Ah yes...the Strato-Chief....I remember seeing those.
The GM Canada folks put the Pontiac body on a Chevrolet chassis and used the Chevrolet engines and powerglide transmission instead of the hydra-matic.
Still a good realiable car though.
Our '59 Pontiac Strato-Chief had a 261cu. in. six, with a standard transmission. Friends of ours had a '61 Pontiac, by which time the six cylinder option was upgraded to a 292 cu. in. engine. This was discontinued as an option in either '67 or '68.
I mention this, because I read an article once that said the 292 engine turned over so slowly that GM could have continued using it right through the '70's, because it would have met the anti-pollution regulations at the time without further modification. After 1965 they had PCV valves. The slow maximum RPM meant almost total combustion of the fuel in each cylinder, leaving almost no unburned hydrocarbons. They would of had to install a four or five speed transmission (automatic or standard) though, to compete with other models driveability.
That '61 turned into another of our high school cruising cars. I have always thought since, that that engine, with the right transmission, would have really given the competing eights a run for their money, while throwing a scare into the Japanese four cylinder engine makers, in terms of potential fuel economy. Apparently GM had given thought to the idea, but they were afraid it would look like a step backward and would have negatively affected their stock prices. Ah yes, and ohh well.
Bruce
So shovel the coal, let this rattler roll.
"A Train is a Place Going Somewhere" CP Rail Public Timetable
"O. S. Irricana"
. . . __ . ______
Our Catalina came with the 389 V8 and Hydramatic transmission.........
Somewhat unpredictably, however, Lutz believes the government isn't involved enough in repairing the nation's crumbling infrastructure. Even more surprising, Lutz recommends a "graduated, rising" federal tax on gasoline to help give consumers more certainty about gas prices — and encourage them to buy fuel-efficient vehicles -- with the proceeds (wait for it) to go to pay for upgrades of the nation's aging rail system.
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/car-guy-bob-lutz-wants-federal-gas-tax-124956424.html
Bob Lutz is a former GM exec. Would Eleanor Roosevelt shift the road use tax to railroads?
The rails-to-trails folks are in a dither because TE (transportation enhancement) funds they were expecting may get diverted to fixing highway bridges.
"Nice trail!"
"Yeah, too bad the bridge we have to drive over to get to it was condemned..."
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
Brace yourselves for some virtual whip-lash!
We're traveling back to 1942;
And you have to wonder why the Roosevelt Government sat on this one through most of World War II?
http://www.aircraftowner.com/videos/view/americas-first-jet-flight-october-1942_1617.html
See comment on video link for more type information. Very interesting stuff.
Who would have ever thought that there would be an American jet plane with an open cockpit (passenger seat! (?)
Wonder if Larry Bell offered Eleanor a ride? She did ride with one of the Tuskegee Airmen while they were in Pilot training.
samfp1943 Brace yourselves for some virtual whip-lash! We're traveling back to 1942; And you have to wonder why the Roosevelt Government sat on this one through most of World War II? http://www.aircraftowner.com/videos/view/americas-first-jet-flight-october-1942_1617.html See comment on video link for more type information. Very interesting stuff. Who would have ever thought that there would be an American jet plane with an open cockpit (passenger seat! (?) Wonder if Larry Bell offered Eleanor a ride? She did ride with one of the Tuskegee Airmen while they were in Pilot training.
That was fascinating Sam. Thanks for sharing!
And then there was this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_Z8U_IlmIE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46T4i0-vAmI
And off course...not to be left out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_oC-ijfQkA&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgPHl2MiZms&feature=related
Thanks, Murray!
Those days of travel were something to remember! It was an occasion to travel ( folks actually dressed UP to get on a plane (and Train). Now days the airlines are not much better than flying 'cattle cars': Greyhounds buses,(only much worse) in the sky. Passengers are treated awfully. Like masochists in search of sadists
Truly, it is a shame that the younger generations will never know traveling pleasures. The airport lobbies look more like refugee centers, rather than, a launching site for some interesting travel experience. . And then there is the added insult of being fondled (by a total stranger) and not even being offered a kiss as you leave, because you family cannot be close to see you off.
