Music City Star Nashville, TN Commuter Train

Hop on board the Music City Star as we head east through the suburbs of Nashville! Taking its name from Music City itself, this train runs from downtown Nashville east to Lebanon, TN, a distance of 32 miles. 6 round trips run each day, with 3 in the morning and 3 in the afternoon. Two of the round trips are only between Nashville and Mt. Juliet. Future plans call for additional commuter lines along different highway corridors around the city of Nashville.
In this video, you will see the central Tennessee countryside as you follow the train east between Donelson and Martha before returning west. Like most commuter railroads, Music City Star uses a cab car on one end of the train, so you will see both locomotives leading as well as the cab cars.
Equipment Info:
Locomotives: 4 F40PH (all ex Amtrak)
Cars: 7 (All Ex-Metra/Chicago RTA)
Website:
www.musiccityst...
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©2016 Mike Armstrong Video

[@DC4260Productions]

Top quality video. I find it very cute how they've got 3,000 horsepower F40PH engines pulling just 2 or 3 cars.

[@s0nnyburnett]

+London Underground 1973stock easy work for the retired locos.

[@CoasterFan2105]

+London Underground 1973stock Thank you very much, I'm glad you enjoyed it. It is a really neat little operation. Hopefully I have the chance to see it again at some point.

[@dboykrank47]

Yeah, personally, I think they should haul 6 cars, save money and expand the line. Also, I think it would be cool if they only stopped at certain stations depending on what time it is.

[@TheBrandon40500]

@@dboykrank47 They run so few cars as next to nobody rides it and they cant expans as they run on the Nashville & Easters's tracks.

[@yungjj5884]

Brandon They’ve already ruled out trying to expand it to Murfreesboro because of the CSX mainline. Now they’re talking about bringing Amtrak from Atlanta to Nashville

[@kylekirchenbauer6584]

I rode this train to work today. I gotta say, I was amazed by the sheer power pulling just three cars of barely-motivated workers of the world. The F40PH does, however, have a way of making you feel like you can do anything. I just wish I could carry that energy through the entirety of my workday in the way the Music City Star carried me.

[@meganb6044]

Best comment of all time. Hands down.

[@Rob424]

Great video! The busiest time of day for the train is early mornings and late afternoon for bringing people from small towns outside of nashville into downtown Nashville for work. I rode this train mid day and we had a car to ourselves. The Music City star is debating to expand to a few more towns.

[@CoasterFan2105]

That would be cool! Thanks!

[@ayseakbaba3658]

Ppp1ppp0p000000000ih9

[@basictransportenthusiast4386]

I love to see those almost untouched F40PH's. I also love to see that F40PH 381 kept its number and its paint job from Amtrak.

[@Buseslacalera]

That Was Just I Was About To Say Lol

[@jacobl4699]

Lived in Nashville for 30 years and never knew this beautiful train was so close by! Thanks for the great video - really learned a lot from this. have a great day man!

[@YardLimit]

Great video. I like commuter trains.

[@TommyPicklesFan]

+Yard Limit Me too.

[@CoasterFan2105]

+Yard Limit Thank you!

[@joannazajic8890]

CoasterFan2105 shhjkjjcjchchchchhxhchhchxhhhxhhuhhbiiyrqpp a. Mnkj. Hjhhxfhfhhbdxbxncnncjjxhdhdhdhxhb by morning you you know what you

[@AirchimeLTDproductions174]

I favor the music city star alot and hope they will get additional rolling stock. And the K5LAs on those locos and cabcars sound great too!!

[@ControlPointDonelson]

401 the one with the high pitch fade is the only operational music city star cab coach left all other ones are wego star

[@ControlPointDonelson]

Its very sad. 504 is the only music city star trailer coach now

[@ControlPointDonelson]

My mistake the one in this video is 400. But the one not shown is the only surviving one

[@GenesisSanctuary]

Awesome video! It's really cool seeing this classic equipment in action. The F40s are really awesome to watch.

[@CoasterFan2105]

+GenesisSanctuary Thanks! They are really neat locomotives! It's probably one of the best places to see the old Amtrak F40's running these days.

