Budd: The Dismal End of America's Last Passenger Train Builder [Railroad History]

[@jimw1615]

I worked for ThyssenKrupp in their elevator division. Knowing the heavy industrial basis of the company, I have to believe that it was always to plan to shut The Budd Company down in America to allow TK's rolling stock business in Germany just slip in and absorb any business left at Budd's end.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Thank you for watching and for your comment! That's very interesting to hear!

[@ronclark9724]

Amtrak at one point attempted to reduce the long distance overnight sleeper services to three times per week instead of a daily service. Ridership dropped significantly nationwide as passengers did not like spending two days at any station waiting for the next train. Ridership increased significantly when Amtrak returned to a daily service. While those living on the northeast corridor complain about frequency of service during one day, none can imagine weekly service for the long distance overnight trains throughout the rest of the nation, much less thrice weekly. But without the long distance sleeper services there simply isn't enough national congressional support for Amtrak's regional services along the northeast corridor, around Chicago's hub, or in California... Need mind the long distance sleeper services aren't nearly as profitable... If anything when more rolling stock Amtrak could reinstate several other long distance trains that would generate a better long distance services to more of the nation that are underserved badly. The Desert Wind, the Pioneer, the Texas Zephyr, Twin Star Rocket, Floridian, etc. Amtrak needs to go to more places so that more will ride...

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Thank you for watching and for your very detailed comment!

[@joecummings1260]

They tore the plant down and built a golf course. Politicians were all out there celebrating like that was a good thing.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Thanks for watching and for your comment! Yes, in fact I had a photo of the golf course, but I forgot to put it into the video. I hear the golf course also went bye-bye eventually.

[@CarlGerhardt1]

Yes, it's now houses.@@JeffreyOrnstein

[@Tiger351]

I didn't realise it had been nearly 40 years since their demise, I still vividly remember the "Built under licence from the Budd Company" pates attached to New South Wales R and S class EMU's when I worked for the railways in the 90's here in Australia.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Thank you for watching all the way from Australia and for your comment! Interesting to hear about Budd in Australia - Budd exported either complete railcars made in Philadelphia, or licensed their designs to be built in many other countries.

[@kevinwong6588]

@@JeffreyOrnstein Canadian built cars under license by Vickers and Avco include the M-2 Cosmopolitan, Silverliner IV and Arrow II/III, with assembly in Erie by GE.

[@garbo8962]

Sad that there is no.longer a company building cars in the USA. Can remember driving by the two huge Budd companies in Philly when they had two shifts working

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Thank you for watching and for your comment!

[@interstellarphred]

Thanks a lot Reagan!

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

LOL, thanks for watching and for your comment!

[@MTBSPD]

Foreign companies can successfully build railcars in the US, but US companies can't. Sounds like a management problem.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Thanks for watching and for your comment! Possibly a management problem. But...not all foreign railcar manufacturers have been successful in the US market.

[@250bassercharly8]

it isn't only a management problem.... EMD and Budd Co. made the same problem: few models , no forwarded fabricating techniques. sticking and stalling in 60's style railcar manufacturing. best example: running gear aof metroliners, pennsy bogies that should be capable of running at 160mls /h... designed at the turn from 19tth to 20th. century and only fitted with secondary air cushion for the much higher speed...

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

@@250bassercharly8 Thank you for your informative comment and for watching! Yes...just like the St. Louis Car Company had no designs to replace the PCC streetcar when new trolleys were needed!

[@thomasnovacek4686]

The big problem in business is always the same: you come along and launch an innovative product on the market, at some point you have developed a standard that you want to maintain, and then there are those who want you to calculate everything new down to the smallest detail, which often kills new technologies before they are even introduced. And then a new competitor appears who brings something new onto the market. As a "stone age dinosaur" you no longer have a chance... That is what happened to the American passenger car manufacturers, that is what would happen to the steel manufacturers in the USA if there were not such long transport routes, because car manufacturers can no longer build their cars without the innovative types of steel from Europe, and especially from Austria, and that is what will probably happen to the European rail vehicle manufacturers if they continue to give up market share to China and do not focus on new innovations, preferably since yesterday...

