(Rare) Vintage Amtrak Trains Abandoned in the Woods - The Passengers Left a Time Capsule!
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- Опубликовано: 6 сен 2024
- Join us as we venture into the woods to uncover these old Amtrak trains left to nature's mercy (and vandals). Along the way, we also found Canadian locomotives and luxury passenger cars. Some of the cars were preserved much like a dusty time capsule of history. We did our best to unravel the stories of these trains using the clues left behind by the final passengers. The items we found frozen in time offered us a glimpse into a bygone era of rail travel. Thanks for watching!
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Interesting video. I'm not on Instagram. Have an awesome and blessed Sunday.
The amtrak unit is an EMD FL9 built in the late 50s and probably retired in the 90s. They were dual mode, meaning they could switch between using diesel power and electric power from a 3rd rail where electric locomotives were required in new york city. They pretty much stayed captive to new england. They probably wouldn't have lasted as long if they didn't have the unconvential dual-mode use.
So fascinating to think of all the years it served and the places it went
The big round object at the end of the locomotive is a generator; it was turned by the diesel engine which in turn powered the electric traction motors that turned the wheels.
Amtrak engine is from the 50s. Really cool to see.
Ex New Haven, later Amtrak 485. Built in 1955, retired in 2002.
Just like metronorth of both in the 1990's on the danbury hudson lines!
Last Sleeping cars had a plaque stating it was Southern railway. So it basically means Amtrak never used it. Southern Railway was last to hand over it its main train to Amtrak, the train that is today the Cescent (so it continued to operate it as Southern Railway while Atrak was starting to run all the other trains.
In the sleeoing cars double seats perpendicular to tacks: betdoom. The couch unfold into a bed, and the ceiling drops or wall folds down to create upper bunk bed. Most had provate bathroom. The small er rooms with bed parralel to tracks are called Roomettes, for one person. Had a sink, and under the small bench, a toilet. (but at night the bed would cover that small bench so toilet not usable while bed was down.
Not 100% sure, but the 2nd loco with rounded nose might be an FP9. (but there were other models with that look). Those were from 1950s. Remember that Amtrak inherited fleets whose newest cars were from the 1950s after which the railroads stoppe dbuying new equipment with some exceptions like metroliners.
We had a couple of yard tracks to store the vintage passenger railcars in Los Angeles(1980's). They couldn't "Give Them Away' because it cost more in scrapping than the value of the stainless steel, copper, and iron. One private party started to dismantle one of those passenger cars and gave up less than half way threw because he was spending more on acetylene than the worth of the scrap metal. That's why you see places like this where they just abandon them in abandoned tracks. I do know of two private parties who bought a coach car each to restore and lease them out for private parties. They ran behind the last Amtrak car and the baggage car. Even that was a money loser. Changing subjects......face the equipment when you descend the ladder on any railcar or locomotive.
Well, I can help you answer some questions since I rode in those type of cars in 1976 ..believe it or not when I was 18 years old as a high school graduation gift. My best friend's dad and mine bought us a 21-day rail pass to see the country! . We were 18 so that was considered grown up back then. Life was less mean like today. We went out west. And rode in this very type of car.I remember the colors and seats! very comfortable. The things you are calling snow cone cups were the water cooler cups...of course everything has been ripped our. That open car was the lounge with lots of chairs and tables and sofas..they sold drinks and some hot food.mostly hot sandwiches..there was also a real dinning car. With full meals...this looks just like the train from Ohio to Chicago...the western trains were even nicer with dome lounges upstairs and even nicer bigger coach seats.you also got a nice pillow and blanket. Amtrak was very nice 1976 as they were only 4 years old, and we had gas shortages then. I loved this trip on these cars and yes very comfortable and no phones..pcs. everyone was reading or playing games and when the train stopped you would see people running to the station pay phones to call someone! yes, lots of smoking in the club car Tho coaches were no smoking or smoking...these cars have been out of service since the early 1980s when Amtrak bought brand new cars...someone must have owned these cars all these years it looks like the vandalism is recent. Terrible
Back when Amtrak was actually a respected mode of cross country travel. Wish I was alive back then to experience it.
That's awesome. Must have been an incredible experience. Thanks for sharing those memories!