[@ryenavillafuerte6862]

​@@CoasterFan2105😊😅😅😊

[@lil5713]

This reminds me of the GTA San Andreas trains

[@Astr0_Feline]

It does, because Of stars and has 2 cars

[@youraveragejoe2]

Brownstar

[@HenryLikesTrainss]

Brown streak trains?

[@mcdonnelldouglasmd-1184]

That a small rolling stock they have! 4 locomotives and 7 cars!

[@RTD8481]

Those are our old Ex Metra Chicago commuter cars

[@AtTheCrossingProductions]

and surfliner F40PH's

[@TrainsTrainsandMoreTrains]

Yep

[@TrainFan119]

That did look like Metra coaches

[@FordEscape12345678]

Metra did use those

[@cadespencer6320]

@@AtTheCrossingProductions amtrak f40s

[@TexasTrainProductions]

Nice video! I love the horns the the locomotives and how the tracks don't have the super modern look to them.

[@Lorsterthe34st]

I love this commuter rail not from the old and new paint scheme, but also the ridiculously fast speed limits for tracks that look barely maintained + curves that make the train bounce like at 1:06

[@renukabhatt7179]

😊

[@CoasterFan2105]

@Fabian Diaz Thanks!

[@oct197.]

I guess that Music City Star bought a lot of Metra's old cars and engines?? well it looks like it

[@blackbirdgaming8147]

oct 197 Coaches are ex-Metra, locomotives are ex-Amtrak.

[@RailfannerAviation]

Train company: How many horns do you want? STAR: Yes

[@vapour_xs9235]

These guys are real horn-showers, holy crap!

[@EthantheRailfanner]

I like the fact that the crossings are similar to NS

[@F59PHItrainfreak]

Congratulations on 500,000

[@Galaxylegend7]

Anyone here who’s watching this in 2024?

[@Maunico0809]

No: 381 still remains in it's Surfliner Scheme

[@dboykrank47]

Yeah, MCS would be wise to: 1) change the trains from 2 cars to 6 cars and; 2) connect the train to the airport.

[@michaelaccardofrontczak]

I can tell this train is an old Metra train from Chicago. I'm from Chicago and now live on the West Coast. They got commuter trains like this in California.

[@LSM_Lover]

That one time I was driving trough Nashville, it was a weekend. Lol. :( Awesome video!

[@Nvideofilmsproductions]

These old mixture of Pullman cab cars and Budd CB&Q cab cars used to run on metra until 2005 and sold to this commuter in 2006.

[@brainwells6634]

Nashville Music City Star is basically is old Chicago Metra engine and cars but Metra has 6 car's not 2-3

[@trackside_mb35]

I think Music City Star is one of the most interesting commuter railroads out of the rest i’ve heard of, too bad its no longer called Music City Star anymore

[@TheViRoCo]

That's a pretty interesting railroad. Nice work!

[@CoasterFan2105]

+TheViRoCo Thank you!

[@WindyCityRails]

Come to Chicago, our Metra commuter train uses F40s, MP36s and three secondhand F59s from GO transit and its also freight trains galore.

[@CoasterFan2105]

I definitely will!

[@jw-dw3nf]

Those F59PHs really don't look good in the modern Metra scheme, don't you think?

[@WindyCityRails]

They look okay, but square units look better in red and blue.

[@jw-dw3nf]

Yeah, red and blue does look better on squared-off locomotives. I hope you guys enjoy them as much as we did!

[@WindyCityRails]

We will! We're currently using one on the Heritage corridor.

[@amjkodaz]

Ive been to Nashville they should do the service wee round and not only on Monday-Friday. Great job Mike

[@pannoni8449]

Notice the lack of TOD around the stations. If Nashville ever wants to seriously consider becoming more transit-friendly (especially if gas prices get too high and traffic continues to worsen), the least they can do is make out the most of what they have now like its southern peers Charlotte and Austin. Mt. Juliet could easily be a self-contained satellite downtown for instance. It aspires to function like a RER/German S-Bahn, but other things like weekend service would help as well. It still nice for what it has to offer at this point, but the potential is just so far beyond what many believe can happen.

