MP-15ac's out & about

#167 was the Jamaica protect today, #160 and #150 went by Queens Village light on RF1 this morning at 10:44 AM westbound and returned eastbound this afternoon at 2:29 PM back to Atlantic Pipe.

#153 was the Jamaica protect today, #157 and #158 were pulling a work train westbound this morning at 10:32 AM past Queens Village this morning, this train came back this afternoon eastbound to Belmont Park at 2:17 PM. #160 came by eastbound late this morning/early this afternoon at 11:59 AM/12:00 PM with a one car work train headed eastbound to Belmont Park, it came back westbound at 1:15 PM/1:16 PM with 2 cars. #160 dropped off a flat car at the Team yard in Queens Village then took the other car out westbound.

#161 was the Jamaica protect on Saturday 4/02, as of today it was seen in the fuel/washing area of Morris Park yard. #150 is the protect now in Jamaica, #171 and #152 were seen late this morning at 11:54 AM in Queens Village running light westbound past Queens Village as it was headed from Garden City. #152 and #171 came back past Queens Village at around 2:55/56 PM this afternoon running light to Atlantic Pipe.

#150 was the Jamaica protect today and #158 was sitting between the fuel pad and the washer areas.

160 and 171 were heading east on the southmost track past Jamaica just before 9:10 tonight.

Unrelated to that, a few months ago, I saw an MP-15AC pulling some M-3s (I think) into Hillside Facility, but I totally forgot to report it here at the time. Better late than never?

#150 was still the Jamaica protect yesterday, #166 and #167 were seen in Queens Village twice, before 10 AM running light westbound on RF1 from Atlantic Pipe to Fresh Pound to picked up cars for Holban Yard. It went back past Queens Village in the afternoon at about 1:30 PM headed to Atlantic Pipe from Holban.

Last Saturday 5/21 #157 and #167 went by Carle Place westbound at 9:41 AM from Atlantic Pipe light, it went back past Carle Place in the afternoon at 1:18 PM east back to Pipe. #161 was the Jamaica protect this past Wednesday and #150 was sitting near the fuel pad that morning.

#152 was the Jamaica protect today, #150 and #172 went by Queens Village light westbound this morning at 10:47 AM. #157 was working at Belmont Park on a work train then it left the area at 12:15 PM this afternoon westbound, a CE move with MP15AC #163 went west at 12:22 PM and #168 was seen near Harold Tower.

This past Wednesday #157 and #167 went by Queens Village westbound from Atlantic Pipe light at 9:52/9:53 AM. At 11:12 AM that same morning #172, #152, hopper cars and #158 trailing was headed eastbound as it was headed up to the Hempstead Branch, the #172,#152 and #158 work train came back eastbound in the afternoon at 2:25 PM. The Atlantic Pipe crew went back eastbound at 3:25 PM and #168 was the Jamaica protect.

#150 was the Jamaica protect yesterday, 166 (?) and #152 were seen sitting near the fuel pad area yesterday morning coupled with a C3 cab car. #163 and #171 were on RF1 and it was seen in Queens Village headed westbound light from Atlantic Pipe before 9:20 AM, the RF1 went to Belmont Park to picked up #167 and #168. After 10:30 AM at around 10:35 AM #163,#171.#168 and #167 backed up from Belmont Park to Queens Village then they went up to Garden City to picked up the Rail train, the rail train came westbound following train # 6751 at around 12:40 PM. The crew had to wait for a while in Bellerose for rail traffic, finally right after 1 PM they went westbound past Queens Village at 1:04 PM, the rail train came back by Queens Village at around 2:40 PM headed eastbound. The crew had to hang out for a while for eastbound rail traffic before they left for Atlantic Pipe at 3:03 PM.

#164 was coupled with SW1001 #103 and DE30AC #408 this morning and afternoon at Morris Park, #150 still the Jamaica switcher and #172 with #168 went by Queens Village at 2:55 PM this afternoon running light to Atlantic Pipe.

#168 was on a work train today east of Woodside with Diffco Side Dump and #157. #161 and #166 were on a other work train with Plasser American cars also east of Woodside. A CE move went by this AM at 10:40 headed eastbound with #172 and #158 must likely it was headed up to the Montauk Branch. #166 and #161 were spotted again this afternoon near Hillside at 2:42 PM, the Plasser American cars got dropped sometime today at Belmont Park. (Update) #172 went up to Speonk to drop off #158 then returned west with a single bad order coach C3 car for Morris Park as per Facebook's Railfans of the Long Island Railroad.

SwingMan wrote:It costs too much money, manpower, and time to paint them. There has not been a dedicated paint shop in years (all paint has been rolled on since at least the early 1990s). It's only a matter of time before they either get replaced or extensively rebuilt, so don't count on them looking spiffy anytime soon.

I'd have Amtrak paint them.. For a cash strapped entity, they've got some great looking schemes like Phase III Heritage NY.



And they've got the facility to do it properly. This issue of Amtrak Inc, has a photo of the above Genny before and after pages 8-9

MP15's may be the best motive power the RR bought besides the leased GP38's. They beat the p*ss out of them (and it shows) and they still keep ticking.

IMHO, the lack of attention to such details (work locos looking like $*^t and even the fading paint on the C3), signals pretty strongly to the public management's disregard for what appearances are worth. I don't blame the folks who operate this stuff, but management should understand what a beat-up wreck signals to the public. Unfortunately, appearances mean a lot in our society.

The least the LIRR higher-ups could do is make their operation look like its run by grownups. But that's just my 2¢.

The fact of the matter is: they need every car and engine at every moment, 24/7/365. Just look this time of the year as the prime example, almost the entire C-3 fleet that is available is being used on the weekends, with only cars that are shopped unavailable. Unless there is a mid-life overhaul planned (which there isn't), there is no way they are going to purposefully take road-ready equipment off the shelf longer than the time needed the repaint some stripes.

And the MP-15 situation is even worse. As has been noted many times in recent years, there is constantly a pinch for engines.

Paint is just paint, it does not improve performance. That is all that matters, period.

SM and DE402:

The C3 stripes are actually not paint at all - they are reflective sheeting likely to be Scotchlite. I have noticed myself that these C3 stripes are fading and/or
cracking on some cars. The DE/DM30s have them applied on their sides and they seem to be holding up better then the C3 striping has. The yellow front end
stripes on the cab cars is also reflective sheeting and has been replaced on some cars. The MTA/LIRR lettering and logo is fading also on some C3 cars.

Staying on topic with the MP15s: I recall being told that the LIRR MP15s were painted with a grade of latex house paint that was rollered on for the most recent
color scheme-which seems to me to be a not-so-good rendition of CSX colors. The LIRR could just look to NYA for an example of well-applied paint and a decent
color scheme which can even be like the 102-104 protect engines with their historical thought. What is hard to believe is that the MP15s are nearing 40 in age.
As mentioned they are "workhorses" and I fully agree with the Timex slogan "They take a licking and keep on ticking"...

What the MP15s need is a good solid sandblast and new paint job. To some people appearance is literally everything but to me it is what is inside that counts.
A revised image on the MP15s - which are highly visible to the public at times - could only help the LIRR in some manner...MACTRAXX