Top 10 Extinct American Multiple Units ft. History in the Dark

As a belated 5000 subscriber special and the next installment in the trilogy of Top 10 Extinct engines lists, I decided to cover extinct American multiple units along with articulated trainsets, since the latter could be classified as a MU as well as a power car attached to a series of coaches. I would like to thank you for all for helping this channel grow past 5000 subs at an astonishing rate, as your support is always appreciated. In order to make this list a bit more special, I decided to cohost this video with another well-known train-related Top 5 List channel: @HistoryintheDark.

Credit for all photos used go to their original photographers.
All music used in this video is from the YouTube Audio Library.

Copyright Disclaimer under Section 107 of the copyright act 1976: allowance is made for fair use for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

Music Used in Order:
Blues Blast - John Deley
London Bayou - ALBIS
Old Blue - Chris Haugen
The Premier - United States Marine Band
Hot Hop Rock - Steve Adams
Manila - United States Marine Band
Delta - TrackTribe
Southern Ideal - United States Marine Band
How We Like It - Dan Lebowitz
Texas Napkin - Freedom Trail Studio
Realism - Text Me Records
Night Drive - JHS Pedals
Simpler Times - The 126ers

[HistoryintheDark]

This was a fun project to be a part of. Glad it turned out well!

[michaelsullo]

I am glad that you mentioned the New York and Boston Railroad. A portion of its tracks are used by the NYC's number 5 subway from 180 St to Dyer Ave in The Bronx.

[chesapeakedproductions]

I loved this. Between your extinct diesels and electrics, and now this, you have definitely given me greater insight on everything beyond steam locos

[Drocktherd]

I know you won't do extinct American steam locomotives, but I would love to see a Top 10 Extinct American Oddball Steam Locomotives list

[solarflare]

Would you ever do top 10 extinct European/British diesel or electric locomotives?

[marcleslac]

25:22 fun fact, at gare centrale in montreal, 4 tracks were turned into a garage dubbed the turbo bay wich saw use with amt (exo) to maintain the MR-90s from 1995 up until around 2020 when the deux montagnes line shut down for the rem.

[themanformerlyknownascomme]

An unexpected, but very welcome collaboration! That said, I would be curious if you'd do concept trains that were never built like the Duplex Niagara AKA the C1A.

[noahpeters]

The ATSF I believe had the first tilting passenger car . It had some cool windows it was called the pendulum car. Was also tested with CB&Q and GN

[Jeff-ujxi]

Nice job. On the Clark Equipment Company, besides the Bluebird MU subway sets for the BMT in 1939, they had built a 'one-of-a-kind' demo PCC trolley for the BMT in Brooklyn in 1936. That car, # 1000 still exists, albeit in need of restoration. Interestingly, the body style was way ahead of it's time and among other things, featured standee windows. Production PCC cars didn't get standee windows until after WW II in 1945, with a demo for Pittsburgh Railways # 1600. Pittsburgh car 1600 delivered in 1945, was the prototype for the over 1, 800 post-War “all-electric” PCCs built in North America.

Brooklyn was a test bed for PCC technology. Clark, who built PCC trucks by the hundreds for streetcars and rapid transit trains had hoped to build a fleet of hundreds of PCC streetcars for Brooklyn in 1936. But the BMT decided on the St. Louis Car Company version, of which Brooklyn only ordered 100 cars in 1936. The BMT had plans fo buy hundreds more PCC streetcars for Brooklyn, but New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia put a stop to those plans. He wanted buses instead and most of the Brooklyn streetcar system was converted to bus after the end of WW II, except for the lines using the ordered PCC cars. The last of Brooklyn's trolley lines was converted to buses on October 31, 1956.


If you plan to do a piece on PCC streetcars, Brilliners or other types of streetcars, contact me. I have an enormous collection of photos and other memorabilia. I'll be glad to contribute material, give you technical advice, proof-read your text, etc.

[buecomet]

I like these type of extinct locomotives list, they are unique and something I can learn from

[vonmazur]

When I hired out on the Penn Central New Haven line in 1972, I rode the Turbo Train and the Osbad Goodly MU trains to work.

[BushForLife]

not the Collab that we wanted, but the one we needed, a very cool video!

[roberttassinari]

I rode the turbo train quite a few times between Boston and New Haven when it was first inaugurated. The interiors were beautiful but the ride was at best fair and the turbine engine noise was VERY loud. But they were so excitingly new.

[TheCondoInRedondo]

The MUs you showed at #10 ran from Hew Haven to Grand Central and from Stamford to Grand Central as late as 1962ish. They were phased out in the '50s by Pullman "Washboards", the 4400 series (and 4600 series). The Washboards got that name from the corrugated stainless steel sides that were (ironically) popularized by Pullman's competitor Budd Corp. The washboards themselves were replaced around 1972 by Budd M-1 units. The M-1s were the first rolling stock between New Haven and GCT to require an elevated platform because they lacked steps for rail-level boarding. The entire line between Woodlawn and Stamford had to be retrofit with elevated platforms circa 1970. The M-1s were also the first MUs with passenger doors that could be remotely operated by the conductor several coaches away.

[ickyzachattack]

I really love how you’ve done this top 10 list of how many multi-unit train sets have come and gone.
Good Job!

[RandomTrainfan]

Some of my favorite YouTubers together

[stephenlaarkamp]

Not sure if anyone caught it yet, but a correction of an error: the UAC Turbotrain is not the fastest gas turbine train. That actually goes to the prototype TGV set TGV001, which was gas turbine powered as the TGV concept was originally planned to be until fuel costs rendered it impractical and they went with electrification instead. TGV001 hit 198 mph in testing, so that is the record holder for a gas turbine train. The Turbotrain does hold the record for fastest train in North America that was an actual production train, and was not a one off experiment (looking at that time the NYC put jet engines on an RDC there.)

[shannonbruno]

Rode the Newark PATH tubes into NYC.Rode the Pennsy and Lacawana MU's from Newark and East Orange into NYC.Never had to buy a newspaper, there was one lying around.

[paulmessina]

The PRR H&M cars also had to be built according to Federal Railroad Administration specifications because it was considered a rapi transit/railroad.

[kabob]

I was a bit surprised that the Silverliner Is weren't on this list
only 6 were built and two were preserved for a bit but they were then scraped for some reason