MNRR Bilevel/Double Decker Coaches Proposal

[myamyc72]

Dutchrailnut:

Thank you for the response, I never seen those cars on the line before, and I suppose they would go to Penn station deviating in New Rochelle.

Amy

[DutchRailnut]

they only run for sunday games and yes NYP means New York Pennsylvana station.

[TDowling]

Well, darned if I find one on the Southern Tier! All I've seen on that line are single-levels, and I've been out railfanning quite frequently....

[Terminal Proceed]

The Southern Tier has NOTHING to do with this forum.

[TDowling]

The Southern Tier is the Port Jervis Line, correct?

[pnaw10]

The Port Jervis Line ends in Port Jervis. The "Southern Tier" is west of that. According to Wikipedia, the geographical area known as the Southern Tier begins with Delaware County and heads west. Port Jervis is in Orange County, and there's another county -- Sullivan -- between Orange and Delaware.

Wikipedia's entry does acknowledge that Sullivan County is sometimes considered part of the Southern Tier by NYSDOT, but no other agency does so, and even then, nobody refers to Orange County as part of the tier. Long story short, Terminal Proceed is correct - the Southern Tier has nothing to do with this forum.

[SecaucusJunction]

The Line west of Suffern has been known as the Southern Tier on NJT employee timetables for many years. NJT Dispatchers refer to it as the Southern Tier as well.

I'm not sure exactly if anything changed when Metro North leased it from NS... but since technically, NS still owns the line, the name should remain the same.

TDowling, you're not so far off after all...

[Harriman Station]

I'm certainly no expert, just a person who uses the trains and enjoys them, but the NJT employees on the NJ Transit forum frequently refer to the Port Jervis line as being part of the "Southern Tier." In any case, based on the context of TDowling's remark, it seems clear that he was referring to looking for multi-levels on the Metro-North Port Jervis line, which I would think would be fair game on the Metro-North forum, although moderators feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

[mrsam]

wow thats awesome!! too bad it was just a replacement wish i could ride those things all that long ride up that line but still cool

Riding the new NJT multilevels every day, I can tell you that although they're clean, and the seats are comfortable, they're nothing special to write home about.

Every car is full of little squeaks and rattles. All the plastic panels -- that the interior is decked out in -- rubs against each other constantly, as you clickety-clack on your merry way. The bumper on each end is always rubbing against the bumper of the next car pressed against it, with an ear-splittering screech, with the vestibule doors in a valiant, but a loosing battle, to keep all the noise out of the car. If you're easily irritated by the sound of screeching chalk on a chalkboard, you will be miserable.

People who are sensitive to motion sickness don't want to sit on the upper level. These bulky cars noticeably sway, even on a straight track. On the lower level, many (but not all) cars have very loud air valves, that keep hissing and clicking, all the time.

But, the cars are clean, the blue accents are pleasant to the eye, the seats are comfortable, and as long as you're not irritating by all the squeaks it's a pleasant ride.

[metrony]

Just by getting rid of the middle seat is enough for me. Cannot wait to see them on the Hudson Line say within 15 years if that.

[DutchRailnut]

you won't see multilevels anytime soon and not without 2 x 3 seating, not on this side of Hudson anyway.

[workextra]

It's been more then 10 years since the LIRR C3s were made but they do seem to be the most pleasant ride out there. They ride very comfortably even on rough track. The C3's put the ride quality of the EMU fleet to shame. I hope that If these fantasies of bi-levels on MNCR become a reality, that they use the C3 design and go from there.
but as it stands now they need to cut all things not essential including ESA to close the budget gap!

[DutchRailnut]

The C3's would be useless on MNCR, since they do not fit on all Park Ave tunnel tracks.
Again no multilevels in forecast.

[jstolberg]

The Metro-North Railroad is seriously considering buying double-decker coaches for its Harlem and Hudson commuter lines, in a move to ease overcrowding on a rail network that routinely runs standing-room-only trains during rush hour.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/16/nyreg ... .html?_r=1
Let the discussion begin.

[shadyjay]

Okay... two things caught my eye here:

Unlike most train cars currently used by the railroad, bilevel coaches cannot run by themselves; they have no motors and must be propelled by a locomotive. But Grand Central’s tracks have hundreds of gaps where the electrified third rail abruptly ends, which could cause the locomotive to stall.

A solution would be to use two locomotives, one on either end, to ensure the train never loses contact with the third rail, but that approach would be expensive.

How would this be any different than the present push-pull train configuration? There's just one locomotive on those trains (at the north end) and it seems to work just fine. So I can't see needing 2 locomotives on each train being a deal-breaker.

This month, Connecticut transit officials said they had decided not to buy custom-designed bar cars. Instead, the officials pledged to eventually retrofit seven of the 80 new cars into bar cars.

Makes sense to me. Nothing needs to be fancy - just a bar in the middle and some lounge type seating on both sides. Were the present M-2 bar cars originally custom-designed or were they done in house? No need to re-invent the wheel, here!