LIRR And MNRR Random Thoughts Thread

[Trainmaster5]

NY1635 methinks that I owe you an apology. The new station,  called Elmont, Is actually nearer the Bellerose station on the Mainline on the northwest quadrant of what constitutes the Belmont park territory. Elmont itself lies south of the new station. I remember that Floral Park people were protesting against the idea but I didn't realize that they were against the station and the arena. Sorry I was so flippant about your post. Since you appear to be a Nassau resident and my roots are in Brooklyn maybe you can explain how a resident of Floral Park can bring suit against an Elmont entity that is a creation of the state of New York. That sounds like an East New York vs Lindenwood fight over something the proposed . BTW the entry/exit pattern of trains access to the proposed station mirrors that of the existing Belmont branch so I doubt there will be any time savings involved.  Again my apology.  Carry on. 

[N6 Limited]

19 hours ago, Trainmaster5 said:

Elmont itself lies south of the new station. I remember that Floral Park people were protesting against the idea but I didn't realize that they were against the station and the arena. Sorry I was so flippant about your post. Since you appear to be a Nassau resident and my roots are in Brooklyn maybe you can explain how a resident of Floral Park can bring suit against an Elmont entity that is a creation of the state of New York. That sounds like an East New York vs Lindenwood fight over something the  proposed . 

I don't think they can, Floral Park is an Incorporated Village and Elmont is an unincorporated area in the Town of Hempstead. So they'd have to bring suit against the Town of Hempstead and/or State of NY.

I think Floral Park may be concerned about the loss of parking revenue from Elmont Residents at the Floral Park station, I don't see how an Elmont Station affects them otherwise, maybe patronage to their business on Tulip Ave while going to and from the Train? 

As for the Arena, they may be concerned with extra traffic in the area and those looking for on-street parking, Belmont Stakes is one day a year and that's enough to deal with in both Floral Park and Elmont's eyes, and even Queens Village, since they have to deal with it as well.

19 hours ago, Trainmaster5 said:

. BTW the entry/exit pattern of trains access to the proposed station mirrors that of the existing Belmont branch so I doubt there will be any time savings involved. 

The new station will be on the main line, so trains will be able to enter and leave the station quickly, no need for speed restrictions like when going through the Belmont spur's wye, etc. They could easily serve the station during events by adding a stop to all the service they have on the main line. (both east and westbound).

[Trainmaster5]

2 hours ago, N6 Limited said:

I don't think they can, Floral Park is an Incorporated Village and Elmont is an unincorporated area in the Town of Hempstead. So they'd have to bring suit against the Town of Hempstead and/or State of NY.

I think Floral Park may be concerned about the loss of parking revenue from Elmont Residents at the Floral Park station, I don't see how an Elmont Station affects them otherwise, maybe patronage to their business on Tulip Ave while going to and from the Train? 

As for the Arena, they may be concerned with extra traffic in the area and those looking for on-street parking, Belmont Stakes is one day a year and that's enough to deal with in both Floral Park and Elmont's eyes, and even Queens Village, since they have to deal with it as well.

The new station will be on the main line, so trains will be able to enter and leave the station quickly, no need for speed restrictions like when going through the Belmont spur's wye, etc. They could easily serve the station during events by adding a stop to all the service they have on the main line. (both east and westbound).

The eastbound part of the mainline seems to be easier to picture station wise, perhaps a stop on the Hempstead branch, but the westbound station? Isn’t that at the limits of the Third Track project ? I tried to figure out the track/switch configuration but I gave up 😀. Help me out please. Carry on.

[jaf0519]

6 hours ago, Trainmaster5 said:

The eastbound part of the mainline seems to be easier to picture station wise, perhaps a stop on the Hempstead branch, but the westbound station? Isn’t that at the limits of the Third Track project ? I tried to figure out the track/switch configuration but I gave up 😀. Help me out please. Carry on.

I actually was on on a tour of Belmont where they explained what the situation was going to be last summer. I have a packet with a bunch of diagrams and information but I can’t find it. I also have heard much publically so I don’t know how much has been revealed that I can explain. The station will be a Hempstead Branch station and receive service roughly every 20-30 minutes during peak hours, and every 60 minutes off-peak. The plan was for it to be served by AT MOST, 1 train to the Port Jefferson Branch and 1 train to the Ronkonkoma Branch, on event days at the arena, in addition to the Hempstead Branch trains. These wouldn’t be new trains, but existing trips with a additional stop. For service to other branches, like Oyster Bay, or the Atlantic branches, people would still need to head to Jamaica.

9 hours ago, N6 Limited said:

I don't think they can, Floral Park is an Incorporated Village and Elmont is an unincorporated area in the Town of Hempstead. So they'd have to bring suit against the Town of Hempstead and/or State of NY.