(Sorry, I'm venting!)
Thank you, samfp! It needed saying, IMO. I agree with you.
I have to second al-in-chgo's sentiments.
One can only hope that some savvy operator can figure out that there is a market for travel -- not just cruises, but have-to-get-there travel -- that is efficient, and comfortable, graceful, and elegant. Travel that actually provides -- as henry6 keeps reminding us -- a service, and treat us as respected passengers, not just another type of cargo.
I firmly believe that there coiuld be a market for such a travel service (rail, bus, or air -- though I would prefer rail!), and whoever can figure out how to provide it, will do well.
"A Quest for Corvettes Just as the Factory Built Them"
Quentin...you should enjoy this!
(From Today's New York Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/automobiles/a-quest-for-corvettes-just-as-the-factory-built-them.html?_r=1&ref=automobiles
The first Subaru Automobile:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/automobiles/dreadful-debut-for-subaru.html?_r=1&ref=automobiles
An ELECTRIC Rolls-Royce:
http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/08/driving-the-rolls-royce-102ex-phantom-experimental-electric/?ref=automobiles
Murray "A Quest for Corvettes Just as the Factory Built Them" Quentin...you should enjoy this! (From Today's New York Times) http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/automobiles/a-quest-for-corvettes-just-as-the-factory-built-them.html?_r=1&ref=automobiles
Yes, Murray...we did enjoy the Corvette article. And especially so, as my favorite Vet was the '57 model. Perhaps because I had one, but realistically....looking back even now, I still think "that" was really a Corvette....! Loved it's looks.
Quentin
Quentin...found something else I thought you'd find interesting:
http://www.kcci.com/video/17108703/detail.html
Murray Quentin...found something else I thought you'd find interesting: http://www.kcci.com/video/17108703/detail.html
Murray..........You sure do pick the "cream of the crop". That really would be a treat to walk thru such a display. Noted a few I had back in the years....Thanks for sharing.
Holy Moly!!! Is that ever a nice bunch of cars. I'll take 25 or 30, please. And a 1928 if you have one. My Grandparents had one, and I've seen pictures of it.
AgentKid Holy Moly!!! Is that ever a nice bunch of cars. I'll take 25 or 30, please. And a 1928 if you have one. My Grandparents had one, and I've seen pictures of it. Bruce
A 1928 model Chevy....Believe that would have been the last year for the Chevy 4 cyl....The stove bolt six followed the very next year.
Just in case someone would ask „What’s the attraction in these cars“ – the answer is all comprised in that deep lush energetic sound when he starts the 1960 Corvette – a sound that goes directly to the heart , it does not care to stop at reasoning , it skips calculation , it scorns efficiency , instead it lights up emotion with a warm purple hug .
Personally , I’m more inclined to Chrysler cars , yet if Chevy , I have a latent although necessarily theoretical affection to the ’59 gull wing – by modern standards it’s a simply irresponsible design , daringly independent from down-to-earth rational thinking – yet unbelievably imaginative , joyfully enchanting and softly floating – a sculptural expression of care-free holiday’s cruising .
Ok , I’ll stop it here before you call me irresponsible in view of threatening problems of traffic congestions , globalization and energy crisis …
Regards
Juniatha
Juniatha Just in case someone would ask „What’s the attraction in these cars“ – the answer is all comprised in that deep lush energetic sound when he starts the 1960 Corvette – a sound that goes directly to the heart , it does not care to stop at reasoning , it skips calculation , it scorns efficiency , instead it lights up emotion with a warm purple hug . Personally , I’m more inclined to Chrysler cars , yet if Chevy , I have a latent although necessarily theoretical affection to the ’59 gull wing – by modern standards it’s a simply irresponsible design , daringly independent from down-to-earth rational thinking – yet unbelievably imaginative , joyfully enchanting and softly floating – a sculptural expression of care-free holiday’s cruising . Ok , I’ll stop it here before you call me irresponsible in view of threatening problems of traffic congestions , globalization and energy crisis … Regards Juniatha
I can speak for the "gull wing '59".....Had a light green 59 convertible, with the 348 and 3 2's.
