Long Island Rail Road fleet

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Main articles: Long Island Rail Road and Long Island Rail Road history

The Long Island Rail Road owns an electric fleet of about 1000 M3 and M7 electric multiple unit cars, and about 110 double-decker passenger cars powered by 23 DE30AC diesel-electric locomotives and 23 DM30AC dual-mode locomotives.

In 1997 and 1998, the LIRR received 114 double-decker passenger cars from Kawasaki and 46 General Motors Electro-Motive Division diesel-electric locomotives (23 diesel DE30ACs and 23 dual-mode DM30ACs) to pull them, allowing trains from non-electric territory to access Penn Station for the first time in many years,^[1]^[2] due to the prohibition on diesel operation in the East River Tunnels leading to Penn Station.^{[citation needed]} These new trains have the distinction of being the only double-decker commuter trains in the New York City area, although New Jersey Transit is currently in the process of buying their own.^{[citation needed]} They were also the first trains with computerized voices (complete with LED sign displays) announcing stations along the routes.^{[citation needed]}

Bombardier M7s on the LIRR

Starting in 1999, the LIRR bought 836 new electric M7 electric multiple units from Bombardier, replacing all of its M1 cars.^[3]^[4] These cars have an automatic station announcement and LED sign display system.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] History

When the LIRR began operations in 1836, it leased the newly-opened Brooklyn and Jamaica Railroad, including its two duplicate steam locomotives, Ariel and Post Boy, both built by Matthias W. Baldwin. (Ariel was Baldwin's 19th engine, built in 1835.) The LIRR soon acquired, through the B&J, Hicksville in 1836 and John A. King (the only engine built by the Poughkeepsie Locomotive Company) in 1838. Post Boy was sold off after a 1852 accident.^[5]

Long before modern piggyback services, the LIRR began carrying farm wagons aboard flatcars in 1885.^[5]

In the early 20th century, the LIRR was a testing ground for the Pennsylvania Railroad's electrification, including Phoebe, its first electric (AA1), and was the first company to extensively electrify its primary lines. The DD1 electric locomotives were developed from the prototypes that were tested on LIRR trackage. Later it saw power such as the B3.^[5]

The LIRR's steam passenger locomotives were modernized from 1901 to 1906, and by 1927, it was the first Class I railroad to replace all its wood passenger cars with steel.^[5]

In 1926, the LIRR was the first U.S. railroad to begin using diesel locomotives. The last steam locomotive was a G5s operated until 1955.^[5]

Electric storage battery cars were used on the West Hempstead Branch (Valley Stream to Mineola) from 1913 until it was electrified in 1926, and on the Bushwick Branch prior to the end of its passenger operations in 1924.^[5] The Central Branch from Garden City east to Mitchel Field was electrified with third rail in 1915, but used ex-Ocean Electric Railway trolley cars until 1933. Normal electric trains were then used until the line's abandonment in 1953.^{[citation needed]}

An M3 railcar

One of the most popular decisions by Governor Rockefeller after the 1966 takeover was replacing the entire electric passenger fleet with M1 and M3 cars.^{[citation needed]} It acquired 770 M1 cars built by Budd and General Electric from 1968 to 1974, and 174 M3 cars built by TransitAmerica in 1985 and 1986.^[6]^[7] The decision was to haunt the LIRR in the 1990s as the entire fleet began to break down all at once and there was no plan to provide a less expensive phasing-in of replacement cars.^{[citation needed]}

Diesel-hauled trains through the late 1990s were operated using 1950s-era P72/PT75 series built by Pullman-Standard.^{[citation needed]} About 50 EMD GP38 and MP15AC diesel-electric locomotives pulled about 223 passenger cars, mostly former electric multiple units.^[6]