The little “sno cone” cups were water cups…you’d fill them at the water cooler that was somewhere on the car.
i hope this cars and locomotive some museum rescued this gems
Head end power means the locomotive generated power for passenger cars . Most likely that car was a hand me down front one of the railroads who gave up on passenger business in 1971 with the formation of Amtrak . . Amtrak has to make due with cars from the 40's , 50"s , and 60"s . They modernized them as best as possible including carpet on the walls .
My god! The so-called "snow cone" cups are water cooler cups!
You're looking at an FL-9 locomotive built between 1956 and 1960. . Used in either electric or diesel mode. These engines were a part of the Northeast Corridor from the 60's thru the 70's
The "snow cone" things were what prople used to get water to drink out of the dispenser in every car.
They realy ought to be in a Rail Road museum..
If you notice towards the end in the last pullman sleeper, there is a cabinet labeled Shoe Compartment. There was also an access door to this locker for the Porter who would come by at night and polish your dress leather shoes for you. Keep in mind yesrs ago People dressed professionally when they traveled unlike today. This was a nice service when traveling first class. Next time you video one of these old cars pan slower. Some of us older guy's can help you. By the way the second seat in a locomotive is for the conductor on a freight train.
Would be nice to see them restored!
The Whippany RR museum - M&E (Morristown & Erie) probably purchased these ages ago, real cheap for like a $1 and planned on refurbishing them for excursions or static museum display and they don't have the money do it so they just sit there on the siding. It's too bad...
wow, that is a shame
Firstly realize that these aren’t abandoned but rather in storage. I’m sure someone owns them. No, Amtrak didn’t just lose track of them. The last car you entered is former Canadian National sleeper (green & black paint). The Maine Montreal & Atlantic engine is a former Bangor & Aroostook GP-7, built around 1953. The paint job dates from around 1980-85. There was another B&A engine that you didn’t show much of that was a GP-9 rebuilt in the 90’s.
They are abandoned
You guy's are so respectful to all the vandalism of the entire train. Loved your vidio watched the entire vidio! I love train travel. I'm in to steam Locamotive's.... But all the coaches you went through the vintage coaches were the very best. They had so much class. It's a disgrace that the RR. leaves them abandoned to the horrible vandel's to destroy. I'm sure when they were all parked every one was in full service. Thank you guy's pls do more. Be safe!
Thanks for sticking around! Glad you enjoyed.
The Amtrak engine definitely was a streamliner built either in the late 40's or 50's. The color scheme started around 1980. I remember riding Amtrak in the south in 1981. This unit was probably used in the northeast corridor because I never recalled seeing an engine this old used on the southern routes.
I had no idea the engine was that old while I was there!
The cars are from the Amtrak Rainbow Years. When Amtrak started they took passenger cars from most of the railroads, because passenger svc wasnt paying amd the rail roads wanted to end it. The US gov. came up with Rail Passenger Co., Amtrak and used what the RRs gave them. They eventually painted the locos and cars with the Amtrak livery. In like 1976, they finally got the passenger sets we are familiar with today, a few later adding the Superliners. The loco was from the 50s, Amtrak got new locos in the late 70s, early 80s, but the had to be able to bebused for freight, because Amtrak wasnt expected to last. In the early 90s they go the GE Genesis locos and now today, they are getting all new locos and cars.
50:46 That is the dynamic brake. It uses the motors to slow down the train. To describe it best I can, the wheels of diesel locomotives are actually electrically powered (If you ever see a locomotive labeled as "diesel-electric", that's why). The diesel motors give them power, hence why trains don't have transmissions. The higher the locomotive RPM, the more power fed to the traction motors making the train move faster. The dynamic brake limits the current on the motors thus forcing the train to slow down. The dynamic brake doesn't have an emergency mode because it can't actually bring the train to a complete stop.
Dude! Both Coach and Sleeper car passengers had access to the Dining car. Like Amtrak today, the price of meals was included in the ticket for First Class Coach had to pay for their meals aboard the train
Cars are at the Morristown & Erie in northern New Jersey. Maybe show the car numbers so anyone with access to equipment records can look up cars ownership history.
