Supertrain (1979–1979)

The Supertrain was a nuclear powered bullet train that was equipped with amenities more appropriate to a cruise ship. It had luxuries such as swimming pools and shopping centers. It was so big it had to run on very broad gauge single track (not a pair of tracks as depicted in some advertising). Though it had a rated top speed of 190 miles per hour (306 km/h), the train took 36 hours to go from New York City to Los Angeles, which would put the train's average speed at around 78 miles per hour (126 km/h), slower than the moderately paced Amtrak Acela Express and well below the speeds of bullet trains in Europe and Asia. (Some episodes state, however, that the train also stops in Chicago,Denver, a fictitious town in Texas and presumably other cities, which would extend the length of the run and thus would require faster speeds.) Much like its contemporary The Love Boat (1977), the plots concerned the passengers' social lives, usually with multiple intertwining story lines. Most of the cast of a given episode were guest stars. The production was elaborate, with huge sets and a high-tech model train for outside shots.