[@MTBSPD]

@@250bassercharly8 To me, that is a management problem. The management is supposed to be looking for ways to modernize the factory, pushing on suppliers to be competitive or look for new ones, checking out what the competition is doing, and trying to stay ahead.

[@detroitdieselseries5071]

This was the same time when GM-EMD closed down their La Grange Illinois locomotive plant in the late 80s early 90s

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Thanks for watching and for your comment! Yes, EMD moved all of their operations to London, Ontario. I think they're back in the US...?

[@williamjones4483]

@@JeffreyOrnstein La Grange (McCook), IL and Muncie, IN. London, Ontario was closed in 2012. EMD also has facilities outside of the United States.

[@AndrewTheRocketCityRailfan4014]

Not to mention the hot waters they had gotten into from the SD50 failure and SD60 hiatus

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

@@AndrewTheRocketCityRailfan4014 Thanks for watching and for the info!

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

@@williamjones4483 Yes...and from what I know, EMD is owned by Catepillar now.

[@eyestoenvy]

American Car & Foundry, Pullman Standard, St Louis Car, Budd, etc all victims of corporate greed and corrupt politicians cutting side deals with our manufacturing at the highest bidder from abroad. And then we are programmed to believe that such type of work is beneath us, with extremely expensive schooling for bloated degrees that serve no real purpose eventually becoming the norm. We are paying a brutal price for foolishly outsourcing almost all of our manufacturing with no end in sight. Did or will we learn? Doubtful.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Thank you for watching and for your comment! I agree....there should be more technical schools/apprenticeships for those who like to make things and work with their hands...most college degrees, as you say, are often worthless, which requires another degree and tnen you are in $100k debt, LOL!

[@AntLox]

Used to ride one to school every day, so loud you couldn't hear your own thoughts

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Thank you for watching and for your comment! Whenever I went to Philly back then, I always rode them. I thought they were great!

[@garyprice6504]

lol😊

[@michaelrocker9000]

It's to bad BUDD is gone. The R-32 series subway cars built for New York City were the best ones bult and ran for a long time of service. Out of the 600 built I believe there are only 10 cars left and used as a Museum Train. Some of those cars never made it in to service as they were shipped to the rail docks in Brooklyn by barge and somehow 6 cars were not secured and slid off and went in to the water. The NYCTA decided not to salvage them due to the fact that they sunk in salt water. The ones that did make in to service came without AC. Over the years they went in to a complete overhaul which included AC.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Thank you for watching and for your comment! I don't think I ever heard the story of the 6 R-32 cars that sunk into the water. Very interesting...might be a subject for a future video, LOL.

[@michaelrocker9000]

@@JeffreyOrnstein I did some searching but couldn't find anything but i grew up in Coney Island and I knew many people that worked at the Coney Island yard repair shop. I was 8 years old when the R-32s came on. I knew some motormen and they used to let me dive em. From the R-1s up to the R-46s.

[@pacificostudios]

Although St. Louis and Budd are gone and Pullman-Standard has built its last passenger train, thousands of freight and passenger cars are being built every year in the U.S. In fact, after P-S delivered their last Superliner II, they continued building freight cars. Freight car buyers seem to be less demanding customers than transit agencies and Amtrak.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Thank you for watching and for your comment! You are absolutely right that P-S continued with freight car building. I recall reading an article about this after they completed the last superliner, and P-S said that freight cars were a very profitable business for them, and that part of the business would continue. And yes, no 30-day 24/hr. a day acceptance test before payment, most likely.

[@pacificostudios]

@@JeffreyOrnstein - The success of the freight railroad biz is the #1 biggest reason the U.S. doesn't have a very good national passenger rail system. In countries like Britain and Japan -- both island countries -- the freight business collapsed decades ago and passenger trains are needed to keep the rails shiny, even if the government must pay subsidies. But BNSF doesn't need a single government penny to keep double-stack container trains roaring between L.A. and Chicago. The decision by Congress to give the Northeast Corridor to Amtrak is probably the happiest result of the collapse of Penn Central in 1970; if CSX owned the NEC, there would be no Acela today because Amtrak would just get parked on sidings.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

@@pacificostudios Great comment, thanks!

