M3s in Yaphank?

Whats the story here?
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I heard they were to be used for firefighter training.

The Suffolk County Police used this for training. Enclosed is photo I took in 1970 on same location with RS-s 463. Good all days. Noticed, however, rear truck was derailed at the time but was rerailed in a couple of hours.

Other than being used for training purposes, why was that pair retired ?

The cars were moved to the training facility yesterday.

Why train fire and rescue personnel on a piece of equipment that is obsolete and soon-to-be gone? The doors on M7 cars are entirely different.

452 card wrote: Why train fire and rescue personnel on a piece of equipment that is obsolete and soon-to-be gone? The doors on M7 cars are entirely different.

From what I understand, the basic function of these fire school cars is for fire fighters to enter a smoke filled car and rescue passengers. The "smoke" is simulated.

Are there any wrecked / cannibalized for parts M-7's that could be fire school candidates ?

The interiors of a M3 and M7 are almost the same layout,The cars are used as training aids for any kind of rescue,Fire/Smoke,mass injury simulation.

The point is, folks, that the mechanicals used to manually open the doors for rescue personnel are entirely different between M3s and M7s. And, the m9 car will probably be different yet again. Its one thing to navigate an interior (especially with a Scott Pack on), but they still need to know the specifics of the emergency entry system of ANY car they are to enter. To train on an obsolete unit and not be trained on what is in service is just plain dumb. And the M7 interior presents a further obstacle. In the event of an "A" end-of-car entry, there is a cab door that might be locked, preventing entry unless someone has a dream key to unlock it. If I remember correctly, the crashbar is not connected to the deadbolt.

452 Card wrote:The point is, folks, that the mechanicals used to manually open the doors for rescue personnel are entirely different between M3s and M7s. And, the m9 car will probably be different yet again. Its one thing to navigate an interior (especially with a Scott Pack on), but they still need to know the specifics of the emergency entry system of ANY car they are to enter. To train on an obsolete unit and not be trained on what is in service is just plain dumb. And the M7 interior presents a further obstacle. In the event of an "A" end-of-car entry, there is a cab door that might be locked, preventing entry unless someone has a dream key to unlock it. If I remember correctly, the crashbar is not connected to the deadbolt.

I agree about using obsolete cars for training, about the only thing thats the same is the aisle ways. As for the cab door locks, on the panic bars on the M7, from the cab interior (full or half) the open without the key.

The M3 will be very useful. Plenty of subjects and scenarios can be covered using this old pair as a training platform. While it’s not an m9 the following lessons can be transferred to any passenger car type in the LIRR inventory:

Advancing an attack line down the aisle. (In gear w/ pack)
Victim searches and removal. (Seat compartmentalization concept/why don’t trains have seatbelts?. Moving a backboarded patient in a car.)
Ground ladder placement for rescue and ventilation.
Safety hazards on and around the train. (Third rail, third rail shoes, adjacent track)
Water source considerations (not all train tracks are near positive water sources.)
Motor Vehicle extrication/heavy rescue with the car pinned under the front of the train.

That’s just off the top of my head with a few seconds of thought. Hands-on drills/classes at Suffolk County Fire Academy (SCFA) typically last a few hours. With this new training platform the instructors will have plenty to work with in making an informative lesson.

I write this as an LIRR employee and as a volunteer firefighter who has responded to a fair share of LIRR emergencies.

Nobody leaves SCFA as an expert on anything... however if you leave with a few new ideas in your head and a better idea on how to approach a scenario, you’re that much better.

Duh, how do you enter the car? Please, can you fire guys get it? The FIRST ENTRY is the key . It is of the utmost importance in ANY railway accident.

I would hope they LIRR would provide training on that and/or staff on site would facilitate it in the event of an incident. Amtrak has provided training here in ALB for local fire departments from time to time. If there is no other option, we have more than one tool that would facilitate getting the door open.