View source for Keystone (train)

{{distinguish|Keystone Service}}
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox train
| background       = 
| name             = ''Keystone''
| image            = Keystone passenger car 1956.jpg
| imagesize        = 300px
| imagealt         = Pennsylvania Railroad Keystone coach
| caption          = Illustration of one of the ''Keystone'' coaches from a 1956 advertisement.
| interiorimage    = 
| interiorimagealt = 
| interiorcaption  = 
| service          = 1956–1968
| manufacturer     = [[Budd Company]]
| ordernumber      = 
| factory          = 
| family           = 
| replaced         = 
| yearconstruction = 1956
| yearservice      = 
| refurbishment    = 
| yearscrapped     = 
| numberconstruction= 
| numberbuilt      = 1
| numberservice    = 
| numberpreserved  = 1
| numberscrapped   = 
| formation        = 1 power car and 7 coaches
| diagram          = 
| code             = HEP: HP53, Coaches: P85K
| fleetnumbers     = 9600–9607
| capacity         = 574 (82 per coach)
| operator         = [[Pennsylvania Railroad]]
| depots           = 
| lines            =

| carbody          = 
| carlength        = HEP:{{convert|53|ft|m|2}} Coaches:{{convert|85|ft|m|2}}
| width            = {{convert|9|ft|10|in|m|2}}
| height           = {{convert|11|ft|9|in|m|2}}
| floorheight      = 
| platformheight   = 
| entrylevelorstep = 
| doors            = 
| art-sections     = 
| wheeldiameter    = {{convert|34|in|m|2}}
| wheelbase        = {{convert|7|ft|2|in|m|2}}
| maxspeed         = 
| weight           = {{convert|91780|lb}}
| axleload         = 
| aux              = 
| powersupply      = Two Cummins Diesel V12 400HP powering Two westinghouse 440V 3 phase 60 cycle 265KW
| hvac             = 1 AC unit per car
| bogies           = 
| brakes           = 
| coupling         = 
| gauge            = {{railgauge|ussg|allk=on}}
| notes            =<ref name="diagram" />
}}
The '''''Keystone''''' was a set of eight lightweight [[streamliner|streamlined]] cars built by the [[Budd Company]] in 1956 for the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]]. The set comprised seven coaches seating a total of 574 passengers and a single [[head end power]] (HEP) [[generator car]]. The train was normally used in [[New York, New York]], to [[Washington, D.C.]], service, making two round trips per day. The design was not a success and the cars were retired in 1968.

== Design ==
The coaches were of a unique, split-level design, with the center portion of each car having a floor level two feet below that of standard coaches. This lowered the cars' center of gravity, allowing the train to safely take curves at higher speeds. The coaches were also built to a [[Stressed skin|stressed-skin]] "Tubular" design, with the shell of the car providing all of the cars structural strength, without the normal heavy steel underframe. This resulted in cars weighing only 60% of what standard cars would weigh.<ref name="about" />

The split-level design, with short stairways between levels, proved unpopular with passengers, causing bottlenecks during loading and unloading.<ref>{{Citation|title=The Edward G. Budd Manufacturing Company|url=http://www.trainweb.org/phillynrhs/Budd.html|website=trainweb.org}}</ref>

== Service history ==
The Pennsylvania introduced the cars in 1956, with the set making two daily round-trips between [[New York City]] and [[Washington, D.C.]] These services were named ''Morning Keystone'', ''Midday Keystone'', ''Evening Keystone'', and ''Midnight Keystone''. In addition to the tubular coaches all four trains operated with conventional equipment such as [[dining car]]s and parlor cars. The ''Midnight Keystone'', which departed New York at 11:10 PM, carried [[sleeping car]]s.<ref name="og195607" />

The train set was retired from service in 1968 and stored in [[Altoona, Pennsylvania]].<ref name="prr1968"/> [[Amtrak]] took possession of the equipment but sold it to the South East Michigan Transportation Authority ([[Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation|SEMTA]]) in May 1976 for $80,000.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1976%20Nov%2005.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2009-03-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110603232118/http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1976%20Nov%2005.pdf |archive-date=2011-06-03 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="numbers" /> SEMTA never used the equipment, and sold it to the [[Chicago, Central and Pacific Railroad]] in 1986.<ref>{{Cite journal | title=Arrivals & Departures | last=Ingles | first=J. David | journal=[[Trains (magazine)|Trains]] | date=June 1986 | volume=46 | issue=8 | pages=10–11 | issn=0041-0934}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|2|refs=
<ref name="about">{{cite web | title=About the New Tubular Train | author=Pennsylvania Railroad | year=1956 | url=http://streamlinermemories.info/PRR/TubularTrain.pdf}}</ref>
<ref name="diagram">{{cite web | title=E-456589-B,A - class P85k (#9603-9607) | url=http://prr.railfan.net/diagrams/PRRdiagrams.html?diag=p85k.gif&sel=all&sz=sm&fr= | author=Budd Company}}</ref>
<ref name="numbers">{{Amtrak By the Numbers|page=153}}</ref>
<ref name="og195607">{{Official Guide of the Railways|July|1956}}</ref>
<ref name="prr1968">{{cite web | title=PRR CHRONOLOGY: 1968 | url=http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1968%20June%2004.wd.pdf | date=June 2004 | access-date=2014-05-26}}</ref>
}}

== External links ==
* {{commons category-inline|Keystone (train)}}

{{PRR named trains}}
{{Budd Company}}
{{Lightweight Trains}}

[[Category:Budd Company]]
[[Category:Rail passenger cars of the United States]]
[[Category:Named passenger trains of the United States]]
[[Category:Passenger trains of the Pennsylvania Railroad]]
[[Category:Railway services introduced in 1956]]
[[Category:Vehicles introduced in 1956]]
[[Category:Railway services discontinued in 1968]]