| M-497 |
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| Type and origin |
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| Power type | Jet |
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| Build date | 1966 |
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| Total produced | 1 |
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| Specifications |
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| Gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1/2 in) |
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| Loco weight | 51.3 t (50.5 long tons; 56.5 short tons) |
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| Prime mover | General Electric J47-19 |
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| Engine type | Turbojet |
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| Performance figures |
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| Maximum speed | 183.85 mph (295.87 km/h) |
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| Career |
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| Operators | New York Central Railroad |
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| Scrapped | 1984 |
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The M-497 (nicknamed Black Beetle by the press) was an experimental jet-powered railcar test bed of the New York Central Railroad, developed and tested in 1966 in the United States. Two second-hand General Electric J47-19 jet engines, originally used as boosters for the Convair B-36 Peacemaker intercontinental bomber, were mounted atop an existing Budd Rail Diesel Car, an RDC-3 of coach and baggage-mail configuration which had received a streamlined front cowling. The construct was then successfully sent on test runs over the existing tracks between Butler, Indiana, and Stryker, Ohio. The line had been chosen for its arrow-straight layout and good condition, but otherwise unmodified track. On July 23, 1966, the car reached a speed of 183.68 mph (295.6 km/h), an American rail speed record that stood until 1974 when the LIMRV went significantly faster.