[@willberestartingthischanne9984]

Awesome Video

[@AmtrakFan-nl9nd]

This video made my day! Thank you coasterfan

[@MultiMusicianman]

Cool video.

[@CoasterFan2105]

+MultiMusicianman Thank you!

[@BrianSeaman]

Great to see trains across the pond Mike. We'll be getting our own double deck trains on HS2 in the UK maybe? Keep up the great filming sir :)

[@CoasterFan2105]

+Brian Seaman Thank you very much for the comment! I appreciate it.

[@gramnylen5961]

Nice really awaiting for some traction action

[@CoasterFan2105]

+Gram Nylen Thanks! I'm hoping to have that video out next month, but no guarantees. It will be worth the wait.

[@gramnylen5961]

+CoasterFan2105 thanks keep it up all your videos are top notch!

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thank you, will do!

[@brucesharpe1079]

Good video it's a sham we don't have these diesels her in England the horn sound good

[@CoasterFan2105]

+Bruce Sharpe Thanks! They are pretty neat to listen to.

[@travelsofmunch1476]

looks like the GTA SA train tbh

[@lucylebron22]

Love the train horn....😢

[@BentraxVideos]

Glad you finally made it down here to Nashville sir!

[@CoasterFan2105]

+BentraxVideos It is a beautiful city and I hope to return soon! I was tight for time because I had 2 steam excursions in Knoxville and Chattanooga I was going to.

[@BentraxVideos]

Good deal! When you return, be sure to come visit us at TCRM. If we are not running excursions on N&E you can find us working on locomotives in Nashville.

[@CoasterFan2105]

I was wanting to stop by TCRM. I will definitely make a point of it next time I'm in town.

[@photonegativemickey3733]

NC&STL 576 was the first steam engine who was avoid from being scraped

[@EthantheRailfanner]

Nice job, I went on the music city star before.

[@traindude3332]

I love the amtrak pacific surflliner scheme F40ph (aka F40ph 361

[@modernforever1528]

1:08 Uh oh! The locomotive begins to bounce.

[@DINESHGADA]

Awesome 👍

[@tankman_tv9332]

Tiny train, MONSTER horns

[@traindude3332]

Those other F40ph's a seem to be in a COASTER type scheme expect for F40ph 361 witch is in the amtrak pacific surfliner scheme

[@vcrp79]

381 is my fav

[@jimmypimms6797]

Mike, i have a question I'm hoping you can answer. I lived in Nashville from 1962-1971, and my family lived near the L&N switching yards. I know the L&N went bankrupt, but I was always curious if anybody replaced the L&N. My guess would be CSX, but I am not sure. Oh, and in the video, I got a smile to see the Mount Juliet Station, as at one time my dad worked in Mount Juliet.

[@CoasterFan2105]

You are indeed correct. The part of the L&N that wasn't abandoned is now part of the CSX system.

[@Ferromexfan4081]

Nice K5LA action

[@TFN5459]

Love the Pacific Surfliner F40, I'm guessing that this is the only F40 still in that scheme.

[@CoasterFan2105]

+TFN5459 You are correct. 381 is the last one. Although, I believe one of their other F40's also used to be a Surfliner F40. Of the 4, 383 was scrapped and 415 was sold to Panama.

[@TFN5459]

+CoasterFan2105 thanks for the info. Judging by the road numbers it looks like the only ones that made it into the Surfliner scheme were from Amtrak's later if not last order of F40's (380's and 400's as opposed to the first order of the 200's series F40s).

[@CoasterFan2105]

That is correct. I believe it was just 381, 383, 399, and 415.

[@MiddleTennesseeRailProductions]

+CoasterFan2105 Yep. Just those four.

[@ParkzSouth]

Legendary F40PHI amtrak surfliner

[@yusofdaeng1538]

They Just Like Amtrak F40PH

[@treinenineuropa1021]

Very good video and very nice train

[@TaylorMMontgomery]

From everything I've researched and watched, this seems to be a very well-thought-out little operation. Is the F40 overkill, yes. But it's easy work for them. And if the city wants longer trains eventually, they can easily handle it. Can the planners of this system please come to Austin and tell our Metrorail folks how it's really done?