[@thomasnovacek4686]

@@pacificostudios Really? No more freight transport in Japan or Great Britain on rails? You are very wrong! Example GB: British Railways no longer exists as a state-owned company. First of all, it must be said that the routes and infrastructure no longer necessarily belong to those who travel on them. Instead, I have to meet the conditions to be allowed to travel on these routes and then I can order a journey, and on these routes, in contrast, I have to pay a toll for this journey. And so numerous transport companies in Europe are now pushing for the routes. For example, DB (Deutsche Bahn) operates in GB via its subsidiary Arriva, and it is also a large freight transport company there. As a rule, routes must at least be able to cover costs, but there are also routes where this is not possible, only in these cases does the state contribute money so that there is still transport there. The roads do not necessarily cover costs either, or have you ever seen a public road that belongs to a private individual? As for Japan: This country also has a lot of freight traffic, in addition to the numerous passenger services. This country would not be what it is without roads alone, because roads take up an enormous amount of space, space that they do not have! For example, in cities like Tokyo, residents cannot own a car if they do not have their own parking space. Without the railway, this country would be in chaos and would not be an economic nation. In Japan, too, the railway has been privatized and now belongs to private companies. There, too, subsidies are only available for services that the state specifies, for example if a train station only has to be kept open for a few schoolchildren, because there is a law there, for example, that every child must have the opportunity to travel to school by train... You see, there is a lot of freight and passenger traffic on the tracks in these countries!

[@pacificostudios]

@@thomasnovacek4686 "Collapse " does not mean "Vanish." I am, of course, comparing the present to the past, when Britain was a leading coal exporter, and every country station had a goods yard. The London Docklands are a good example, where railways would no longer be needed today, but for passenger travel demand. Much the same can be said for Newcastle, Liverpool, Manchester, Croydon, etc. As for Japan, JR once calculated the average freight haul distance to be six miles, mostly from a factory to the nearest port. Furthermore, my own Southern California area has been able to assemble such a large rail passenger network quickly specifically because the railroads are no longer needed to move fruit and aircraft parts, etc. Anaheim, CA, for example, was once served by four railroads: Southern Pacific, Pacific Electric, Union Pacific and Santa Fe. Now only one line remains, and it is owned by Orange County, not BNSF.

[@stickynorth]

Alstom also has factories at Plattsburgh, NY in addition to a half dozen facilities in Quebec and Ontario from back when it was known as Bombardier transportation... Stadler outside Salt Lake could also build in theory plenty of different models they have on offer although they seem to be specializing in Regional Rail offerings as of late with the KISS and FLIRT product lines...

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Thank you for watching, and for your very informative comment!

[@commentorsilensor3734]