Item: blew girl friends hat out on one occasion with the top down, and just a bit too much speed. It certinly would run on top end....
http://www.gmphotostore.com/1955-GM-Aerotrain/productinfo/53217854/
A '56 Chevy Bel Air on steel wheels and steroids?
Victrola1 http://www.gmphotostore.com/1955-GM-Aerotrain/productinfo/53217854/ A '56 Chevy Bel Air on steel wheels and steroids?
The Aerotrain......I had one chance to ride that train back about 1958. Traveling into Pittsburgh, from the southwest, we were scheduled to catch the Aerotrain from the station there to Johnstown...Was excited we'd have a chance to experience this one of a kind operation.
Train time....And we advanced to the platform and behold....a regular passenger train was in place to take us east...! As we boarded and found a seat, we noted a paper on each seat. Item: {paraphrasing}, "We apologize for not providing the Aerotrain today. It is scheduled one day each month to be pulled off for maintenance. It will return tomorrow at it's normal schedule: What a disappointment....!!! And we all know it didn't last too long until it was removed from service on that route. Hence, I really never did see it in it's reality.
Old drivers I have talked with praise the '55-'57 Chevy as the pinnacle of General Motors automotive success. Was the Aerotrain an omen of the Chevy Vega and subsequent decline to come?
Victrola1 Old drivers I have talked with praise the '55-'57 Chevy as the pinnacle of General Motors automotive success. Was the Aerotrain an omen of the Chevy Vega and subsequent decline to come?
'55 - 57 Chevy's.....A massive change occured when these cars were introduced....Completely all new..! Chassis....engine / powertrain....and of course body.
I loved the one's I had.....{"55 Bel Air hardtop w/ power pac 180 engine, and a '57 black Corvette, both tops}....I believe everyone is building the best cars {overall}, currently. But the former ones were a giant step forward.
I suppose that's a pretty good comparison....Vega & Aerotrain. Aerotrain was an experiment of something different...{so was Vega}....A T was actually constructed with parts of GM bus bodies....Understand they were rough riding too. {Had a Vega too....a GT wagon}.
The ’55 Chevy , in my view , sure was one honest , straight-forward automobile . From all that’s told of it , the car was solidly build and long lasting . Ironically , it had a much better miles to the gallon ratio than 1970s Chevy sedans , the later cars having become overloaded with auxiliaries and amenities . I saw a white / red ‘55 on a classic car show and it’s lines still looked sound and quite agreeable today – when it lasts though time , I think that tells of an inherent ‘rightness’ in a design and it may become timeless , iconic . Only , when I see a ’55 Chevy I can’t help young Elvis springing up in my mind – dunno , it’s somehow in the way he smiled : It’s now or never – Elvis Presley ( and , yes , if his voice didn't have that 'V-8 vibe' then I don’t know ) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQAe1WRCXH0&feature=related The Aero Train – well , one thing’s for sure : you really can’t say they didn’t venture into some of the more daring kind of designs . On the photo it looks stylish , optimistic , futuristic in it’s time – wish there would be some more imaginative styling in shapes and color schemes of today’s modern electric locomotives and high speed trains – yet , apart from rationally evolved streamlining and some slightly extravagant coloring of the SNCF TGV and a subtle individual note in head end contours of ÖBB 1016 (‘Taurus’) Bo-Bo synchronous electrics there is little expression in shapes of modern rail power and trains , very little expression indeed ! Regards Juniatha
The ’55 Chevy , in my view , sure was one honest , straight-forward automobile . From all that’s told of it , the car was solidly build and long lasting . Ironically , it had a much better miles to the gallon ratio than 1970s Chevy sedans , the later cars having become overloaded with auxiliaries and amenities . I saw a white / red ‘55 on a classic car show and it’s lines still looked sound and quite agreeable today – when it lasts though time , I think that tells of an inherent ‘rightness’ in a design and it may become timeless , iconic .
