M-8 Cars - Delivery and Acceptance

It looks tight, and the table config is reminiscent of the D&H/NYDOT Bar Cars seen on Harlem and Hudson trains 25 years ago. So, they narrowed the doors to make more room, but there are benches facing each other? I get the idea whomever designed this hasn't spent much time in the existing Bar Car fleet.

Don't laugh at Club Service, they did on Amtrak and it's thriving on the corridor with business travellers. What commutes on MN? Business Travellers who are crankning away on the phone or on a laptop. There's even services in Europe where small noisy children are virtually confined to one car for the sanity of the majority. I'd settle for a "Cell Car" like the old smokers. It would be great to put all the annoying cell users in every other car like they had a smoker every other car years ago.

Dieter/

Thanks, Dutch. Looks like more tables/benches than the existing bar car setup. I'm looking forward to seeing one in person.

Dieter to put it bluntly we don't give a rats ass on what they do in Europe.
Even in Europe those servises are not offered on 2 hour commuter rides cause there are no 2 hour commuter rides.
If you want european standards move there.

Dutch, take it easy. Dieter's just offering an opinion.

-otto-

Ideas start somewhere, even in Europe. Never limit yourself or you will miss a golden opportunity. You don't care about Europe? Fine, that's your opinion. Where do you think this push-pull nonsense came from? Well, now I'm agreeing with you. I wish that idea had never made it across the pond.

Outlets were put on coaches for the vaccum, people plugged their laptops in, taking the risk of blowing it. Now Amtrak has a safe plug for whatever. Next, someone will be screaming for outlets on commuter trains. Enough screams near an election year and anything is possible. Even at $7 a call, we had phones on the trains.

Innovation. It doesn't matter where it comes from if it works.

Dieter/

I love European trains , Ill be in my home country in August .
Problem is MNCR will not wire cars with UPS and outlets for fear of lawsuits.
Nobody wants cords and plugs all over and see commuters get hurt, its not the same on Amtrak as the people travel bigger distances.
Specialty cars will not be created on MNCR because if you create one car like a quite car you need to entertain every tom dick or harry with idea's.
there will be no childrens play car, no no childrens car, no no eating car, no no drinking car, no no newspaper noise car, no no Ipod and walkman car, no flatulance car , no snoring when sleeping car etc etc.

In 1979, we never imagined in 27 years we would have the following;

Reliable local rail service we wouldn't be embarrassed of.

"Radio Telephone Service" installed, outdated and removed by 2004.

Reliable AC.

Windows which could be seen through.

Three consecutive cars with heat in the winter.

Two consecutive cars with AC in the summer.

The REMOVAL of BAR CARS on former Central rails.

NO "Smokers"

New Coaches (non-rebuilds) and New Locomotives, in numbers.

Free-Standing Water Coolers.

Railroad stocks in numbers that wouldn't be down the crapper.

Two crappers tops per train set, down from one in each coach.

None of us has the time to comprehend the entire list of unforseen changes.

Dutch, for now you're right. In 1979, we all thought we were correct in assuming that change would never catch up with the railroad. Guess what? We were not only obviously wrong, but we were also wrong in our collective assumption back then that your present employer wouldn't even survive.

The lesson for both of us, and everyone else here proven over time is;

NEVER SAY NEVER.

Amtrak came to being out of a collapse of private rail ownership. As Washington becomes leery of financing intercity rail transit, it only stands to reason the next step in this progression is for such transit to be shouldered by the cities and municipalities between them, by themselves. Sounds rediculous? So did concepts like Amtrak and Metro North in 1967.

The changes we are yet to see on the railway here, are beyond our comprehension. Given the growing population, overdevelopment and now an unpredicted energy crisis which has spiked the use of mass transit nationwide, you can bet that demands we never imagined will be made and granted, due to sheer numbers.

You could get arrested in the late 70's for playing a radio on the train. Now we have to deal with these annoying jerks with their cell phones. As the tide comes in, it goes back out. Get with it, it's a cycle.

Brace yourself, here comes the future................ Cables, wireless, jabberers, Kinderwagens, Club Service - It got so bad, the only place it's going now is up.

Dieter/

Attached (or contained) in this message is link to Interior and Exterior rending of new M-8 cars developed by Metro-North's consultant by Cesar Vergara.





Some interesting side notes regarding the Industrial Design of the M-8 cars includes

1) Front end and accents to be painted, Hi-Gloss Tomato Red
2) For three passenger seats, middles seat is to be 2" wider than the two end seats
3) For two passenger seats, Wall seat will be wider than asle.

Thanks for the pics and info.

Wow! That's pretty sweet looking! Now that's what I like to see for a good-looking train. I still don't care for the front end, but I like what they're doing with the sides. I see they're bringing back the colored window-band; that's something that sorely lacking on the M7, though for maintenence reasons that I understand. I like the red coloring on the middle "ridge" on top in the front. But in this picture, the black coloring doesn't come around from the front windows to the cab-side windows; wasn't it supposed to? I actually liked that touch from the earlier rendering.

The interior setup looks pretty sweet too. Good job.

Again, this is only an artist's rendition but interestingly enough the seats look much more comfortable than the M7's, unlike the M7's, which have no blue stripe, they're going to have a red stripe, the cars bulge out rather than in on the midrift looking more like a railroad car and they're going to have illuminated number board (like the LIRR M7's). Again, this is only an artist's rendition. We'll have to see what actually comes out of the shops but if these renditions are correct, again except for the number boards, we got LIRR seconds. No one asked the Harlem and Hudson line passengers what they'd like to see in a railcar; just here you go, now sit down and be quiet.

What happened to the good ol' days before cell phones when commuters read the AM paper in the morning and the PM paper on the ride home ?

Some folks even used to catch a nap on the trip east.

I can only imagine what the inside of a commuter train might sound like when wireless laptop usage becomes possible. Ugh!!!

JFD

*istDS wrote:I can only imagine what the inside of a commuter train might sound like when wireless laptop usage becomes possible.

Hopefully quieter. Maybe people will e-mail and instant message, instead of chatting on the phone!

I think the M-7's are soul-less and completely lacking in visual appeal. If the M-8's carry through the styling presented in these drawings, then they will have much more visual appeal. Yes, that appeal is also important to the customer (though they may not voice it or know how to express it).

-otto-

Otto Vondrak wrote:I think the M-7's are soul-less and completely lacking in visual appeal. If the M-8's carry through the styling presented in these drawings, then they will have much more visual appeal. Yes, that appeal is also important to the customer (though they may not voice it or know how to express it).

-otto-

Agreed. Trains need some curb appeal, as for the most part, they are becoming more spartan as automobiles become more luxurious. It shouldn't be a major step down to take a train.