The objectives of the LRC (Light Rapid Comfortable) design were to produce a high-speed, lightweight, low center-of-gravity passenger train that overcame the deficiencies of the sucession of previous designs. Thus, the features of the LRC design were: - Power-banked coaches of 85 foot length, electro-hydraulically tilted up to 10 degrees on curves - Coaches 12 feet high with an underbody clearance of 8 inches, similar in dimensions to the TurboTrain, but with an air bag suspension and heavy acoustic insulation - Coaches constructed primarily of aluminum with a stressed skin exterior for light weight. Their 85 foot length provided greater spaciousness and minimized the claustrophobic feel of their predecessors - Individually-coupled cars, each with a vestibule on one end, providing flexibility for train consists, in both single-ended and double-ended operation - Matching low center-of-gravity locomotives - Train speeds of up to 120 mph, enabling 100 mph terminal-to-terminal speeds on existing mainlines with 4 degree curves. The locomotives were powered by a 16 cylinder 251F prime mover producing 3725 hp total, 2700 available for traction, as the locomotive supplied all of the power for train heating, lighting, and other utilities. This arrangement avoided the use of a separate power unit as existed on many other installations, and thus generated less noise than was typical with separate HEP power plants. But by 1988, VIA's operational assessment of the LRC was more favorable to the cars than the locomotives. Their complex electrical system was particularly cited as failure prone. At that point, VIA's expectation was only a 15-year life for its fleet, and indeed, by 1995 about 20 of the 30 locomotives were in storage. The LRC's only slightly outlived VIA's prediction, the last 7 operational locomotives were retired at the end of 2001.