Amtrak during the 1980s sold off many of the cars it acquired from railroads when it began in 1971. Per Southern Railway cars, Amtrak ran em for a while then returned the cars to Southern which then sold off most of em. A number are at Via Rail Canada which totally rebuilt them during the 1990s.
I'll keep that in mind going forward. thanks for the feedback
The porter would come in your room that would get your bed ready. He had a special key to pull your bed down.
All of the the porcelain sinks and toilet are the first thing the 'Scrappers' smash to recover the copper pipes and valves.
Meanwhile they left a ton of valuable copper in the first engine
I remember as a kid, I saw one of those engines with the logo Amtrak, in the late 50s.
Not possible 😂
I just joined. Very informative video.
The only long distance train experience I had was the beginning of 1967. I was in the fourth grade at the time. The train was the Silver Meteor. Leaving Penn Station Newark NJ to Tampa Florida. About 25 hours in coach. The train was operated by the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. If I recall correctly. The locomotive looked the same like the one in the video. As I said correctly because it was a long time ago lol.
When we returned from Florida three months later. It was on the Silver Star. Again by the Seaboard Coast Line. To New York Penn Station.
The plan was to live in Florida. But due to family issues we had to return up north.
Not snow cone cups, the paper cups are for water. I remember being on an Amtrak train when I was a kid. They had a “cold water” taps on the train it was a little push button spigot. If you would like to see an Amtrak concept cars, there is the Tennessee valley railroad museum. Next option would be the Erie railway museum in Pennsylvania. All of those cars were for marketing research for passengers. The concept cars were supposed to be destroyed after the testing were completed, however these didn’t make it to the scrapyard. Nice video.
If someone is smart they could make a home out of those! 😮😮😮😮😮
8:57 This is a F unit. It's an old locomotive from the 50's that was "given" to Amtrak in the 70's to kick it off and to get rid of the old motive power the Railroads were using with the passenger rolling stock. this one made it in Amtrak's history to the point that it was stripped of it's original Railroads livery and given the Amtrak Livery.
thanks for the info
I let everyone on Virtual Railfan, Ashland VA, channel about your vid. So you might get ALOT of info, from us railfans. Please come join us. You video is GREAT. I Love it, the History of Amtrak. Seeing the cars as they were after the rainbow years. Thank You!!!
Thank you for spreading the word! We've gotten a lot of great info over the past few days
You missed the door into the nose in the first engine which just like the Amtrak one would also have had a toilet in it
I used to ride amtrack back in the 70s from Chicago down to Cairo Illinois as a child by myself from moms to dads.one night i fell asleep and missed my stop two trains had to stop in the country and switch me back north. I was on my way to new Orleans.
cool story - thanks for sharing!
I always have a great respect for does conductors,no one gives them credit, but there the one that transport our the needs to have those stores fill for us.❤😊
The seat across from the Engineer is for the Brakeman, not his partner.
Is this the NJ Lackawanna Cutoff track ?
They are planning on rebuilding the line and scrapping these old cars and locos
No it's a siding off the Morristown and Erie in East Hanover NJ.
Save the amtrack loco!
@@ELAlcoRS3 With a lot of woods around there as you already know. These should find homes or uses not just sit there like this.
cones are water cups
The small white cups were cups to drink water.
Those trains are massive. I don't understand why people blast out the window's.
Wow! Excellent catching everything inside the Amtrak train, I like it, it's awesome, thank you very much and have a nice day.
thanks for watching!
@@ForgottenUSA You're very welcome.
I see abandoned Amtrak cars near steelyard in Cleveland Ohio
@@Charles-iv4yd do you know how old they are?
@@ForgottenUSA They look like the rolling stock, Amtrak got at the beginning
Pull tabs were outlawed in 1975
A few more answer ..The sign says do not flush in station. Why? because believe it or not the toilets empty right onto the tracks! I remember seeing light when I flushed the toilet. Amtrak had to retire theses 1950s cars because of that ...and bought new cars so they were all gone by about 1980-81.so all that junk and 2008 papers is from sometime in storage. Yes those are Canada ..as it looks like someone bought all this stuff for doing what you were thinking. Fixing them up for travel and gave up went under or passed away as it looks totally abandoned. Also the little sink was for brushing your teeth. I asked the porter what it was, and he laughed and told me
wow I never knew that about the toilets. Thanks for sharing!
