The section of New York Central they used for this stunt is a 68-mile stretch known as the Air Line, aka the Chicago Line, aka the Water Level route (the latter being a misnomer). It was chosen in 1966 because it was the straightest, most level piece of road on the NYC. Essentially, if you snap a chalk line from Toledo, Ohio, to Butler, Indiana, that's the Air Line -- with the towns of Swanton, Delta, Wauseon, Archbold, Stryker, Bryan, Edgerton, etc. sprouting up along the route. So if you look at a map of Ohio and use these towns to connect the dots, you have the Air Line. One reason for the Air Line's original construction circa 1897 was to carry trains like the one that became known as the Lake Shore Limited, which regularly made New York to Chicago in 16 hours, and was regarded as the most luxurious and prestigious passenger train in the biz.
The engineering report for the 1966 jet trial describes the track as "26 years old, excellent condition," and the pilot Don Wetzel said that in his view, it was about as nice as standard bolted and ballasted (non-welded) track could be. I am no rail expert but to my eye, it still is that nice today. My friend who rides the Amtrak train on this route says it runs 87-90 mph on the stretch, according to his iPhone.
I got curious about something I saw in the engineering report so I drove out there yesterday to double check. I had to see if the speed trap was actually in the place indicated. This photo below is the Amtrak station in Bryan, Ohio, which was the New York Central station in 1966, of course -- it's well in town but at the northern outskirts, sort of. Anyway, at the point I am standing to take this photo (within 100 feet plus or minus) is the exact spot where the M-497 was clocked at 196 mph. Yes, they blew through town at Vmax, WFO. The magnificent bastards.
Edited by Magoo, 10 October 2014 - 00:47.