alternatehistory.com


So this is interesting...
I never knew this but apparently in the 60s and 70s, both American and Soviet train car manufacturers tried to get prototypes like the above monstrosity to work..

The first attempt to use turbojet engines on a railroad was made by the New York Central Railroad in 1966. Their railcar M-497 was able to reach speeds up to 184 miles per hour (296 km/h)

The Russian train maker Kalininsky formed the Speed Wagon Laboratory. Following the New Yorker’s example, the modified the chassis of one of their ER22 head engines to look more or less like a rough version of a Shinkansen, the Japanese bullet train which was already working in 1964 at 130 mph (210km/h).

They added two turbojet engines on the front as well: two turbojets from a Yakovlev YAK-40. Their first test was in 1971 on the line joining Golutvin with Ozery. They achieved a low 116mph (187km/h). However, they kept increasing the speed until they got up to 154mph (249km/h).


Like it’s American counterpart it never really went any further than that. Jet fuel costs, noise levels, and probably just the fact that this is plane old silly contributed to the closing of the programs in both countries..

So let's say for this scenario, the Reds are able to get one working in the 70s while the Americans still fail

How would it affect domestic commerce and travel within the Soviet state?
Top