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Metroliners: The Silverliner Test Train Set
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Author:  wesp [ Thu Jan 01, 2026 11:39 am ]
Post subject:  Metroliners: The Silverliner Test Train Set
I am reading The Metroliners by Goldberg and Warner.

Did any of the test bed Silverliners T1-4 survive into preservation?

Happy New Year!

~Wesley
Author:  RRWX2015 [ Thu Jan 01, 2026 8:49 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Metroliners: The Silverliner Test Train Set
T-1 currently survives at the South Carolina Railroad Museum in Winnsboro, SC. It is undergoing a slow renovation into a parlor car as time and funding permits.
Author:  hankmum [ Thu Jan 01, 2026 11:52 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Metroliners: The Silverliner Test Train Set
T-2 survives and is located at 231 Enterprise Drive in Newport News, Va. at the AAFES warehouse. You can see it on Google maps. At one time T-1 was at Fort Eustis near Newport News before being moved to South Carolina. I have no idea where T-3 or T-4 are.
Author:  wesp [ Fri Jan 02, 2026 10:09 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Metroliners: The Silverliner Test Train Set
hankmum wrote:
T-2 survives and is located at 231 Enterprise Drive in Newport News, Va. at the AAFES warehouse. You can see it on Google maps. At one time T-1 was at Fort Eustis near Newport News before being moved to South Carolina. I have no idea where T-3 or T-4 are.


Hank,

Thank you.
Do you know if the car retains any mechanical gear?

Wesley
Author:  hankmum [ Fri Jan 02, 2026 1:51 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Metroliners: The Silverliner Test Train Set
It appears it still has most of it (including the trucks)although i think the pantograph is long gone. Best i know its being used as an office so its probably rewired for 110/220 volts. Here is a link to a Google picture.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/7UqZaRdsqbmyE7D28
Author:  wesp [ Mon Feb 02, 2026 7:10 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Metroliners: The Silverliner Test Train Set
Updates

I recently photographed T-1 at the South Carolina Railroad Museum. Pictures below.

T-2 is at AAFES near Fort Eustis, VA as Hank noted.

T-3 was scrapped on site at Fort Eustis in the 1990s.

T-4 was transferred from Fort Eustis to the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station in Virginia at some point. The car was scrapped when the base railroad was removed in the early 1990s.

The motors and pantographs were removed from the cars in 1979.

Wesley
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Author:  MattJ [ Tue Feb 10, 2026 5:18 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Metroliners: The Silverliner Test Train Set
wesp wrote:
Updates

T-2 is at AAFES near Fort Eustis, VA as Hank noted.


Be prepared to be interrogated by military security if you go near it! I did my internship in that business park back in 2012 when I was studying at William & Mary. It was publicly accessible and I used to walk by it at lunch time. Then a few months later I stopped by to get some photos, and AAFES security approached and I think maybe asked for ID, and I definitely remember being questioned in a not entirely friendly manner. Though in the end the dude didn't tell me to leave, but I didn't stick around long.
Author:  wesp [ Tue Feb 10, 2026 10:23 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Metroliners: The Silverliner Test Train Set
Quote:
Though in the end the dude didn't tell me to leave, but I didn't stick around long.


Matt,

Did you get any pics?
What do you recall about the condition of the car inside and or out?

Thank you!

Wesley
Author:  mcgrath618 [ Wed Feb 11, 2026 10:24 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Metroliners: The Silverliner Test Train Set
I found myself in the Norfolk area in October of 2020. I went a bit out of my way to check up on this car. I found it to be in good condition; the body looked good and the interior seemed to have been converted to an office of some kind. No pantograph to be found.

I have photos that I could upload if people are interested. No one seemed to care that I was around (maybe because of COVID?). The gentleman working at the AAFES nearby didn’t seem to know much (or care about) the car.
Author:  MattJ [ Wed Feb 11, 2026 10:40 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Metroliners: The Silverliner Test Train Set
wesp wrote:
Matt,

Did you get any pics?
What do you recall about the condition of the car inside and or out?


I found one pic that I took - let's see if an instagram link works:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BcrF75SlMjY/
Author:  wesp [ Wed Feb 11, 2026 1:24 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Metroliners: The Silverliner Test Train Set
MattJ wrote:
wesp wrote:
Matt,

Did you get any pics?
What do you recall about the condition of the car inside and or out?


I found one pic that I took - let's see if an instagram link works:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BcrF75SlMjY/


Thanks! I was able to view the pic and grab a screenshot.
Author:  mcgrath618 [ Mon Feb 16, 2026 10:37 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Metroliners: The Silverliner Test Train Set
mcgrath618 wrote:
I found myself in the Norfolk area in October of 2020. I went a bit out of my way to check up on this car. I found it to be in good condition; the body looked good and the interior seemed to have been converted to an office of some kind. No pantograph to be found.

I have photos that I could upload if people are interested. No one seemed to care that I was around (maybe because of COVID?). The gentleman working at the AAFES nearby didn’t seem to know much (or care about) the car.


See attached photos.

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