1100's and M-7's at North White Plains Yard

This evening (7/3/04) the NWP Yard was filled with 1100's and stuck in the eastern corner of the yard was a 6 car trainset of M-7's. Perhaps MN has filled the NWP yard up with the 1100's to make room for the M-7's on the Hudson Line. If this is the case, your loss on the Hudson is our temporary gain on the Harlem.

Anyone out there have any information on the M-7's on the Harlem Line?

one train out of NWP(#5??) and one train to Chapaqua(#661)

DutchRailnut wrote:one train out of NWP(#5??) and one train to Chapaqua(#661)

I dont know about that but I know that at least part of the list you gave before, reprinted on Page 1 of "ACMU Farewell Meet" holds true. I know from my not-ill-fated-but-not-a-roaring-success railfan expedition that there are a whole load of ACMU runs still on the Harlem and that the train to Crestwood is still an ACMU.

As for the lawsuits of people who didn't know that it aint safe to jump out of a moving train, well it doesn't surpirse me that the cars have a liability.

Here in Connecticut, the state recently legalized fireworks. However, they have a warning label. "Caution: Emits shower of sparks!" Duh, I should hope so. Obviously it is a legal position that some Connecticutians are so intergalactically stupid they don't know what a ****ing firework is!

So if the whole country and its legal system capitulates to this sort of thinking, then the ACMUs (and anything not designed with scarecrow-intellegence in mind) are serious trouble.

I for one will be sorry to see these vehicles go, not just 'cos they're nice for railfans, but they make right comfortable trips.

They(1100) may be comfortable to pasengers but for crew they are hell.
The cabs are freezingin winter and engineers must carry ducttape.
Windshiels to low for engineer to stand.
Windshiels to high for engineer to sit.
The fold up engineers seat is like sitting on oil barrel.
The deadman has given engineers carpal tunnel etc.
The brakes suck.(poor)
The propulsion sucks(slow)

I wouldn't exactly call the 1100s comfortable for passengers. Yes, the low seats and big windows make for a nice ride, but the low seats also don't leave you anywhere to rest your head.

When the A/C works, it's nice and cool, but it probably doesn't work in close to half the ACMUs I've been in lately.

And ride isn't exactly smooth. Sometimes it feels as though you're a kid again, sitting in the back seat of the school bus!

But, I'll miss them, anyway! The windows in the M-7s are big, but the seats are so high, you can't hardy see anything anyway.
The M-7's A/C works all the time and the high seats support your head, but there are so many noises and electronic beeps and boops that you can't sleep anyway!

From what I understand, the M-7's on the Harlem are based out of NWP... so they wont bump a Harlem ACMU run just yet...

... I think the only folks who will miss the ACMU's will be the railfans!

-otto-

Rode train 538 from White Plains to Scarsdale, and it was 8 cars M7. The railfan window had nothing blocking it and I was just tall enough to see out. The cab seems very roomy, and the seats were fine as long as you are near average height and weight. They fit me perfectly at my 5'8" and 125 pounds, but they didn't seem to be comfortable for those that were larger. My mom was in a two-seater with someone, and the other person ended up moving because there wasn't enough room, and she isn't that large at all. I seem to like the trains, especially their ride; they seem more quiet and smooth than the older cars. I live on the New Haven Line, though, so I won't be riding new cars regularly for a while.

I can surely relate to what "Dutch" stated previously.
The 1100's had the worst brakes of just about any equipment that I ever
operated at the time I was working in New York for Metro-North. The cars
that were re-built and had the modified 26 type brake equipment were a
little better but still not nearly as good as the old New Haven 4400's or the
old Osgood Bradley green MU's for that matter.
The arrangement of the switches for cutting out the electric brake on them borders on ridiculous and I could never understand how they got
away with that arrangement.
Of course, I ran these cars during a period that they had had much less
loving care than they are probably getting today. After the rebuilt cars
came back on line, the un-rebuilt cars were relegated to "B" units and
could not be used as leaders although they could at least for a while be
used to switch with.
The cab signal/speed control arrangement was lousy.
The controller arrangement was not too bad in my opinion.
The engineer's seat was just like the engineer's seat on the old New Haven
Railroad Budd RDC cars and just as hard on one's rear end too.
In the winter time, we would need to wear a jacket or a winter coat most
of the time and needed lots of newspaper too to try to plug up the drafts.
It is certainally plain that the crews won't miss these cars and I can't blame them.
Noel Weaver

mncommuter wrote:When the A/C works, it's nice and cool, but it probably doesn't work in close to half the ACMUs I've been in lately.

And ride isn't exactly smooth. Sometimes it feels as though you're a kid again, sitting in the back seat of the school bus!

Ok, maybe my train was the exception to the rule. But in the heat of GCT, many of the cars that I went through on the way to the front were ice cool. My car was a little warm, but that was probabbly due to the fact that I sat on the sunny side on the way out. As for comfort, well there was surprisingly little bumping on the journey. School bus my eye.

Needless to say I stand by everything I've said.

Sean just for comparison , Noel and I have had hundreds of rides in ACMU's you have had one.
We ride at extreme end of car you probably sat in middle somewere.

DutchRailnut wrote:Sean just for comparison , Noel and I have had hundreds of rides in ACMU's you have had one.
We ride at extreme end of car you probably sat in middle somewere.

Fair point, you have more experience than me. But I sat within 1 or 2 rows from the head-end of the first car. Like I said it may be that my car was in uncharacteristically good shape.

I'm headin' back down to NYC next week.Does anyone have any idea
what trains from GCT they;re still on in the evening.How about the one
to Crestwood?