French company Alstom bought Union Switch and Signal in 90s. I was a software engineer at a small rail control software company. Union switch subcontracted a small project to that company. Yes, Union switch can build rail. Back in 96, ALstom did not really care about US subsidiary, so long it makes money. Union switch headquarter was at Rochester New York, or maybe that was another office. Also that company also got a small contract from Italian company. That Italian company bought a big rail company in USA. It has office in Pittsburgh. That company built Taipei rail system. BTW, the company I worked was subsidiary of subsidiary of Thompson (sp?) Of France. Thompson was a big corporation in France. Guess, it was US corporation, and French bought it. Thompson was big in rail construction. The company i was working was bought couple times. They happened after I left. Harmon Industry was big in rail construction. Harmon was bought by GE. GE sold that rail software company right away. GE does rail industry. It later spun off. I heard that spun off company bought the software company I used to work. Rockwell also owned that small company. The small company owns rail control system technology that used by many metro systems. Back in 2008, my ex coworker asked if I wanted to come back. She told me every one was building passenger rail, people would have job security. I did go back. Two interesting stories about that software company. I am visual impaired. I don't drive. On the application, I honestly mentioned it. The PM asked me how I would get to work without cars. I did get job because I speak mandarin, and there was a project in Taiwan. The company was and still is in LA. The PM had LA red line project. He asked me that question. That was how screw up US rail passengers rails are. If you don't have cars, don't use. Even a company depends on passenger rails don't take rails. Inow, they drove from WLA to downtown LA. 2 year later after I left, the company hired another visual impared software engineer. I don't know that person. My ex coworker mentioned to me because we have same handicap. I heard one person mentioned that visual impaired person had this statement on his review, this person, cannot drive, therefore, he cannot work in Cleveland transit system. The review was signed by manager, VP, and HR. only in America, employees of company depends on passenger rails don't take rail. They don't even drive to train systems. Only in America, PM of company depends on passengers rail question about candidate taking public transportation n reject that candidate. I hope I earn their trust, and the company did hire another visual impared. Then again, only in America, company that depends on passenger rail dare to write and endorse review on using non driving skill as part of performance on software engineer. The jobs require no driving, but our passenger rail system outside New York requires driving skill. Only in America. Only in America, KZbinrs are proud of you need car to use rails

[@johnmurray8428]

Interesting thank you. Via Canada recently reported that 10% of its passenger stock was too old to be maintained. The rest you would think is being held together with cable ties and gorilla glue. There needs to be a modernization replacement program there.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Thank you for watching, and for your informative comment!

[@ronclark9724]

Via's old Budd sleeper cars are still running nearly 75 years in age... I hope Via buys the single level Viewliner sleepers which provide a good mix of standard bedrooms and roomettes... I detest the European couchette, unless you are lucky and win it for yourself, there isn't much privacy...

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

@@ronclark9724Thanks for watching and for your comment!

[@drscopeify]

Well made video, you covered the subject very well. We were the world's leading passenger rail manufacturer but we fell in love with cars and it became the symbol of our personal freedom to go anywhere .

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Thank you very much for your positive comment, and for watching!!

[@torccchaser6712]

Budd was a great name in rail car production at one time

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Exactly! Thank you for watching and for your comment!

[@ronclark9724]

Budd created the roomettes North Americans prefer over the old slumber coaches and the European couchettes... All use standard bedrooms for the best sleeper accommodation, although most Europeans book the couchettes while most Americans book the roomettes...

[@O530CarrisPT_C2]

Budd had its licensees outside of the United States: Mafersa in Brazil, Sorefame in Portugal. Mafersa built the shells for Chicago CTA's Morrisson-Knudsen 3200 Series, and Sorefame built the shells for their Boeing-Vertol 2400 Series.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Thank you for that information!!! And Thank you for watching!

[@eligahdukes1430]

I rode those almond joy cars back in Philly. They shook so much it could make u sick and the ac barley worked.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

LOL, thank you for watching and for your comment!

[@vinalboy]

The Almond Joy cars did not have air conditioning. The so called almonds on the top of the cars were actually fans. The City of Philadelphia, who purchased and leased the cars to PTC (Philadelphia Transportation Company), didn’t want to pay the extra cost to have these cars air conditioned. My father worked his entire career at the Budd Red Lion plant as an electrical design engineer.

[@eligahdukes1430]

No wonder it was always hot lol but I miss that ride.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

@@vinalboy Thanks for your comment! I believe SEPTA did an AC test with a few Budd cars. AC may not have been practical for subway cars in 1960; New York did not get its first subway cars with AC until about 1966, and that was a test with 10 cars. About four years later, the issues were worked out and and all future NYCTA subway cars were equipped with AC.

[@vinalboy]

I would suspect that was tried after the almond joy cars were built and delivered. But I’m not sure. I know my father never said anything about retrofitting AC in the cars.

[@JoeyLovesTrains]

Brookville is still around technically… but maybe more startups will pop up in the future

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Thanks for watching and for your comment!