I think Floral Park may be concerned about the loss of parking revenue from Elmont Residents at the Floral Park station, I don't see how an Elmont Station affects them otherwise, maybe patronage to their business on Tulip Ave while going to and from the Train? 

As for the Arena, they may be concerned with extra traffic in the area and those looking for on-street parking, Belmont Stakes is one day a year and that's enough to deal with in both Floral Park and Elmont's eyes, and even Queens Village, since they have to deal with it as well.

The new station will be on the main line, so trains will be able to enter and leave the station quickly, no need for speed restrictions like when going through the Belmont spur's wye, etc. They could easily serve the station during events by adding a stop to all the service they have on the main line. (both east and westbound).

If I remember correctly, lawsuit had been filed by either the Village of Floral Park or residents argueing against quality of life changes. At the time I was an intern at a local representative’s office and there were lots of reasons they had heard from Floral Park and Bellerose.

They included:

• Against the arena because of the traffic conditions it would bring, even though it wouldn’t affect their side of Belmont
• They were against the new shopping area, hotels, and homes being built south of the arena because it would urbanize the area
• They were against the station as a whole because the Belmont Park Branch exists already to serve the area
• Once they couldn’t stop the station, they attempted to block any entrances on the northern side of the tracks. They were against street exits onto Superior Rd because it would allow “undesirable” people to have access to the neighborhood.

The representative I worked for attended a community meeting after this and it was reportedly almost entirely made up of Floral Park/ Bellerose residents who were furious about any of these plans.

[trainfan22]

The LIRR electric fleet is currently 100% M7 since the essential service started, as both the M3s AND M9s are in storage right now.

[Jsunflyguy]

On 5/4/2020 at 6:55 PM, trainfan22 said:

The LIRR electric fleet is currently 100% M7 since the essential service started, as both the M3s AND M9s are in storage right now.

M9s are back to being exercised now that Kawasaki is working. No revenue runs thusfar.

[40MntVrn]

On 5/5/2020 at 9:42 PM, Jsunflyguy said:

M9s are back to being exercised now that Kawasaki is working. No revenue runs thusfar.

great news.

[bobtehpanda]

On 5/2/2020 at 11:39 PM, Trainmaster5 said:

NY1635 methinks that I owe you an apology. The new station,  called Elmont, Is actually nearer the Bellerose station on the Mainline on the northwest quadrant of what constitutes the Belmont park territory. Elmont itself lies south of the new station. I remember that Floral Park people were protesting against the idea but I didn't realize that they were against the station and the arena. Sorry I was so flippant about your post. Since you appear to be a Nassau resident and my roots are in Brooklyn maybe you can explain how a resident of Floral Park can bring suit against an Elmont entity that is a creation of the state of New York. That sounds like an East New York vs Lindenwood fight over something the proposed . BTW the entry/exit pattern of trains access to the proposed station mirrors that of the existing Belmont branch so I doubt there will be any time savings involved.  Again my apology.  Carry on. 

As someone who lived in the area, Floral Park will NIMBY against literally any bit of change, ever. They managed to simultaneously be against the gates being down all the time during peak, and grade crossing elimination, so it knows no bounds.

[brakethrow]

Did Metro-North ever have wayside signaling at one point? Besides the few at interlockings.

[Jsunflyguy]

2 hours ago, brakethrow said:

Did Metro-North ever have wayside signaling at one point? Besides the few at interlockings.

Yes, all the way into the 80s they had searchlight type signals among the catenary.

[40MntVrn]

Incremental service returning to MNRR & LIRR starting tomorrow, May 27th:

Quote

Effective Wednesday, May 27, Metro-North is increasing service on the Hudson, Harlem and New Haven Lines as the Mid-Hudson region is expected to begin Phase 1 of reopening.

http://web.mta.info/mnr/html/May_27_Schedule_Change.htm

https://wcbs880.radio.com/articles/news/metro-north-lirr-increasing-service-during-reopenings

 

[N6 Limited]

On 5/11/2020 at 4:52 PM, bobtehpanda said:

As someone who lived in the area, Floral Park will NIMBY against literally any bit of change, ever. They managed to simultaneously be against the gates being down all the time during peak, and grade crossing elimination, so it knows no bounds.

Covert Ave?

[MeeP15-9112]

Does anyone know all of the New York & Atlantic train symbols? I live near the Lower Montauk and always hear them going past.

[NY1635]

On 5/11/2020 at 4:52 PM, bobtehpanda said:

As someone who lived in the area, Floral Park will NIMBY against literally any bit of change, ever. They managed to simultaneously be against the gates being down all the time during peak, and grade crossing elimination, so it knows no bounds.

Right now the crossing at New Hyde Park Road is being worked which forced NICE to divert the n25 away over to Covert Avenue between Stewart Ave and Jericho Turnpike in both directions till September. The ones on Covert Avenue and Urban Avenue had already been completed. 