Only , when I see a ’55 Chevy I can’t help young Elvis springing up in my mind – dunno , it’s somehow in the way he smiled : It’s now or never – Elvis Presley ( and , yes , if his voice didn't have that 'V-8 vibe' then I don’t know )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQAe1WRCXH0&feature=related
The Aero Train – well , one thing’s for sure : you really can’t say they didn’t venture into some of the more daring kind of designs . On the photo it looks stylish , optimistic , futuristic in it’s time – wish there would be some more imaginative styling in shapes and color schemes of today’s modern electric locomotives and high speed trains – yet , apart from rationally evolved streamlining and some slightly extravagant coloring of the SNCF TGV and a subtle individual note in head end contours of ÖBB 1016 (‘Taurus’) Bo-Bo synchronous electrics there is little expression in shapes of modern rail power and trains , very little expression indeed !
....Much of modern railroad engine design / construction now dictated by $$$$.
Item: We now have a brand new business, "Progress Rail" building railroad engines now here in Muncie. Parent Co., Caterpillar.
By the way....my '55 Bel Air hardtop was the famous beige and red, and even had the optional {Continental spare}, an option from Chevy at the time.....
And Elvis......What an entertainer...! Great singer / performer. Saw live performance of he and great orchestra at the {then}, International Hotel in Vegas in 1970....Wonderful performance.
It seems all the modern passenger locomotives are designed by Cesar Vergara. He has EMD, GE, MPI, and Brookville as clients. The new NJ transit ALP45DP built in Germany is also his design.
@ Modelcar:
>> Much of modern railroad engine design / construction now dictated by $$$$ <<
.. or €€€€ in no different ways – sure . Yet , I refuse this excuse for what results from indifferent or even appallingly unaspiring plain levels of engineering . After all , the ‘face’ of an electric locomotive is the first thing , an identification mark , waiting travellers at the platform see of their train coming in – there should be a minimum of pleasing and inviting attractiveness about it : an air of dynamic locomotion , blended with comforting solidity and railroadish trustworthiness , , all in an overall expression of technical state of the art fast yet easy travelling .
What railway management often seem to miss :
* these are times when travellers have got options to choose from ,
* decisions on travelling by road , by air or by rail are not just made upon strictly rational considerations but at least to some degree upon ‘liking’ – why , car advertisings are all about that ! Some railway management still seems think in terms of old pre-competition times when a railway could tell travellers when to go , what to pay and possibly where to end up, too . Those times are long since gone .
It sure is an engineering challenge to put up a design with an expression , without busting the budget , yet it can be done with a little extra effort of imaginative thinking .
Elvis : his performances in his early years were something of its own , at that time he seems to have been a cheerful unassuming character and – all in all – a nice guy . He was singing his way because singing was his way of feeling alive . Sadly , he changed later on – or the music business changed him , on the other hand he allowed to become distorted . The end was an unfitting one .
Even the stodgy old Pennsylvania Railroad in the Depression years of the 1930's had the good sense to hire an industrial designer for its new mainline electric locomotive. That was a relatively young and inexperienced fellow by the name of Raymond Loewy, who went on to fame and fortune based on his aerodynamic Art-Deco styling of the GG1, and later the PRR's S1 split-drive steam locomotive - see: http://www.raymondloewy.com/ (As you'll see, he also designed/ styled a few cars, and had some things to say about them, too . . . : http://www.raymondloewy.com/about/quotesby.html - "There are great moments in a man's life . . ." [about the GG1].)
- Paul North.
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