[@svenmartin840]

I hope Amtrak takes a page out of the DieBahn and the Nighttrain to inprove.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Thanks for watching and for your comment! A great idea, but Amtrak being Amtrak, well....

[@svenmartin840]

@@JeffreyOrnstein So true my man. So true.

[@thomasnovacek4686]

“Die Bahn” is the German railway? But hopefully you know that the DB no longer runs night trains, but rather the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) …

[@Hobbytrem]

To know that in 1988 Budd had gone away is cry making. Budd taught the world to make efficient railroad passenger cars, self-propelled cars, etc. My youth was marked by the presence of several Budd products built in my country (Brazil) under license. They carried the Budd logo together with Mafersa's.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Thank you for watching and for your comment about Budd in Brazil!

[@54blewis]

I remember the Budd plant on Hunting Park ave it was only a few blocks from my cousins house ….

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Thanks for watching and thank you for your nostalgic comment!

[@josephhalexander]

Funny how it was in close proximity to the Tastykake factory down the street. I grew up a few blocks from those factories. They were on a Reading line.

[@54blewis]

@@josephhalexander yep

[@musiqtee]

Conundrum: Americans were told “state is stupid”, and vote Reagan. Reagan go “Yes, state is stupid”, and leaves “growth” to corporations and banks. 40 years later we all go “state is stupid”, and vote for more liberalism while not blaming 40 years of liberalism…😅

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

LOL, good point, thanks for your comment and for watching!

[@allangibson8494]

Except Reagan was “conservative” not “liberal”. This is the result of a half century of free market capitalism with steadily eroding regulation.

[@musiqtee]

@@allangibson8494 Conservative not liberal, let’s say neoliberal? But of course, no conservative ever called themselves neoliberal. Like no Labour party (outside US) is actually socialist today… Me neither way back when I was a “neoconservative” - total lack of insight on my part, but I “own” that fact. Blame game doesn’t work, leads to nationalism sometimes. Reagan’s administration (& Thatcher, others) “conserved” what started under Nixon, that’s true. Dollar off gold, re-legalising financialization, deregulation of housing and credit creation… Milton Friedmans wet dream of rebranded liberalism in practice. I think Blyth, Pistor, Stiglitz or Varoufakis share this empiricism - and tell the same back story outside of politics. Old school values (social control) for people, unfettered freedom for corporate interests (ownership, asset creation, rentism) - A “policy” branded as freedom towards voters. Our beliefs are seldom as rational as we’re taught. Human flaw, easily exploited…

[@dlewis9760]

That's ok. We now have a Chicom company making cars in Springfield Mass.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Thanks for watching and for your comment!

[@LetsGoChaseThatTrain]

The Seaboard car shown at 3:10 was actually built by Pullman-Standard. You can tell by the roof design.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Thank you very much for your comment/correction and for watching!

[@onesandzeros]

Thanks Jeffrey, very interesting topic. I wonder why Budd withdrew the trade complaint about Bombardier. Also wonder if they looked at Kawasaki. I think Japan had a carefully coordinated industrial/export policy via their Ministry of International Trade and Industry. I don't think the US ever had anything like that. For all the claims of socialism blah blah blah, the US economy and market are actually highly competitive, only the biggest and most influential get the bailouts :)

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Thank you for watching and for your comment! Yes, that's a good question as to why Budd withdrew their complaint about Bombardier. Guess they knew they could not get the order no matter what...

[@ChrisFisher-hz5cy]

Why didn't we see Chicago Transit Authority Budd 2200-series cars? 1969-2013

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Thanks for watching and for your comment! Yes, you are so right...I guess it was an oversight on my part...the 2200 series are also very unique Budd cars.

[@PaperAirplaneFactory]

Kawasaki makes NYC subway cars here in Nebraska.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Thanks for watching and for your comment! Yes, and I have also read that Nebraskans have voted the R-211 subway cars for NYC "the coolest thing made in Nebraska."

[@johnalbanese30]

Two bad the R211 are a peice of junk.