The new station being built at Belmont Park has been called Elmont and will be completed around 2022. Floral Park is more afraid that the n1 and Elmont Flexi (the n2 cut from Covert to Meacham Avenue) will be extended over into their territory following the completion of the platforms. NICE themselves have stated they cannot remove any stops on Jericho Turnpike without Floral Park's approval.

Edited June 7, 2020 by NY1635

[trainfan22]

Yesterday I walked over the West Side Yard and only saw M7's and Dual modes in the yard. No M3's so I assume they are still in storage? I believe the M9 have have returned to service though as it seems like someone on Reddit recently rode one.

[danielhg121]

1 hour ago, trainfan22 said:

Yesterday I walked over the West Side Yard and only saw M7's and Dual modes in the yard. No M3's so I assume they are still in storage? I believe the M9 have have returned to service though as it seems like someone on Reddit recently rode one.

Nah, probably just a coincidence, I saw an M3 on Monday as I was crossing thru the LIE to the Midtown Tun.

[danielhg121]

Not sure where to post this but the TTMG roster (now that they've combined commuter rail and subways) has inaccurate information regarding the DE/DM30AC's. I think a few of the engines have been retired over the years due to various accidents. According to Wikipedia, 43 of the 46 engines are currently operating. The numbers retired are 503, 507 and 511.

[Railfanner Jake]

Hello, im new to the thread, name is Jake, in terms of the info on the DE/DMs, 503 obviously has been gone since the 2000 accdient destroying it completely, 507 suffered an electrical cabinet failure and was saved by being converted to DE30AC 423. 511 was in the rollover accdient about a year or two ago, according to a friend of mine, 511 has almost no chance of return, im told it is stripped of multiple parts and sits in Morris park to this day. So technically, 44 engines are running (43 original and 1 converted)

[danielhg121]

On 6/14/2020 at 9:34 AM, Railfanner Jake said:

Hello, im new to the thread, name is Jake, in terms of the info on the DE/DMs, 503 obviously has been gone since the 2000 accdient destroying it completely, 507 suffered an electrical cabinet failure and was saved by being converted to DE30AC 423. 511 was in the rollover accdient about a year or two ago, according to a friend of mine, 511 has almost no chance of return, im told it is stripped of multiple parts and sits in Morris park to this day. So technically, 44 engines are running (43 original and 1 converted)

Yea, I guess I spoke too soon but according to the Wikipedia article, 507 hasn't seen service since December 2019. Guess we'll have to wait and see what they do with that set. Sucks that 2 or 3 of the DM engines are out of service already and all the DE's are fine. And most of them were due to accidents.

[40MntVrn]

Incase this update was missing:

https://nypost.com/2020/06/16/lirr-traintime-app-can-now-tell-you-how-crowded-each-train-car-is/

Quote

The Long Island Rail Road’s TrainTime app now provides real-time information on how crowded each train car is before you board, officials announced Tuesday.

The tech works on 90 percent of the LIRR’s trains — on the M7 model, crowding data is based on the train’s weight. The M9 model uses infrared sensors above the train doors.

IMO this is most intelligent response the MTA has put forward so far.

[XcelsiorBoii4888]

On 6/18/2020 at 11:52 AM, 40MntVrn said:

Incase this update was missing:

https://nypost.com/2020/06/16/lirr-traintime-app-can-now-tell-you-how-crowded-each-train-car-is/

IMO this is most intelligent response the MTA has put forward so far.

THIS is the GREATEST APP, I've used transit wise...wow this feels like we're up to date with technology! I'm very impressed. 

[Zigzag10]

2 hours ago, XcelsiorBoii4888 said:

THIS is the GREATEST APP, I've used transit wise...wow this feels like we're up to date with technology! I'm very impressed. 

Any word on when/if Metro-North will offer similar features? 

[danielhg121]

7 hours ago, XcelsiorBoii4888 said:

THIS is the GREATEST APP, I've used transit wise...wow this feels like we're up to date with technology! I'm very impressed. 

I think if they threw in purchasing tickets, it would've been even better for the sake of consolidating everything. But OMNY will roll out in a few years anyways...

[XcelsiorBoii4888]

9 minutes ago, danielhg121 said:

I think if they threw in purchasing tickets, it would've been even better for the sake of consolidating everything. But OMNY will roll out in a few years anyways...

I'd rather have ETix as a separate app for payments. Having all of that secure information along with train information just seems like it'll be problematic. 

 

One thing that would be nice with this app, is if they can designate the exits along the platform. So you can sit near your exit before you board the train. 

 

This is a great start...I have no real complaints so far. 

[danielhg121]

Does anyone know why when the M7/M9 doors close, it's moves into a slightly ajar position and still unlocked as the indication is still red, and then the doors click into the closed position and the indication shuts off?