Cosmopolitan Brochure

[MACTRAXX]

Another observation: Does anyone remember the PC Metropolitan Region timetables issued back in that early 70s time period? The covers of the Harlem and Hudson TTs had a decent drawing of an M1 car with the caption-
"178 M1 cars are now in service" and the New Haven TT had a similar M2 drawing with the caption "Introducing the new Cosmopolitans" The M1 had the M logo drawn on the H&H TTs but the M2 drawing on the NH TT was logoless-note the brochure that the pictured M2 had no logo.

Originally the M2s had M-NEW HAVEN on the MTA owned cars and the CT state seal(same as today) on the CDOT owned cars. I found it interesting that the CDOT logo was never used on them as far as I know. I also remember that PENN CENTRAL lettering under the engineers window on the M2s-CONRAIL was never used there am I right? MACTRAXX

[Fred G]

Chris, thanks for sharing that awesome find! I love how there's a space for a name as in a certificate.

I might be alone but I did a double take on "a most comfortable way to travel" reading it as "almost comfortable"

[Patrick A.]

Wow what a neat find, thanks for sharing!

Slightly off topic here, but does anybody have pictures of the M-2's from the 70's when they were "new"? (Sorry it's quite odd having the word new in the same sentence as M-2)

Thanks,
Patrick

[theozno]

Nice Find!
When did they ban smoking?
When was the last time they did 100MPH?
be nice if they still did 100 mph today in some parts

[pnaw10]

When did they ban smoking?

I don't recall the exact date, but it was definitely sometime in the mid to late 80s. My family moved away from the area in 1988, and being allergic to smoke, I definitely remember all the cars going non-smoking sometime within a few years before we moved.

When was the last time they did 100MPH?

I don't think they ever did 100 MPH... the brochure just said they were capable of doing 100. In electrified territory, the highest speeds I could find (according to Richard E. Green's track map), was 75 Hudson and Harlem. On the New Haven... Rich lists 90 as the limit from the New Rochelle yard up to the curve just before Harrison. But after that stretch, the highest limit is only 75.

The only other place you'll see trains hit 90 is on the Hudson Line, in stretches between Cold Spring and Poughkeepsie.

In the odd-numbered M2s wHere smoking was permitted did they have a tile floor originally like the M1s did?

I believe this brochure is on the M2, and it did say there are tile floors. (Check the diagram with all the numbers on it.) I'm sure the tile was used specifically so you wouldn't have cigarette butts being ground into the carpet, possibly catching fire. Of course, even in the cars that did have carpet... if you're not going to have the time or manpower to vacuum them after every run and shampoo them pretty constantly... what's the difference?

[Terrapin Station]

Very cool, thanks for posting it!

IIRC I've clocked (with my GPS) the M-2/4/6 cars at 90MPH on that section of the New Haven line.

[DutchRailnut]

Wow what a neat find, thanks for sharing!

Slightly off topic here, but does anybody have pictures of the M-2's from the 70's when they were "new"? (Sorry it's quite odd having the word new in the same sentence as M-2)

Thanks,
Patrick

Here is picture of CDOT M2 cars at delivery at Dock yard in Norwalk, it already had the Ct state seal.
http://world.nycsubway.org/perl/show?67817

from :
http://world.nycsubway.org/perl/imgdate?20070620

[Otto Vondrak]

Without going too far off topic, I had some questions about Dock Yard... these pictures of M-2 deliveries sparked my interest...

In this picture...

http://world.nycsubway.org/perl/show?67819

It looks like they installed an inspection pit? Were the M-2's based out of Dock Yard as a temporary inspection facility when they were delivered? Is this pit still there?

I can't place this scene...

http://world.nycsubway.org/perl/show?67818

Relative to the tracks there today, where was this tower and yard? I assume the I-95 overpass is to our back... is this where the funky sculpture garden is today? Is the Danbury Branch out of sight to the right?

When was Dock Yard removed?

-otto-

[Patrick A.]

Wow what a neat find, thanks for sharing!

Slightly off topic here, but does anybody have pictures of the M-2's from the 70's when they were "new"? (Sorry it's quite odd having the word new in the same sentence as M-2)

Thanks,
Patrick

Here is picture of CDOT M2 cars at delivery at Dock yard in Norwalk, it already had the Ct state seal.
http://world.nycsubway.org/perl/show?67817

from :
http://world.nycsubway.org/perl/imgdate?20070620

Thanks Dutch! Wow its amazing seeing the M-2's wen they were brand new. It makes me wonder how the M-8's are going to look on roll out.

Patrick

[DutchRailnut]

Dock yard was slowly taken out when places like maritime center etc were being built, the lower yard came out around 1989.
The location of single pair of M2's is were the new apartment buildings now stand
north part of entire yard came out when I95 was built.
The view you can't place is taken from near I95 looking toward the maritime center, Norwalk Bridge is viewable at left and Danbury Main is extreme high track at right. GE leased the old freight building near single pair of M2's as their setup headquarters.
The old inspection pit is long gone it was in second track next to Danbury main, near were now the track dept.stores some old tamper.
Currently Dockyard is only one run around track next to main and a few of miss configured tracks for MofW.

[PC1100]

There are more pictures of the M-2's when they were in their first few years of service on the main page of the New Haven Line section of the nycsubway.org website. They're scattered among newer photos, but there are several at Stamford in particular:
http://world.nycsubway.org/us/metronorth/newhaven.html

This picture from December 1974 is especially interesting. Not only does it show Stamford with the two station buildings and the old platform setup, but if you look under the engineers window you'll see the Penn Central lettering:
http://world.nycsubway.org/perl/show?10960

[The Interloafer]

Patrick wrote,

Slightly off topic here, but does anybody have pictures of the M-2's from the 70's when they were "new"? (Sorry it's quite odd having the word new in the same sentence as M-2)

Oh man, that question sent me on a quest to find my favorite photo of the brand-spanking-new M-2 from 1973 parked across the platform at Stamford (or possibly South Norwalk or maybe even New Haven) from a dull old brown or gray coach.

The photo is looking down the platform and the new M-2 is parked on the left while the older car toward the right. The M-2 has the old-style, two-color "M" logo for the MTA. In the foreground but half cut-off by the right-hand side of the photo, there is a man, probably a railfan, wearing a hat and looking away from the photographer. He's excitedly walking to take a look at the M-2, which the caption notes is being "shown off" to the public.

I've been searching all over the place:
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/
http://www.railpictures.net/
http://world.nycsubway.org/us/metronorth/index.html
http://www.subwaynut.com/mnr/index.html

This is driving me crazy. I have great memory of this picture ... but I can't remember where I saw it. Does anyone else remember it?

[Erie-Lackawanna]

Oh man, that question sent me on a quest to find my favorite photo of the brand-spanking-new M-2 from 1973 parked across the platform at Stamford (or possibly South Norwalk or maybe even New Haven) from a dull old brown or gray coach.

[snip]

This is driving me crazy. I have great memory of this picture ... but I can't remember where I saw it. Does anyone else remember it?

Probably this one:

http://piercehaviland.com/rail/railimages/akfm2run1.jpg

on Pierce Haviland's site.

Jim

[The Interloafer]

That's the one!

Thanks Jim. You da man!