Soon after the end of World War II, the United States experienced a rapid growth in air passenger traffic. Airplane tickets gradually but steadily dropped in price, which over time allowed airlines to compete with the railways. An important advantage of the planes was their high speed, which, according to many potential passengers, fully compensated for the difference in ticket prices. The volume of rail passenger traffic began to decline, which forced the railroad workers to take action.
Perhaps the most interesting way to attract new passengers was proposed by specialists from New York Central Railroad (NYC). All carriers understood that promising high-speed vehicles were required to restore the former volumes. It was proposed to increase the speed of trains in various ways, but the most popular were increasing the engine power, creating streamlined hulls and optimizing the design of equipment. However, more daring ideas have been proposed. So, in 1965, engineers Don Wheatzel and Hank Morris proposed using units borrowed from aircraft instead of a traditional power plant.
This is how the Black Beetle project began ("Black Beetle" or "Black Cockroach").
First of all, what I would like to say is that the M-497 was the first railway carriage on which a jet engine was installed, it was built in 1966. As we remember, the Soviet counterpart was built a little later in 1970, but they were united by the fact that they were experimental laboratory carriages, which meant that they were intended for carrying out various research and testing of railway equipment in track conditions.
Wetzel and Morris may have known about German, Soviet and other air car projects, but their proposal had a serious difference from previous developments in this area. Early aero cars used a piston engine and a propeller. It was proposed to build a new car in accordance with the spirit of the times and equip it with jet engines. Such a power plant in the future could provide uniquely high speeds. Naturally, the new air car would not be able to compete with the existing aircraft in speed, but it was quite capable of pushing them out in some directions.
D. Wheatzel and H. Morris approached NYC President Alfred Perlman with a proposal. The head of the company became interested in the presented idea and supported the new project. Already in 1965, the company's specialists, led by Wheatzel and Morris, began preparations for assembling a prototype of a promising aero car. The preliminary work and assembly of the prototype took only a few months. Already in 1966, the M497 Black Beetle was ready for testing.
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In those days, the railway companies were going through hard times, which is why the authors of the Black Beetle project had to save on almost everything. Thus, the prototype car was built on the basis of the Budd RDC-3 railcar with the tail number M497, which later became an alternative designation for the project. Two General Electric J47-19 turbojets were purchased from the Air Force, where they were previously used on the B-36 bomber. Finally, some of the Black Beetle units were made in the railroad company's workshops. A few words should be said about the M497 base railcar used. This machine has been used by New York Central since 1953 and was intended to carry passengers between Detroit and Mackinac City, after which it was used on the New York State lines. In the mid sixties the car was sent for repairfrom where she returned in a new form and with jet engines.
The RDC-3 railroad car is a typical representative of the Budd family of machinery. This machine had a length of 25.91 m, a width of 3.06 m and a height of 4.45 m. The chassis included two biaxial bogies with wheels with a diameter of 838 mm. The self-propelled car was equipped with two Detroit Diesel 110 diesel engines with a total capacity of 550 hp. and hydraulic transmissions. The total weight of the car exceeded 50 tons. Inside the RDC-3 hull there were 48 seats for passengers, a luggage compartment and a compartment for transporting mail.
During the repair and re-equipment of the M497 railcar, it lost a number of units, and also received new equipment. A pylon with two General Electric J47-19 turbojet engines of 23 kN thrust each was installed above the cockpit. To give it a recognizable "sci-fi" look, the tapered central bodies of the air inlets have been painted red. Later D. Uetzel recalled that his wife, who worked as an artist, insisted on the front-mounted engines. She considered that the front location of the power plant would make the air car more beautiful, and ugly cars, as you know, do not work well. The authors of the project did not argue with this proposal.
For some improvement in aerodynamics at high speeds, the front of the car received a characteristic oblique fairing. In addition, the "Black Beetle" had to carry about fifty different measuring instruments. Due to the dismantling of equipment and other improvements, the weight of the car was reduced to 20.3 tons. According to official data, the completion of the railcar cost NYC about $ 30 thousand, although it is sometimes argued that the actual cost of the work was much higher.
The assembly of the prototype M497 aero wagon was completed in July 1966, and soon it went out for testing. The specialists understood that the operation of such equipment would be associated with high loads on the railway tracks, which required taking appropriate measures. The line between Butler (Indiana) and Stryker (Ohio) was chosen as the test route. Before testing began, the 68-mile stretch was refurbished and refurbished to meet higher requirements.
