In July, 1966, The New York Central Railroad ran a modified RDC (Rail Diesel Car), over their mainline between Bryan, Ohio and Butler, Indiana. Equipped with jet engines, and a sloped front shield, the RDC reached 183 Miles per hour! High-Speed Rail had just been launched in Japan two years earlier, and hopes were that this experiment would pave the way for this type of travel in the United States. To this day, this record still stands as the highest speed obtained by a rail vehicle in the country. A beside the Amtrak station in Bryan, commemorates this event.
On July 23, 1966, New York Central set a new U.S. railroad speed record when jet-powered RDC M-497, dubbed the Pride of the New York Central, hit 183.85 mph on a 24-mile tangent section of 26-year-old joined rail between Butler, Ind. and Stryker, Ohio. The RDC sported cylindrical wheels in place of normal tapered-tread wheels, skirting, an additional set of shock absorbers, and a sloped nose with F-unit number boards for windshields. The modifications reportedly cost just $35,000.
The Central said the jet RDC was a scientific experiment to determine the capabilities of standard equipment to run at ultra-high speed. But some observers darkly suggested that it was an attempt to generate good publicity even as the railroad was plotting to murder its passenger trains – this same year, 1966, the NYC would seek permission to end its legendary 20th Century Limited.
Whatever the reason, the jet RDC was a fascinating mix of old and new technology and bold innovation.
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