[@BillyMartin4Life]

@@johnalbanese30 how so? I have ridden on them a few times now, and think they're fine

[@johnalbanese30]

You may have ridden on them, that's after the shop forces have replaced the many parts that have failed. Even the manufacturer doesn't hold much hope for the 179s.

[@jfmezei]

I had read a different angle to the Budd story some time ago (sorry, don,t recall where). Budd was always a steel company and still is to this day, working to supply car parts made of steel. While the name Budd is associated with transit by most, it was a side business for them. And this is why they spun off that division while the Budd company continued with ts focus back on steel. This matters because this is why the USA, which was a world leader with the UAC turbo train, fell back to being unable to compete: when Budd had probelms getting contracts, gues what lobbying did: FRA passed regulation that basically required rail cars be build of USA steel which favourd Budd while the rest of the world were building modern trains made of aluminium. This is why for instance, Alstom couldn't bid the TGV for Acella V1 and Bombardier did joint venture and desiged a totally new heavy steel train wity some Alstom tech inside. But evertime you have to adtapt a service proven train to meet FRA standards with new "made in USA" components, it result in a totally new train with a lot of debugging needed. (the new Acellas are a hybrid of the TGV-M locomotive and Pendolino coaches with new tilting software for USA only which has caused many delays). (Amtrak who owns the tracks it will uyn on would have saved a lot of money and time bankig its tracks and avoiding having to order problem-plagued tilting trains). FRA finally relented at end of 2018 and allowed aluminium shell rail cars again. In the initial restructions, there was a loophole to grandfather existing models, which is why the Hawker Siddely Bi Levels (sold by Bombardier) could still be sold because that model was introduced prior to "must be steel" rules, same with the Montreal Locomotive Works LRC (sold by Bombardier) which Amtrak trialed with modified components to meet "made in USA" which lead to dismal failure and quick return to Bombardier. In its 2018 ruling, the FRA admitted that its rules had resulted in the USA losing its rail industry, unable to compete and that it should allow importing modern models instead of requiring every train to be designed news for a single order within the USA. The heavy steel Siemens Venture were imported and worked to be FRA compliant for Brightline well before FRA updated its rules, so it isn't about to restart that work to import its newer aluminium shell from Europe and downgrade it to USA standards. For the current Brightline west, there are lobbying pressures to force Brightline to buy "made in USA" signaling (aka Wabtec) which means old style CTC with PTC add-on instead of buying made-for-high-speed standard ETCS signaling. Forcing Wabtech's old tech onto Brightline will not only cause Brightline problems but also send wrong signal that the USA government will protect old tech instead of giving hint to the USA rail industrry to move from the 1950s to the 21st century. As an example, a TGV train at 300kmh needs to keep a distance of 7 blocks from the train ahead of it because it takes that long to come to full stop. In North America, a red light usually means to slow down to restricted speed and be ready to stop before hitting the train ahead of you ON THE SAME BLOCK. (recent Norfolk Southern derailment was exactly that). So for all the glory days of Budd, its refusal to move away from steel has lead not only to its own demise, but also to slowing down progress of passenger rail for both iintercity and urban transit. (it also turns out that steel cars are cheaper to make than aluminium. With higher speeds, weight becomes a big issue (and FRA very aware of this). In a curve, the speed limit isn't about passenger comfort, it is about the lateral force the wheels make on the rails which risk being pushed out sideways and causing derailment. The heavier the train, the slower it must go through curves. This is why proper high speed trains are always aluminium and as light as possible. Having said all of that, the RDCs and stainless steel Budd cars from the 50s and 70s are still in service today which is a testament to their longevity. The fact that Amfeet 1 cars built in 1970s can do 200kmh today is still impressive for a heavy steel car. VIA Rail had some RDCs rebuilt to new in 2009-2010 are used on an "essential" service (former route of the Canadian which was cut in 1989) between Sudbury and White River. (TV Ontario has a 3 hour documentary on that service BTW, look for Tripping Train 185 They were rebuilt by IRSC in Moncton Canada before the goverment cut the contracts to rejuvenate VAI contracts, leaving company having invested mega money to do the contract and forced to bankruptcy when contacts cancelled). Others in the USA have also revbuilt RDCs over the years. Back to the business: Swiss firm Staddler has been able to setup shop in the USA, but hold strongly against political pressure in order to greatly reduce the amount of work to recrea a "new" train for only the USA market. Others capitulate to all the lobbying requests in order to get the contract but en d up with an unreliable product that takes longer to debug to become reliable. (Those Venture cars for Amtrak and Via rail are taking a long time to get to reliable operation, same with the new Acela "Avelia Liberty" contraptions). BTW, FRA insists Alstom provide it with all the operational data. But Alstom can't provide such data because this is effectively a totally new train with unproven tilting system and that is one of the issues that are causing delaying in cetting certification). Oh, and the "must meet FRA specification" ensures no export can ever be made of a "made in USA" train since they are below modern standards expected outside north america.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

