NORTH WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — The Metro-North Railroad has unveiled the seventh unit in its heritage locomotive series and the first to be repainted, rather than wrapped.
The scheme on MN P32AC-DM 203 replicates the image applied to seven Conrail FL9s in 1980 when New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority funded their rebuild by General Electric at Hornell, N.Y. At the time, Conrail operated all commuter trains on former New York Central and New Haven routes out of Grand Central Terminal. In 1983, MTA established Metro-North Commuter Railroad to assume those operations; the locomotives were transferred to Metro-North ownership at that time, and remained in service into the early 2000s.
“This locomotive is a celebration of Metro-North’s rich history,” Metro-North Railroad President Justin Vonashek said in a press release. “This locomotive, like everything we do at Metro-North, is a testament to the hard work of our employees and the progress we’ve made over the last 40 years.”
The locomotive was unveiled to employees on Friday (June 13) and is expected to make its debut in revenue service on Friday, June 20.
Previous locomotives in the heritage series — as reported on Trains News Wire — have honored the original MTA paint scheme; Conrail; New York Central; Penn Central; Metro-North workers; and the New York, New Haven & Hartford.
Now, if CSX would only revive the SCL bicentennial scheme!
LIRR should do such cool things too…
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
Awesome work! The masterfully facelifted, indestructible MTA Central is ready to rock & roll on the rails…
Dr. Güntürk Üstün