The John Quincy Adams was an attempt by the New Haven to modernize rail travel and lure people out of their cars.
The train was built by American Car and Foundry to a lightweight Talgo design, and was powered by two Fairbanks-Morse P-12-42 Diesel-electric locomotives, one at each end of the train, connected by multiple unit control.
It was nearly identical to the Speed Merchant operated by the Boston and Maine Railroad.
Under Patrick McGinnis, the New Haven ordered three experimental high-speed trainsets in 1955: the Dan'l Webster, the John Quincy Adams, and the Roger Williams.
All had interiors and exterior styling designed by architect Marcel Breuer as part of the new visual identity created by Knoll Associates.