A classic Budd Amfleet Amtrak Passenger car.

FTA FutureTrain #2

I'd been thinking of this one as a train for a while, but then somebody pointed out a detail just under the front bumper.  The bottom of the carriage appears to have a channel in it.  Could this be a monorail?  And if a monorail, would the placement of the front bumper be... somewhat unfortunate?  I don't know much about monorails other than the Seattle and Disney monorails.  Does this tie clip look like a monorail that was actually built?

The other detail on this tie clip is what appears to be the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) logo on the front center of the unit, and on the front side panel.   This logo makes me think that the train (monorail) may never have been built.  I wonder if FTA simply had a program to develop monorail concepts and this was one of them.  If a concept, then it must be an old one.  Not many modern concept vehicles have round headlights. 

I remember reading somewhere FTA was involved in incentivising re-designs of transit buses at some point in the 1970s.  The federal Urban Mass Transit Administration program was called 'Transbus' and had something to do with making buses be more appealing to choice riders, more futuristic, and incorporating the latest technologies in their design.  I'm pretty sure this initiative resulted in the body-styling of the futuristic RTS buses that LA Metro (formerly RTD) and other agencies purchased in the early 1980s and operated for 30 years or more. The blog Curbside Classics has an excellent article about the General Motors RTS-type bus that evolved from this program.  In the comments section, someone describes the bus's futuristic styling as "...a dingy shuttle from a dystopian 70s space movie..."  I'm pretty sure this initiative resulted in the body-styling of the futuristic RTS busses that LA Metro (formerly RTD) and other agencies purchased in the early 1980s and operated for 30 years or more.  Was their a similar FTA initiative for rail/monorail vehicles?  

I think they did a good job with those RTS buses - they didn't fall into the old 'round headlight' trap and even today, they still look pretty cool.  In the splash of pictures in the provided link, can you make a comment about which RTS rear you prefer?  There's a flat vertical "squareback" rear on some of them, and there's a sloped rear on others.  Can you tell me why the buses have different rear ends?  Can you make up good stories for why the buses have the different rear ends?  Here's my attempt: The sloped rear-end version of the RTS bus was originally designed with two cockpits so the bus wouldn't have to turn around at the end of each trip.  I found the real answer at the curbside classics blog mentioned earlier.  But please make up a reason before you read the answer. 

FTA FutureTrain #1