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Auto-Train
''Auto Train'' is an scheduled daily train service for passengers and their automobiles operated by Amtrak between Lorton, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), and Sanford, Florida (near Orlando). ''Auto Train'' is the only motorail service in the United States. Passengers ride in coach seats or private sleeping car rooms while their vehicles are carried in enclosed automobile-carrying freight cars called autoracks. The train can carry up to 320 vehicles. The train also includes lounge cars and dining cars. ''Auto Train'' allows its passengers to avoid driving Interstate 95 in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida while bringing their own vehicles with them. It has the highest revenue of any Amtrak long-distance train. The service operates as train number 52 northbound and number 53 southbound. The train operates non-stop between its Virginia and Florida terminals, except for a brief stop in Florence, South Carolina, for servicing and a crew change of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Auto-Train Corporation
Auto-Train Corporation , stylized ''auto-train'', was a privately owned passenger railroad that operated from 1971 to 1981. Its trains included autorack cars, enabling passengers to bring their own vehicles on their journey. The company used its own rolling stock, and traveled on rails leased from major railroads. It served central Florida from points in the Mid-Atlantic region near Washington, D.C., and the Midwest near Louisville, Kentucky. The company failed after 10 years despite the popularity of the service on its primary route, which parallels busy Interstate 95 in five states along the eastern U.S. coast. After a hiatus, a similarly named and operated service (Auto Train) began under the government-financed Amtrak in 1983, which became one of the railroad's most popular services. History An idea of Auto-Train Corporation founder Eugene K. Garfield, a former employee of the U.S. Department of Transportation, the novel approach allowed families to relax en route and save ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
GE U36B
The GE U36B was a four-axle B-B diesel-electric locomotive produced by General Electric from 1969 to 1974. It was primarily used by the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad and its successors, although thirteen provided the power for the original ''Auto Train''. The U36B was the last GE high-horsepower universal series locomotive. Design General Electric's "high-horsepower" universal series locomotives were built around improvements to the 16-cylinder GE FDL-16 prime mover. The U36B, rated at , was the most powerful of the four-axle universal series and the last such design. It was visually indistinguishable from the GE U33B, both of which were long. The locomotives rode on Blomberg trucks from traded-in EMD general-purpose (GP) locomotives. Each locomotive weighed . In common with other high-horsepower locomotives of its generation the U36B had large "bat-wing" radiators at the rear. The Seaboard locomotives had an 81:22 gear ratio, permitting a maximum speed of . The U36B and th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Autorack
An autorack, also known as an auto carrier (also car transporter outside the US), is a specialized piece of railroad rolling stock used to transport automobiles and light trucks. Autoracks are used to transport new vehicles from factories to automotive distributors, and to transport passengers' vehicles in car shuttles and motorail services, such as Amtrak's ''Auto Train'' route. History In the early 20th century, when automobiles were still new technology, their production levels were low enough that they could be shipped in sufficient quantities in boxcars. Two to four automobiles would usually fit into one boxcar. But as the automobile industry grew in size, railroads found that they needed to modify the boxcars for more efficient loading. Some modifications included longer boxcars, larger sliding double side doors located near one end of the boxcar, or doors located on the boxcar ends. These modifications helped, but the demand for new automobiles outpaced the railroads' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United States, contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ''Amtrak'' is a portmanteau of the words ''America'' and ''trak'', the latter itself a sensational spelling of ''track''. Founded in 1971 as a quasi-public corporation to operate many U.S. passenger rail routes, Amtrak receives a combination of state and federal subsidies but is managed as a for-profit corporation, for-profit organization. The United States federal government, through the United States Secretary of Transportation, Secretary of Transportation, owns all the company's Issued shares, issued and Shares outstanding, outstanding preferred stock. Amtrak's headquarters is located one block west of Washington Union Station, Union Station in Washington, D.C. Amtrak serves more th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
