New and challenging railroading awaits you on the Train Sim World: Northeast Corridor New York route as Amtrak’s ex-Metroliner Cab Car will join the previously announced SW1000R diesel switcher in TSW’s next upcoming pack!

Regularly employed today on Amtrak’s New York - Philadelphia – Harrisburg (Pa.) Keystone Service trains (as well as on other short-haul, “push-pull” services in the U. S.), Amtrak’s distinctive Cab Cars have a long and storied history in which they began life as the Pennsylvania Railroad’s innovative high-speed electric-multiple-unit (EMU) “Metroliner.”

Developed in the mid-1960s by the Pennsylvania Railroad and U. S. Department of Transportation and built by the Budd Company, the Metroliner was one of America’s first ventures into modern high-speed rail. Constructed in two-car sets, the Metroliner would be regularly operated in consists of up to eight cars, By the time the Metroliner entered regular, premium-fare service between New York and Washington, D.C., on January 16, 1969, the Pennsylvania Railroad had morphed into Penn Central. Two years later, in May 1971, Amtrak assumed the majority of intercity passenger services in the U. S., and the Metroliner then served Amtrak for two decades. Along with its heritage as a high-speed train (the EMU was designed for 150 mph and in service operated at 120 mph), the Metroliner also left an enduring legacy to American railroading in that its stainless-steel Budd design provided the basis for Amtrak’s landmark fleet of Amfleet passenger cars first introduced in 1975.

Even as the Metroliner’s career as an EMU wrapped up in the late 1980s, the distinctive equipment found renewed life as Amtrak began converting the cab-equipped Metroliner cars into unpowered cab control cars for use on various short-haul “push pull” services. The cab cars have seen service on a variety of routes, including working on the San Diego-Los Angeles Surf Line, short-haul runs from Chicago, and on Amtrak’s New Haven (Ct.)-Springfield (Mass.) line. But the cab cars are most synonymous with duty on their old haunting ground –- the Northeast Corridor – working Amtrak’s Keystone Service trains with ACS-64s providing the horsepower, which makes the cars an ideal addition to TSW’s Northeast Corridor New York route.

The upcoming TSW Amtrak Cab Car will indeed bring a new and captivating main line passenger experience to the Northeast Corridor New York route. Masterfully re-created with authentic operating features and controls as well as passenger interiors, the Amtrak Cab Car will introduce “push-pull” operations to the Northeast Corridor New York route and provide you with new challenges brought to life in TSW scenarios and popular timetabled “service mode.”

The upcoming Amtrak Cab Car will be included in the same new add-on pack as the recently announced Amtrak SW1000R diesel switcher (see the Dovetail Live article “Introducing Amtrak’s Yard Goat”), and this fascinating contemporary Amtrak duo are coming soon to Train Sim World, so keep an eye out for further announcements! – Gary Dolzall