American Flyer (railcar)
The American Flyer was an early streamlined American passenger railcar built by Pullman-Standard in the 1930s. They were the first streamlined equipment operated in New England and acquired their name from the model trains that their design inspired.[1][2]
Characteristics
American Flyer railcars weighed about 55 tons and were built out of light-weight steel alloys such as
Production
In 1935, the Boston and Maine Railroad ordered ten 84-seat and twenty-one 98-seat coaches, followed in 1937 by twenty 92-seat coaches.[1] The Bangor and Aroostook Railroad acquired nine cars of the American Flyer design in 1937 and 1938—four combination mail and baggage cars, three combination food service and coach cars, and two 84-seat coaches.[3][4] Outside New England, ten American Standard cars were purchased by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, ten by the St. Louis Southwestern Railway, ten by the Lehigh Valley Railroad, and four by the Kansas City Southern Railway.[2] Production ceased by the end of the 1930s.[2]
In preservation
A Bangor and Aroostook car converted into MoW service survives at the Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum[5] Two examples of the type, both New Haven Railroad coaches, were purchased by the Railroad Museum of New England for preservation.[6]
References
Notes
Bibliography
- Holland, Kevin (2004). Passenger Trains of Northern New England in the Streamline Era. Lynchburg, Virginia: TLC Publishing. ISBN 1-883089-69-7.
External links
Streamliners Multiple units Passenger stock