[@ControlPointDonelson]

The reason they use F40s is that they were cheap compared to new commuter locomotives

[@sunsetltdcoaststarlightpac345]

Hey dude,..great video under that sunny day.

[@CoasterFan2105]

+SunsetLTDCoastStarlightPacificSurfliner Thanks!

[@ControlPointDonelson]

My personal favorite of the four is 381 followed by 122 and then 121 and 120

[@santafefanproductions786]

1:32 Amtrak

[@warrenhammill8357]

i love this

[@oscartobaroatmeal6734]

nice train horn.

[@amosmaclin4665]

I am ready for a train ride yes I see it

[@ArkansasLocomotiveWorks]

I just saw it today!

[@Martin_Trainspotter]

Nice video! Best greetings!

[@KnoxvilleRailfanProductions]

Ah you finally got to Tennessee

[@CoasterFan2105]

+Trainkid1000 Yes, I did!

[@MiddleTennesseeRailProductions]

+CoasterFan2105 Damn!! If I weren't in Chattanooga for school, I would've joined ya! Excellent footage as always, Mike! Hope you can make it over this way again soon!

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thanks! I'm sure I'll be out there again sooner or later!

[@MiddleTennesseeRailProductions]

+CoasterFan2105 I hope so!

[@TommyPicklesFan]

Is that The Ex Amtrak F40PH #381 in Surfliner Colors?

[@CoasterFan2105]

+TommyPickles Fan1992 (TommyPicklesfan1992) Yes, it is!

[@tylerc1501]

+CoasterFan2105 it sounds like a surfliner engine with the K5LA

[@TommyPicklesFan]

It does sound like The F59PHI K5LA that The Surfliner Uses.

[@TrainFan119]

Cool

[@jackbatson7384]

TommyPickles Fan1992 yes Nashville bought it off of Amtrak

[@christianc6421]

They totally are using old metra coaches

[@lucky_railfans_trains_2009]

Wait , 381 has a F59PHI K5LA…even though it is a F40PH.

[@IcelanderUSer]

When you think of Nashville people really should think this: parking lot. I think 40% of the city is actually parking. I don’t know how any developer would ever consider building another new skyscraper, not only for the added parking spaces needed but for the increase in traffic. Nashville will never grow to be a world city in a situation like this.

[@Metra_138_Productions]

2:56 that’s Matt’s Train Sim Sounds for real life horn,

[@northwesternohiorailfan5622]

I did not know star comuniter owned an ex amtrak surfliner f40ph

[@EthantheRailfanner]

Did you know that I live near nashville? I need to see you sometime.

[@UP4014SteamTrainFan]

+Coasterfan2105! Can I narrate the next Train Talk Show Episode? PLEASE!!!!!!!! or if not I can do the next one! Also! Will you do the Tribute video Next Month?

[@CoasterFan2105]

+up4014 steam train fan You should make an episode for your channel!

[@UP4014SteamTrainFan]

Maybe! but! I Would have to use some of footage from your Videos! And if you Let Me Host the Next Train talk that would be Awsome! If there is a Chance! the Series ! would Be aired on Friday June 10th! and Fridays of Every month! im not for Sure! But that would be Cool! and if I would talk about the Big boy! I would have to use some footage from your Videos! if that is fine! CoasterFan2105

[@JAILRail]

+up4014 steam train fan Keep dreaming kid.

[@UP4014SteamTrainFan]

Yeah! I always wanted to host a show! If he Lets me! you might get to here me in the Next TTS! JacksonAndLansing Railroad

[@SeanTheScaryLion]

Coaster fan 2105 make another commuter train video about metra commuter trains

[@CoasterFan2105]

+Seantendo7 7 I definitely will! There will be a big video on Chicago Metra when I get out there.

[@CommodoreJames]

Why do I get the feeling those cab cars are also used in Metra.

[@CoasterFan2105]

These cars did indeed used to belong to Metra.

[@Mile54Productions]

GREAT VIDEO!

[@CoasterFan2105]

+Brian Bui (UP5506) Thanks!!

