The Flying Yankee is a diesel-electric streamliner built in 1935 for the Boston and Maine Railroad by Budd Company and with mechanical and electrical equipment from Electro-Motive Corporation. It was the third streamliner train in North America.

History

Prior to 1935, the name Flying Yankee referred to a passenger train that ran between Bangor, Maine, and Boston, Massachusetts, at least back to 1891. The train was hauled by an early 4-6-2 steam locomotive; cars were standard heavyweight construction.

The new Flying Yankee in the 1930s was a lightweight train constructed with welded stainless steel using Budd's patented process. The engine was an 8-cylinder Winton 201-A diesel, driving a generator; the lead truck was equipped with traction motors. It was fitted with air conditioning in all cars. No dining car was provided; instead, meals were prepared in a galley and served to passengers in trays that clipped to the back of the seat in front.

It was the third streamliner in service after the Union Pacific's M-10000 and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad's Pioneer Zephyr. The Flying Yankee was a virtual clone of the latter, except that it dispensed with the baggage/mail space to seat 142 in three articulated cars. In November 2023, the state of New Hampshire put the equipment up for sale, with a focus on "the relocation and encouraged restoration" of the trainset. In April 2024, the trainset was sold to the Flying Yankee Association, who hopes to restore and operate the set in the Mount Washington Valley, with a possibility of running it on the Conway Scenic Railroad. It was moved to Conway on July 30, 2024, where it is currently undergoing restoration.

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File:Flying Yankee Budd photo 1935.jpg|Budd company photo of the train in January 1935

File:Flying Yankee menu.JPG|Menu from the train. Food was catered by the Armstrong Company as there was no diner on the train.

File:Flying Yankee 1935.jpg|Rollout of the Flying Yankee at the Budd Company in 1935

File:BM Flying Yankee.jpg|This "drumhead" logo adorned the end of the observation car on the Flying Yankee.

File:The Mountaineer Boston and Maine 1944.JPG|The train as The Mountaineer in 1944

File:Flying Yankee Edaville.JPG|The train in Edaville after its 1957 retirement

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References

Further reading

  • B&M/MC Flying Yankee Boston-Bangor April 1936 timetable at Streamliner Schedules