LIRR seeks to lease 8-21 MARC coaches (for Montauk Summer)

Heh... well, time to reload the SEPTA/MARC thread then... If the LIRR gets it approved, MARC's going to send up a MARC II-A/B set for modifications and testing then. As I understand, it's going to be the single-levels.

https://gallery.mailchimp.com/69d8acc35 ... _Notes.pdf

LIRR to lease between eight and 21 coaches from MARC... 15% down the page

CSX picked up 1 of the MARC units for use on their Track Geometry train,the MBCR leased MARC power was finally sent back to
MPI in Boise ID as rebuild fodder after spending some time at Seaview yard.
Because LIRR did the weird thing by combining the MU and Door Comm into 1 cable,figure on some new adapter cable to allow
the MARC Cab Cars to work with the DE-30's(MU only,no Door Comm)

What is the reason MARC even has these cars? Were these taken out of service as the new 8000s came into service?

They were stored serviceable and had current inspections,they were leased to SEPTA while they repaired the Defective SL V EMU's,
this is extra $$$ for MARC,remember the MLII(clone) cab cars had to modded to meet MARC's specs.

Backshophoss, where do you get your information? The DE30's and C3 coaches utilize both an MU and COMM jumper.

MCL1981 wrote:What is the reason MARC even has these cars? Were these taken out of service as the new 8000s came into service?

Backups, special excursions, leasing, etc. Some are even run regularly between Brunswick, MD to Baltimore, MD via Washington, DC.

Remember, these cars (MARC II-A/B series) are qualified to run on the Amtrak Northeast Corridor, and they're single level so they can go basically anywhere. MARC is largely bi-level now (MARC III and IV series) with a few of the single-level MARC II-A's converted into NEC-qualified Bike carrying cars.

So leasing 21 cars that wouldn't otherwise be used, and are always up on inspections? Why not? MARC's a smart cookie.

As long as they MARC is essentially turning a profit on the lease, then I guess that's cool. It seems a little strange to be in the railcar leasing business, but if it brings in some extra $$, I guess it makes sense.

Any word on a timeline? Nowakowski said on Monday that they'd be here for this weekend, which is obviously not true.

Believe MARC and LIRR are still working on an agreement,including OK's for Equipment mods needed for LIRR's ATC/cab signals setup
on the cab cars.

backshophoss you still have not answered a earlier question, about them train lines ??

MCL1981 wrote:As long as they MARC is essentially turning a profit on the lease, then I guess that's cool. It seems a little strange to be in the railcar leasing business, but if it brings in some extra $$, I guess it makes sense.

MARC has a sizeable coach surplus at the moment, but has a midlife overhaul of its 63-car Kawasaki bi-level fleet scheduled to start soon and has held onto lots of extras to cover reserves when the K-Cars are being rotated out in a blitz. IIRC that big overhaul is slated to start imminently since the rebuild contract was issued to Bombardier almost a year ago. Note that this year's 8 cars are limited to only the sets that went on emergency loan to SEPTA, and that the increases in fleet size up to 21 don't kick in until the option years. That times exactly with when the K-cars will be on the back end of the rebuild program. Fewer reserves will be needed by MARC in-house if the rebuild program has a front-loaded pace that can relax on the back end with fewer OOS bi-levels during the '18, '19, or '20 summers where LIRR's options increase on the reserves.

Because of the scheduling of the bi-level overhauls MARC had already committed to keeping their spares for a few years longer as actively maintained--not stored--reserves. This just ends up a convenient way to monetize that extra overhead in a way that tracks with the ebb and flow of the K-car rebuild schedule so these flats aren't chewing up too many in-house inspection cycles just sitting around. 2020 was the latest possible date these would need to be kept service-ready before the bi-level rebuilds were completely done and they'd either go into long-term storage or take scrap/dispersal bids...so the timetable on the lease still matches the longest feasible service lifespan MARC intended for them. This just ends up maximizing their value within that same timeframe.

How long can we expect before these coaches will be running on the Montauk branch? Will they be relettered for LIRR or will they maintain their MARC branding?

That would be interesting. MTA New York LIRR by MTA Maryland MARC. Ooooh the logos are going to clash!

They will not be relettered...they're going back to MARC during the off-season.