Amtrak came to exist by federal mandate 1971.
By the late 1960s and early '70s trains disappeared off the tracks. The federal government wanted a train and this is how Amtrak became what it is today.
It still is federally funded by Congress. And they're always running in the red never in the black. However hundreds of thousands of people use them throughout the United States every day.
Great video there. I like these older trains.
thanks for stopping by!
More than likely the trash is from other people breaking into the car before you did
Correct...these video ("artists") think they stumbled into some kind of "time machine", looking at the rubble on the floor ("Oooh, wow, dude!!"). Being a railroad historian, I watched this (purposely) with the sound "off", noticing how these "goofballs" had no clue where to look to see/find the really "good" stuff.
I smoked Kools, Salem and Newport cigarettes back in the 70s
This reminds me of taking the train with my mom in the 1970s. Wow.
re: 24:20 :....except when in Station." That's because the toilet had no holding tank so everything just dropped on the ground.
Not a problem unless you worked in the track department.
Hi my new friend and great 🚆🚂 video
thanks for watching!
Awesome. Thanks for making the video.
thanks for watching!
That car is from the mid-1970’s. My brother and I rode down to Florida to visit our Dad and grandparents after Christmas, Easter, and for a month every summer. Otherwise we lived with our Mom in New York. The one engine with diesel and electric units was probably used on the East Coast to, from, and through the NYC area that ran on electric third rail. Taking the train started in the first oil embargo and continued until we were of age. Flying was too expensive and driving ran the risk of running out of gas. Besides, we liked being able to walk through the train if got bored. Once, it was very cold in NY, but got increasingly warmer as we got south. They couldn’t figure out how to turn off the heat. People were getting sick. My brother found a great place to ride in comfort, on the top shelf of the extra luggage rack at the end of the car, but outside the door. A porter tried to shoo us away, so my bro bribed him with $15 and he left us in peace.
cool memories. thanks for sharing!
Enjoyed that, cheers from UK :)
cheers!
Awesome job really cool stuff
MM&A was the railroad that had the runaway train that derailed and blew up a town in Canada
Lacmagentic I think was the town
The locomotives were in disrepair. They didn't have enough staff.
They would leave the train unoccupied running overnight on the main
There was a fuel leak and the engine caught fire. The fire department responded and put out the fire and turned off the fuel shutting down the locomotive.
The engineer, because the company cut his hours, didn't have time to set the hand brakes, and he thought the air brakes would hold the train.
The fire department left.
The air pressure bled off
The train was on a downhill grade
Once the pressure reached 30 the train started to roll
It was carrying crude oil
People heard and saw the train unoccupied with no lights running faster than any train before.
In town there was a right hand curve and a switch.
There was an LPG 500 gallon tank used to power the switch heaters.
The train was doing 75 MPH when it hit the curve, jumped the track, smashed into the LPG tank, and it blew up 4 city blocks. The tankers with crude oil broke open and started burning.
The railroad blamed the engineer.
They expected him to work 3 hours without pay setting all the hand brakes and then come back 2 hours later and work another 3 hours without pay removing the brakes.
I used to run the ATCS Monitor server for the D&H line in upstate NY.
They cut staff so severely that trains would sit on sidings running for weeks because they had no engineers.
It was very common for 4 engineers to be in Canada and they had to take a cab 5 hours down to Mechanicville, or 7 hours to Binghamton, off the clock, not getting paid, to pick up their trains and then start their 12 hour shift.
It was SOP for engineers to be awake for up to 24 hours driving the trains. Many of them fell asleep standing up.
The trains are over 2 miles long and they have just 1 person running it.
They also force them to keep going past the 12 hour limits because there is nowhere a 14,000 foot train will fit.
They actually built a new track from CPC-31 to CPC-33, but that is not long enough to fit these trains.
They ripped out all the double track to cut down on maintenance cost.
The disaster in East Palestine, the wheels were on fire for 50 miles, and they passed 3 Hot Box Detectors and none of the radios were working because they fired all the signal maintainers to increase stock prices and pay the CEO 10 million dollars in bonuses.
And in December Congress was lobbied ( pronounced paid ) to pass the RAILROAD SAFETY ACT OF 2025
It limits the maximum payout to just 10,000 dollars per death caused by the railroad.
