MattAmity90 wrote:nyandw wrote:MattAMity90: What date is the M3 Mineola photo?
Looks to be about 2008 or 2009, it was just before the "Watch the Gap" decals went from yellow diamonds to those shield decals where it's a triangle on top of a rectangle.
Metro_North_gap_sign.jpg
2173227795_beeede253d.jpg
Steve and MA90: The M3 picture at Mineola is copyrighted 2007 by Gary Chatterton.
There are FIVE variations of the yellow WATCH THE GAP "sign" decals that were used on door
windows beginning in the 90s: Both the circle M and "pac-man" MTA logos with the text below
"Long Island Rail Road" or "Metro-North Commuter Railroad" (circle M logo) or "Metro-North
Railroad" (pac-man logo). The picture is of the generic captionless WTG "sign" which was the
fifth and final one used (and was the least common of the five) on equipment.
I found by looking at these decals that ALL FIVE WTG types were used on LIRR MU cars - that
includes those with the Metro-North caption. I remember pointing this out to riders on the M1
farewell trip in 2005.
The first M3 run was September 10, 1985* and was a train run between Jamaica and Penn
Station primarily for the "dignitaries" at the time. On that day a keychain tag was given out
as a souvenir - one side was in the format of an LIRR ticket between those points; the other
read "M3 Cars Inaugural Run 1985" with black graphics on metallic gold color. The tag was
valid for fare on board that train or to be kept as a memento. I have one stored away...
(*A special M3 inaugural issue of LIRR's "Along The Track" mentions this run and the date.)
MACTRAXX
EXPRESS TRAIN TO NEW YORK PENN STATION-NO JAMAICA ON THIS TRAIN-PLEASE STAND CLEAR OF THE CLOSING TRAIN DOORS