PL42 Arrival in US Photos

Hi from Texas. I spent 8 years commuting from Bloomfield to Hoboken in the old rattan seat MU's, occasionally supplemented with a U34CH. In Sept. 2004 we carried new PL42's from Sagunto, Spain to Albany. Here is a link to some photos. http://s1355.photobucket.com/user/pjw19 ... ary/PL42AC" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; I believe these were the first ones to arrive, and I remember someone saying that one of them would head to Pueblo for testing at the FRA facility. For you engineering types, take a close look at the orange lifting lug. It wrapped around the back of the jacking pad. 2 big bolts were used to apply pressure so it would not slip. Probably the biggest cotter pin I've ever seen. The ship had two 200 metric ton capacity cranes, combinable to lift 400 mt. But only 1 crane with a spreader bar was needed for these units.

Thanks for the photos! If memory serves, the first two were the only ones built in Spain, with the other 31 built at the former Erie Hornell, NY shop then operated by Alstom. The first ones would be the first to be tested, so it would make sense for one of those to have gone immediately to TTC in Pueblo.

Neat photos! Cool to see. The units sure look different without their markings. Thanks for sharing. If memory serves, there was a rush to build the car bodies of these units and assemble them on their trucks as if they weren't built in time, the units would have to conform to higher tier standards.

Also, while 4000 was the first built, 4020 was the first used in revenue service. Below have is a link to the first solo run on the Pascack Valley Line 10 years ago.

I'm not sure who the photographer is, but I hear he's not a nice guy.

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 630&nseq=3

Very cool, thanks for sharing! I didn't realize that any of them were fully built by Vossloh overseas.

nick11a wrote:I'm not sure who the photographer is, but I hear he's not a nice guy.

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 630&nseq=3

Yeah, I've also heard he can kinda be a jerk. He also needs to work on leveling his pictures, it's making me a little dizzy...

ns3010 wrote:Very cool, thanks for sharing! I didn't realize that any of them were fully built by Vossloh overseas.

nick11a wrote:I'm not sure who the photographer is, but I hear he's not a nice guy.

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 630&nseq=3

Yeah, I've also heard he can kinda be a jerk. He also needs to work on leveling his pictures, it's making me a little dizzy...

He was younger back then and less-level headed. And I too didn't realize all of that either. I do wish that their number boards held up better through the years. The PL42AC number boards don't look too good anymore.