Well, that day came when I had to test this monster, the most interesting thing is that the tests took place on the most ordinary routes, and, as if for insurance, an airplane was sent ahead of the patrol. The worst thing that driver Uetzel was afraid to hear was that "Guys, you are going to get into something now!" and, unfortunately, he heard this phrase …
It turned out that the kids had planted a sheet of plywood on the rails. But who knew what it was? From above, you can't tell whether it is plywood, or, God forbid, some kind of tin or steel. As a result, however, Uetzel heard nothing but a heart-rending crunch of plywood scattering into small rattles, and, fortunately, no accident happened.
Tests began on July 23, 1966. In the cockpit of the experienced Black Beetle was its creator, Don Wheatzel. On July 23, two test flights were performed along the chosen route. The next day, the experimental car also made two flights. During this time, the specialists were able to determine the main features of the behavior of the air car on the track, which made it possible to start tests to establish the maximum speed. Already on the second day of testing, D. Wetzel was able to accelerate the "Black Beetle" to a speed of 183.68 miles per hour (295.6 km / h).
Experienced races were between the cities of Butler, Indiana and Stryker, Ohio, city dwellers have no idea, and with some delight they watched as on a simple railroad with a strong roar, and with great speed a carriage with two pipes in the front literally flutters along the rails roofs.
In just a few test runs, the M497 Black Beetle air car successfully demonstrated the fundamental possibility of creating a high-speed rail transport equipped with turbojet engines. In addition, the speed record set on the second day of testing has not been broken to this day. In the United States, there is still no railway equipment capable of speeds of more than 170-180 miles per hour. Currently, the fastest serial American train is Amtrak's Acela Express, which reaches a maximum speed of 150 mph (about 240 km / h).
Of interest is the moment that, according to Wetzel, the locomotive he was driving all the time wanted to accelerate to 190 miles per hour, and it was allowed to move at a speed of no more than 180 miles per hour. So Wheetzel had to slow down every now and then. And even so, the unfortunate escort aircraft, the slow-speed propeller Twin Beech, simply could not keep up with the locomotive.
It was according to Don Uetzel that this project was created primarily not for any inspections of the condition of the railway and locomotives, but specifically for setting a speed record and researching jet propulsion. Few people remember how the experiment was conducted, and even more so how it was created.
Don Wetzel: “I don’t know why, but I didn’t like it. I can't give you a scientific explanation, I didn't even think about it. It's just that I always get it that if something looks good, it usually works well. I don’t know, maybe it’s crazy to say that, but planes that look good fly well.” According to Don, this project was somehow reluctant, and inhibited everything was prepared already in 1965, but for some reason it was put on the back burner. Not very long, however, already in 1966, just before the Independence Day celebrations, Wetzel and Jim Wright, director of the Collinwood Technical Center, sat and drove teas. And at that moment a friend's phone rang from where the order was received to readiness for the experiment.
Unfortunately, the Black Beetle project ended after testing a prototype. The built machine showed its capabilities, but did not interest the railway workers. The proposed aerial car had a number of characteristic shortcomings inherent in this class of equipment. The ability to develop high speeds made special demands on the quality of the railroad tracks, the renewal of which was not economically expedient. In addition, the car was too complicated and expensive to operate. There were also problems with the J47-19 turbojet engines, which did not have the best reputation.
According to some reports, after July 1966, attempts were made to "revive" the Black Beetle project and try to derive practical benefit from it. Nevertheless, the further fate of the M497 air car was simple and commonplace. Soon after the completion of the tests, all special equipment, jet engines and a head fairing were removed from it, and the original equipment and power plant were returned. After that, the railcar returned to passenger transportation on local lines. In 1968, the Penn Central Transportation Company bought NYC along with all of its property, including the former air car. The M497 railcar continued to operate until 1976, when it was sold to another company as a source of parts. The remaining designs of the M497 were scrapped in 1984. Jet engines J47-19 removed from the air car,were mounted on trolleys that served as snow plows and operated until the resource was exhausted.
The M497 Black Beetle jet car has become one of the most interesting developments in the field of railway technology, and also set a speed record that has not yet been beaten by American technology. However, the car did not go into production. Thus, "Black Beetle" to a certain extent repeated the ambiguous fate of its predecessors, who also set new records, but did not leave the stage of testing.