If you ever want to see just how corrupt the swamp is, go to your state house or watch CSPAN3 on December 31st from 6pm till midnight
You think Congress and state government can't get things done, you should see that night.
They do yes nay votes, hundreds of them in a matter of hours.
Eliminating safety and limiting amounts of payouts and giving immunity to corporations and giving huge tax cuts to the wealthy and eliminating Medicaid and Food Stamps.
And they set the date for the laws to take effect for up to 5 years in the future.
You have heard of welfare to work but what you don't know is that the government pays the corporations 30.00 an hour to employ slaves forced slave labor.
I used to work for State social services and we force anyone who had a vehicle to become a taxi and put as many as 12 people into a four-door standard size car and make them drive up to 200 miles dropping people off at different businesses to work for 6 hours for no pay.
The people had no way to get home
And you had to work 30 hours a week for 3 months before you were able to receive a $50 a month welfare check
End the corporations were required to hire you at that 90 day point but they never did and always found a reason to fire the person and so they never received welfare.
Not only that what's the state would take your children and put them into a daycare center that you had to pay for.
If you refused the state would take your children away and arrest you.
I left crying every night
After a year I had a full-blown nervous breakdown and I never recovered
I was sitting in my car at midnight sobbing and two of my co-workers came out and called EMS and they took me to the hospital and sedated me
I told the psychiatrist what my job was and what I had to do to people and I said I couldn't live with myself anymore hurting people like this and I don't understand why our government is so cruel and sadistic.
At least the Nazis didn't pretend that they were trying to help people
The system is so bad that if you are a single individual and you live alone and you don't have children you've never had children and someone calls CPS and reports you for child abuse you are investigated and placed on the child abuse registry forever
That's crazy but that's the law at any time a police officer runs your plate or license that comes up
I had four different state officials come to my house a year after I had left working for the state and two of them were from CPS and two of them were from the SPCA.
I don't own animals I am allergic to the fur I can't own animals I've never owned animals but they searched my house for animals and they searched my house for children I never had.
I didn't understand when I first started working for the state why so many people were so angry with us and why we had 6 inch thick steel doors and bulletproof glass.
After 3 months I understood why
The corporations get all of the welfare money
And now with the managed Care organizations the MCOs that have replaced Medicaid and privatized it in 38 States no doctors or hospitals except the mcos so those corporations get to keep all of the money the taxpayers pay for Medicaid.
Our government is so bad. As bad as any other one.
When I saw other countries where people actually have freedom and rights and saw the news about America and learn just how bad America is and how much we are surveilled, I wanted to move to another country. But from working 3 jobs my whole life my heart gave out and now I am bedridden, and there are no CNAs the state does not pay for care for sick people and I am dying alone in a welfare department in severe pain everyday and the only contact I have with the outside world is my phone that sits next to my oxygen and respirator.
I wish I could have known when I was 18 that nothing I did would get me the American dream.
I work for one of the four major banks in America and I had to replace the rear projection 60 inch TVs with the new 120 inch plasma TVs in the private apartments in the office building that was for the executives
I watched over the course of two weeks as the CEO who made over a million dollars a day would take his private limo to one of the airport hotel bars and pick up a young woman every night and bring her back to his private apartment in the corporate building.
On January 1st he plays 125,000 to social security and never pays another dime
Will all of us pay 15% of our income to social security for the entire year
If you wonder why social security is going broke it's because the wealthy have rigged the system so they only pay less than 0.001% of their income to social security and less than 11% income tax, while you and I pay 15% to Social Security, 28% to federal income tax, 18% to State income tax, 8% to state sales tax, and 8% to Medicare.
77% of our income goes to the government.
I saw the tax returns and not only did many pay no tax, they received hundreds of millions of dollars in refunds.
The largest corporations in NYC paid no city tax, no state tax, no property taxes and were given a billion dollars to not move jobs overseas, but moved them anyway.
Global Foundries in upstate NY cost the town and the county and the state over 20 billion dollars
All the loans and grants, they said they don't know what happened to the money.
But that's okay.