[@WaysideRailography]

Great Vid! How many passing sidings are there? Is the line CTC or just ABS blocks?

[@AppValleyRailProductions]

Just CTC from lebanon to nashville. also i believe you have atleast 13 or so sidings, been a while since i’ve checked them out.

[@aneimn]

better get more people to ride, you cannot make a go of it with only two cars. On Caltrain the usual train is five cars and they are usually pretty full.

[@oscarzazueta3358]

Good work what camera do you recommend?? Thanks😄

[@chsrails]

And the ex Surfliner locos

[@ControlPointDonelson]

Do you think you would like to come back and see them in the new scheme

[@Ravenclips-l6p]

Some of this engines belong to amtrak in the past

[@sarabrummett9908]

Great video, it would be great if you could come down to OERM some time. I`m an operator there and I would like to see you make a video of OERM.

[@gramnylen5961]

He has two or three are a trolley operator there I am a huge traction foamed that's why I ask

[@sarabrummett9908]

+Gram Nylen I ment another video.

[@CoasterFan2105]

+Sara Brummett I'd love to do another video at OERM! Maybe they would want to work on a project with me. Hmm.

[@daredneckskwad9917]

Why are there only two cars per train?

[@AppValleyRailProductions]

Well you have 150 and 151 both in the morning runs, 151 has 3 cars 150 has 2. they meet at the siding in Mt Juliet, 151 does 2 double trips for extra passengers and 150 does one long trip from lebanon to nashville with a 20 minute layover and back to lebanon.

[@use2cz5lq]

Did the locomotives come from Amtrak

[@CGT01]

nice video as always :), also I like f40s :)

[@CoasterFan2105]

+Porsche Carrera GT Thank you! F40's are awesome! :)

[@CGT01]

CoasterFan2105 you're welcome, you should make a f40's compilations

[@Amtrak661_Railfan]

ex surfliner 361 looks nice 1:23

[@foxgun93200]

GTA SAN ANDREAS DAMN TRAIN CJ

[@sc87goals]

Do they ever pull more than 3 cars? Great vid btw

[@tinafan1010]

Very seldom I see them pull 4. Most of the time it is usually 2 or 3

[@CoasterFan2105]

+Rib Cor Thanks!

[@kl6361]

reminds me of the GTA San Andres brown streak train

[@danoq1]

A commuter line with grass growing up between the rails. I don't get it.

[@Gabriella_Sokol]

Ramona Elegant Outfit

[@ThatOneExoRailfan]

AMT had those but were gallery cars

[@whatdoiaddhere]

why do some of them have only 2-3 coaches?

[@woodentrainboi3769]

I’m a little scared for anyone who railfans the we go star railroad

[@mercedes8192]

Wait those coches belong to Metra right ?

[@TonyThePlaneTrainFan]

No?

[@MPIEMDRailfan4]

Just compare this to Metra. Two cars per train? Six trains a day? That's even less than the Metra Heritage Corridor!

[@MilesJajich]

Actually there's one with three cars.

[@MPIEMDRailfan4]

Miles Jajich Well, that's a thing.

[@bnsfwarbonnet]

They actually have 12 trains per day, and 14 on Friday.

[@MPIEMDRailfan4]

phillyslasher I was much more oblivious to that fact back then... so now I do realize that :)

[@TheChicagoL]

Since you mentioned Metra, those gallery cars look a lot like the old Pullman Standard Metra/CNW commuter cars from years ago. That having been said, could it be that at least a few of the cars used on the Music City Star were aquired from Metra?

[@jermainec2462]

Ha and folks this is the only big city in Tennessee that's has a commuter train ... Memphis and the others cities could care less lol ...

[@chsrails]

Those are ex metra cars I think

[@SoundmasterBlink]

You should do some LIRR Trains if you go to New York

[@CoasterFan2105]

+Soundmaster Blink I'm planning on it!

[@SoundmasterBlink]

Sounds good

[@JuninhoTrenseTransporte]

is it just me or did the gta san andreas train travel to reality?

[@alphahuskyy]

is Sheldon here?

[@irfidjadjuri8223]

coasterfan2105 freight trains southern pacific