Videos & Photos Photos Photo Of The Day Turbine power all the way

Turbine power all the way

By Angela Cotey | July 13, 2011

| Last updated on December 22, 2020

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High speed in New England in the 1970s meant these turbine-powered trainsets built by United Aircraft, which sprinted between Boston and New York from 1969 to 1976. The two Turbotrains (Amtrak later bought a third set from VIA Rail Canada) achieved the route’s best-ever timings — 3 hours and 48 minutes between Boston and New York with four intermediate stops — but reliability problems ultimately doomed the equipment. A Turbotrain takes on passengers at Old Saybrook, Conn., on August 12, 1974. Photo by Bob LaMay
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