No. 10207 Amtrak Electric Power Car Pair, propelling the "Metroliner" Streamlined Lightweight Commuter Train

 National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak)

In the mid-1960s it was apparent that faster commutes between major cities by rail was desirable, because highway and air travel was becoming congested and hectic. One proposed solution was the “Metroliner” concept, developed as a result of the High-Speed Ground Transportation Act of 1965, signed by President Lyndon Johnson.
 
The Budd Company designed and built the “Metroliner” trains, consisting of lightweight Multiple-Unit (MU) power cars at each end of the train, with matching tubular stainless steel coaches in between, to command the electrified Northeast Corridor between New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. (226 miles). These fast trains went into service in January, 1969, on the  Penn Central Railroad,  then Amtrak in 1971, replacing Pennsylvania Railroad’s aging fleet powered by 1930s vintage GG-1 electric locomotives (see No.  10078) and “Congressional” streamliner service (see No. 10118), established in 1952. The typical early “Metroliner” consist was one 34-seat Metroclub car, one 60-seat snack bar coach, and two to four 76-seat Metrocoaches. By offering affordable fares and quick 3-hour trips, the “Metroliner” trains proved to be competitive with airline commuter service between New York and Washington.
 
The coach interiors were designed to give passengers a sound-proofed environment with tinted windows, reclining seats, plenty of leg room, reading lights, on-board telephones, and several food service options. These cars were the models on which Amtrak based its “Amfleet” series of cars (delivered 1973-1977, see No. 10107), used on “Metroliner” trains after 1979, also built by the Budd Company.
 
No. 10207 represents an accurate model in “0" gauge by Williams of a Multiple-Unit (MU) “Metroliner” power car pair, pulling and pushing the 4-car lightweight streamlined commuter passenger train (Nos. 10208 and 10209) as it would have been seen on its 100 mph run between New York and Washington on Amtrak 1971-1981. For another, later (1979) version of “Metroliner,”  see No. 10107. In the year 2000, a new lightweight electric train called the “Acela Express” was  introduced, with 20 trainsets delivered to Amtrak at a cost of $20 million per the European-inspired trainset,  running between Boston, New York, and Washington. Top speed for the “Acela Express” (see No. 10638) is 150 mph, cutting fifteen minutes off the New York-Washington trip, and more than a full hour off the New York-Boston one, which was nearly five hours. The New York-Boston segment has been electrified (1999) for the first time all the way to accommodate the “Acela Express” trains, which replaced the “Metroliners” on all express routes.
 
The Metroliner era came to a quiet termination on October 27, 2006, after more than 37 years of reliable service, replaced by an “Acela Express.” The final New York-Washington “Metroliner” was pulled by an AEM-7 electric locomotive (see No. 10107), bringing to the end the name of the first American high-speed commuter train.  There were six all-reserved seat cars carrying 140 passengers, arriving in Washington at 9:30 p.m. with little fanfare.