If you are$20 short in your register you get arrested but when a corporation steals 20 billion dollars that's just fine
I never understood why old men were so bitter and angry and now that I am old I understand why they are bitter and angry because I'm mad as hell
The system is rigged
Surprised that the copper thieves didn't steal all the copper wire & breakers out of the amtrak engine
50:50 ,that's a GM built train 🚆 ,you can see the tag plate below the controls
This young fellow doesn't seem to get out much. You can still buy a pack of Kool cigarettes in the soft pack, and we still use those paper cone style cups to this day. Usually, they are right beside a Gatorade or water cooler, and that is not a "pull tab" Budweiser can. Lol
Amtrak sometimes places sleepers up front or in back.
Next time can you video the outside of the cars. That would provide a wealth of info as well.
I will thanks for letting me know!
It's a shame vandals just have to destroy and leave their mark!
Those snow cone cups you discovered are actually water cups from back in the day.
Is that first engine a GP7? Might be ex-C&NW with those ATC controls in the cabinet!
2:14
The MMA? No wonder these are sat here, the Montreal Maine & Atlantic was responsible for the Lac Mégantic runaway and explosion, they filed for bankruptcy shortly after, so these GPs have probably sat here since then.
The amtrak locomotive looks like an E-series, they were produced in the 30s-40s, that was likely retired in the late 70s early 80s. Amtrak acquired it in 1971 along soth a lot of other antequated equipment.
Not likely these cars and units ever were at Montreal Mayhem and Megantic.
oh wow...i'll have to look into that incident
I wonder if you could make one of the cars Livable.
No leads as to who owns them?
I would think Amtrack still owns them.
That engine is not a loud as one would think. We had 4 of them on a ocean going tug I crewed. Looks like a 12 -567-A.
interesting, thanks for sharing
Damn i dint even know one of antraks fl9 still exist
I used to ride the North Coast Hiawatha to Livingston, Mt and it was usually made up of cars that belonged to the Great Northern, Northern Pacific and the locomotives once belonged to the Milwaukee Road
must have been some incredible scenery
How do you forget that you still have rolling stock including engines on the books? That's AmTrak for ya.
That's crazy it could had been rebuilt from the inside out!!!!! 😮😮😮😮
16:47 _ What a nostalgic pack of cigarettes! On a modern Amtrak, if you are caught smoking in there, no matter where they are, including the dry desert, they will stop the train and kick you out. But what actually happens, they do give passengers certain stops as smoking break and you see the passengers waiting in the train by the door with their unlit cigarettes in their mouths ready for that stop.
times have certainly changed
To start there's a bunch of breakers u gotta flip on
I didn't serve snow cones on amtrak but it was for the water fountain area etc-
Ps.Toot, toot...
Where in NJ is this located
Frozen in time and rest away!
I encourage people to support Amtrak
Yes coach could eat a meal.
Older than 08 if they didn't have toilets that were not connected . Rode in 06 and toliet were not flushed into rail.
It's an f-7 from the fifties or maybe 60s it's neater than hell it's sad that people have to vandalize everything 😔
Off the side of train lol
One of the engines was a F7
. I did not see enough detail to tell what the others were.
its a shame that the Amtrak engine is just rotting. Talk about "Government efficiency". 😕
I wonder if it could be started?
Wonder if it will start
I love amtrak
I like the video
Vintage not retro. Vintage is something old. Antique is older. Retro is something new made to look old. It is possible that an older retro object can also be vintage; take for example a 1980s retro 193os style cathedral radio that is now 40 years old. The original radio could be vintage but at over 90 years of age it would be more properly antique
you're right - I fixed the title. thanks!
Those seats in the engine dont look very comfortable for long runs
Great video love trains
Thank you very much!
Happy to subscribe.
thank you!
Could be water funnels
That coke label was after 2007
Each train has an unique number located on the engine. If desired, you can purchase the train with all of the cars for about the same cost as the scrap value. First you need to check ownership of the train to see if Amtrack stills owns it. Obviously this video was made by trespassing on private property 😮
Silver Streak.
Where is this ?
Most vandalism happens at night when businesses are closed lol
Location?
cool vid, heres your engagement.
thank you!
mid or early '70's, i'd say
Dude! You're looking at both the engine and the generator because the locomotive is a Hybrid! Do a little research
I think Amtrak was formed in 1972
Close - 1971. (May 1st, 1971, to be exact.)