How long will the Nippon Shayro style MUs last?

Alright,

Im shure this question is very open to opinion and may yeild no facts, however for fun and speculation, how long do you think the current 1983 style MUs will reign on the NICTD? The syle has been carried over to the newest MUs in 2001 and yes, AC is the new way to go, but do you think in the next 20-40 years the actual cars may change in size, shape, form? Those old OrangeInsulls lasted way beyond expected.

Mike

They could (and werent' they slated to be?) be rebuilt with AC inverters. If the carbody isn't fatigued and the trucks are ok, they could go a long time. Heck, the LIRR's M-1s are still rolling along 30 years later. Look at the Silverliners in Philly - 60's vintage cars still in every day service.

Practically, market demands tend to obsolete the cars before physical ones do. Today's railcar might not meet passenger expectations 20 years from now.

if SS ridership goes up more the may need doubledeckers....

just a fun thought

Nasadowsk wrote:They could (and werent' they slated to be?) be rebuilt with AC inverters.

Except for two (? PrrGuy knows) cars that are still awaiting mid-life rebuilding, all the cars have already been converted to AC propulsion.

Yes, car 48 was the most recent car to have this conversion. It should be out of the shops in a few weeks.

Are all the cars now without the nameboards on the sides? I was keeping an eye out for them in March and one slipped past me, I believe itwas #38 or so.

Mike

As of a couple months ago there are only 2 active cars, 38 and 43. also, 30 had them until a couple months ago when it went into midlife. Another car that has them is the original car 41, now just a shell sitting outside next to the material track. It was the victim of one of the wrecks on the line and it's frame was bent, now it's a parts source.