Train of tomorrow (1950's style !?)

In a book on Railroads (printed in the UK in the 1950's) there is an artists impression of, quote 'a new train planned for the Chesapeake & Ohio railroad. This shows that a remarkable change may take place in genereal appearance of the train of tomorrow. Instead of an assembly of coupled, separate vehicles, with a locomotive at the head, the coming shape of the railway may develop into a long articulated line of which the motive power unit forms the head' unquote.

There is a drawing of a rather futuristic train that I assume never left the drawing board. Does anyone have any info. on this project & what happened.

I realise without an image I could be talking about any proposed loco but if this rings any bells with anyone I'd be obliged.

Many thanks.[/img]

Late 1940's Robert Young came up with his X train. A couple cars were built and pulled around by trains for display and so forth but Mr. Young went on to become President of the NYC and it fell through. The NYC did have there version of the X train called the Xpeider. There is more information on the X train at the C&O Historical Society in Clifton Forge VA USA. Email then with a research request and i'll look up the information for you. I work there one day a week. And i'll see what i can dig up for you.


Scott

Thanks for your help Scott, I'll check out your suggestion.

Kind regards,

David.

"Train X" was the official name. I believe it was based on the Talgo principle, but with further suspension refinements. Train X was developed by Young's in-house mechanical research department headed by K. A. Browne, an aeronautical engineer. As noted above, the Train X patents were used on a couple of the mid-1950s experimental lightweights, including NYC's "X-plorer" and, I believe, one of the New Haven trains. Alan Cripe, one of Browne's staff on the C&O, later got the rights to the patents, which he promoted to United Aircraft. Subsequently the design was used for the UA Turbotrains on Amtrak and the CN. So "Train X" was hardly a fantasy even though, logically enough, it was never used on the C&O.