speed or below full throttle, its fuel efficiency suffers considerably due to its required high rpm at idle compared to a diesel engine. This is why most trucks are diesel powered. Diesel engines are well known for their dirty exhaust and challenges at starting in frigid temperatures, but their fuel efficiency whether at idle, frequent start-stop driving with variable dwell intervals, or at highway speeds, is notably superior to any competing fuel that burns in an internal combustion engine. If you could run turboliners on non-electrified non-stop long distance point-to-point express routes with infrequent slow orders, they _might_ perform reasonably well - but outside of that fairly confined niche, they simply cost too much per-passenger, per-hour.