The Pennsylvania was proud of its in-house design capabilities. Over the years they had produced a notable string of triumphs, including the redoubtable K-4 and GG-1 locomotives. (The congenitally flawed T-1 duplex is best swept under the rug here.) So when in the mid-1950s they turned their attention to winning passengers back from the airlines and highways they had every expectation of yet another success. The P. R.R. designed, Budd-built "Tubular Train" featured a split-level design with passengers descending steps from the car ends to the seating area in the middle of the coach—which had been lowered nearly two feet to bring the passengers closer to the rails in hopes of a better ride.

View the advertisement for the new Keystones (PDF, 599K)

Unfortunately for the Pennsy, the "Tubular Train" would prove to have more T-1 in its genes than K-4. The better ride which had been hoped for never materialized to any noticeable extent, while the split-level design (which forced passengers to negotiate steps twice in every car while moving back and forth in the train) proved to be a massive bottleneck and headache. The trains proved unpopular with passengers and probably drove more away from the rails than they ever won. The Keystones would be the last purely P. R.R.-designed rolling stock to enter service; the Metroliners of the 1960s would be a collaborative effort sponsored by the Department of Transportation.