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Amtrak Turboliner

On the side of the road in rural Indiana is an odd sight: a dilapidated, yet futuristic train engine poking out of a forest, along with a few rusting train cars. The name on the side of the train even sounds futuristic - "Turboliner."

In the early 1970's, Amtrak - America's national passenger rail company - struggled with an aging, slow fleet of trains compared to European operators. As part of an effort to bring high speed rail to America, Amtrak bought six gas turbine trains from the French National Railway Company.

The ANF T 2000 RTG Turbotrain trainset consisted of two power cars, two coach cars, and one dining car. Both power cars had control cabs at the front, a 1,140 horsepower gas turbine engine, and seating in the rear. While designed to run as a five car trainset, the most common configuration did not include the diner car. While the trains could reach 125 mph, they rarely topped 80 mph due to poor track conditions.

Introduced in 1973, Turboliners saw service in from St. Louis to Detroit but were withdrawn from service in 1981 due to high operating costs. Train 59 entered service in 1975. According to various internet sources, the train and two turbocoaches were moved from an Amtrak maintenance yard near Indianapolis in 1992 or 1993 to a junk yard in Dugger, Indiana, where they have been sitting since.