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IrelandMetrolink's old cab cars stir preservation hopes on CoasterFan2105
Mike Armstrong's archive footage is drawing a much larger daily audience, while viewers ask whether examples could find a museum home.
CoasterFan2105
Story of Why this story? The video is running at 50,083 views a day, 6.6 times its usual pace (7,542).
Old Metrolink Cab Cars: 601 - 637
Things we can learn from the video
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- 0:26Metrolink began acquiring its bilevel commuter cars in 1992.
- 1:13The original cab cars and the 1997 additions have different design details.
- 2:44Rotem cars arrived in 2010, moving older Bombardier cab cars into trailing-coach roles.
- 3:23A 2019 overhaul contract included removing cab components from older cars.
- 4:22The fleet showcase begins with car 601, proceeding through archive footage to cars 636 and 637.
"It's been many years now since I've seen one of Metrolink's older Bombardier cab cars in the lead of a train," Mike Armstrong says. His footage brings that sight back, and the comments beneath it keep returning to what might be saved.
Several viewers want a cab car preserved with its driving compartment intact. One hopes for a whole small train set; another names the Southern California Railway Museum as a hoped-for destination. These are wishes, not announced preservation plans, but they give this fleet history a subject beyond remembering familiar trains.
Since we reported here on CoasterFan2105's "Old Metrolink Cab Cars: 601 - 637," its daily views have accelerated to about 50,000, more than six times its usual pace. That rise stands apart from the channel overall, where daily views are below their usual level.
Armstrong explains why an old cab car disappearing from the front of a train need not mean it has stopped carrying passengers. New Rotem cars arrived in 2010, and most of the older cars continued as trailing coaches. He also describes the later overhaul program that removes their cab components, the very feature preservation-minded viewers want retained.
After that history comes the archive: individual cars passing junctions, arriving at stations and departing again, with their numbers identified on screen. For viewers who missed them leading trains, Armstrong's collection supplies a look at the working fleet rather than just a list of what survives.
Published on Trari
Where next?
What viewers say
i wish any these old cab cars were preserved with their cabs still intact
@noob_train_tvSee it on YouTubeI wish these Metrolink cab cars were preserved at SCRM or something so the newer generations can see them
@Amtrak6952ProductionsSee it on YouTubeGreat job Mike on Metrolink archives on their cab cars. On Train Sim World I operated Metrolink from Los Angeles to San Bernardino and Antelope Valley routes.
@SuperDave30See it on YouTube
2 more comments
6:55 I swear the number “611” is everywhere lol 😂 Great video as always!
@AndrewthetrainguySee it on YouTubeGreat shots of the Metrolink trains!
@kptrainsSee it on YouTube
Public comments from the video's page on YouTube
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- Channel
- CoasterFan2105
- Subscribers
- 1,220,000
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 4,452,666
- Channel views, pace per day
- 300,546 (on a normal day: 769,165)
- Video published
- October 30, 2026
- Video views so far
- 72,774 (4 days online)
- Video views, pace per day
- 50,083 (on a normal day: 7,542)
The numbers
The Metrolink video's daily views have jumped even as views across CoasterFan2105 remain below their usual level.
💡 Test your knowledge
Which two Texas cities are connected by Trinity Railway Express, featured in another CoasterFan2105 video?
Armstrong's Trinity Railway Express video follows the commuter line between Dallas and Fort Worth.