WOW, thanks for that great comment, and for watching!! Some transit operators refuse to move away from steel carbodies. New York City Transit demands all their new subway cars be fabricated of stainless steel. They will not consider lightweight cars. I also believe the same thing that is happening or has happened to the railroads in the US is similar to buses. You simply cannot import a foreign bus to the US and then operate it. It must meet US federal highway safety standards, or Federal transit administration standards, and of course, that means a whole new bus just for the US market which may not even sell in significant numbers. There have been some bus builders such as Van Hool that have been able to do this, but I hear they are pulling back their US operations. Mercedes Benz has been trying but it remains to be seen if they are successful. And as you mention, it's taking forever for the new Acelas to enter service. Who knows when that will be, as they've been on Amtrak property for quite some time and deliveries will continue. They'll be obsolete by the time they enter service, LOL.

[@jfmezei]

@@JeffreyOrnstein Steet is politically sensitive in important states, so all government contracts aim to require US steel wherever possible. (but you never see Boeing being forced to use steel for its planes, but for trains, steel is/was mandated).

[@davidjones-vx9ju]

you should fact check your Budd Company info

[@jfmezei]

@@davidjones-vx9ju So I can learn, what of my recollection of what I read about Budd was wrong?

[@davidjones-vx9ju]

where did you get that info? wiki?

[@trainglen22]

You do realize that Budd couldn't continue with no contracts to build new cars.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Thank you for watching and for your comment! Yes...unfortunately, they kept losing orders.

[@alterman156channel]

It is too bad that there are no U.S. based companies building passenger railcars anymore. There was Budd, St. Louis Car Company, Pullman Standard (once separate companies), American Car & Foundry, Pressed Steel Car and many others. Now they are all foreign based. I have seen new railcars come out of the Kawasaki plant in Yonkers (once Otis elevator). From what I gather, there is some tooling that was used there from the St. Louis Car Company. The tooling might still be in use. So in part, some of these long defunct railcar companies is still around in all probability.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Maybe! It would be interesting to know! Thank you for watching and for your comment!

[@Adele.N]

It’s really a shame when Europe has such an expansive train line system that puts the USA to shame and we think the USA is so great. My father use to take the train from Philmont train station every day to the Budd Co. in center city Philadelphia to draft renderings for the trains, etc. he was a draftsman in Philadelphia in the 1950’s so I imagine he did renderings of some of those cool trains. My brother has some of those renderings in his attic that my father was able to keep so after listening to this video I can’t wait to ask him about them.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Wow, thank you for your comment!! Those renderings must be awesome - you may want to try to get them scanned as they would be of much interest to enthusiasts and historians. Would make a good follow-up video! Thanks for watching!!

[@TinLeadHammer]

If you insist on reading your script, do not show yourself in the video. if you do show yourself in the video, either use a teleprompter or learn to read with quick glances to your script and then to the camera.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Ok, thanks for the feedback...if you have any more pointers, just let me know.

[@AntLox]

Philly used one for its money train

[@SamwiseOutdoors]

Trains good cars bad.

[@JeffreyOrnstein]

Good point! Thanks for watching!