[Fwd: Long Island Railroad DD cars]

[Michael Finfer]

I am are having a discussion with a few guys in an Austalian based mailing
list about the Long Island double deck cars that were built in the late
1980's Apparently these cars were originally supposed to be built by an
Australian company called Comeng with a design based upon the Sydney
Interurban multiple unit cars aka "V set" And as a result of the company
being asset striped apparently they sold the design to one of the other
tenderers and they ended up being made in Japan to the Australian design.
These are the cars that I am talking about
Loading Image...
Does anyone have any info as to the tendering process and introduction into
service of these cars. And how the cars are going now and are they well
liked by the passengers.
--
Spam Bait

I do not know about the tendering process, but these cars did not work
out and have been retired. At least some of them are in storage on a
short line railroad in Connecticut.

Michael Finfer
Bridgewater, NJ

[Joe Versaggi]

I am sorry to disappoint you that while these 10 cars were prototypes
for the 134 production Kawasaki cars now in service, these cars are
gone, hated by the LIRR and commuters alike.

Each of the 5 married pairs of cars were a little different from one
another. They had 3-2 seating, were totally incompatible electrically
and computer-wise from the production cars, and had EMU couplers. They
were pulled by specially modified E-8 locos from METRA in Chicago at
first, followed by 2 of 3 GP-38's, then by FL9 rebuilds which broke down
constantly and caught fire several times. They always ran to Port
Jefferson. All of those engines are gone. These cars became orphans,
compatible with no other car or loco in the world, and were sold to a
private individual a couple of years ago, who took them to Torrington,
Connecticut for storage. This is the same guy who bought the old
Pullman-Standard steal fleet, Ken Bitten. I have no further details.

I am are having a discussion with a few guys in an Austalian based mailing
list about the Long Island double deck cars that were built in the late
1980's Apparently these cars were originally supposed to be built by an
Australian company called Comeng with a design based upon the Sydney
Interurban multiple unit cars aka "V set" And as a result of the company
being asset striped apparently they sold the design to one of the other
tenderers and they ended up being made in Japan to the Australian design.
These are the cars that I am talking about
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/tr_lirr5002.jpg
Does anyone have any info as to the tendering process and introduction into
service of these cars. And how the cars are going now and are they well
liked by the passengers.
--
Spam Bait

[ChrisGW]

Post by Joe Versaggi
I am sorry to disappoint you that while these 10 cars were prototypes
for the 134 production Kawasaki cars now in service, these cars are
gone, hated by the LIRR and commuters alike.
Each of the 5 married pairs of cars were a little different from one
another. They had 3-2 seating, were totally incompatible electrically
and computer-wise from the production cars, and had EMU couplers. They
were pulled by specially modified E-8 locos from METRA in Chicago at
first, followed by 2 of 3 GP-38's, then by FL9 rebuilds which broke down
constantly and caught fire several times. They always ran to Port
Jefferson. All of those engines are gone. These cars became orphans,
compatible with no other car or loco in the world, and were sold to a
private individual a couple of years ago, who took them to Torrington,
Connecticut for storage. This is the same guy who bought the old
Pullman-Standard steal fleet, Ken Bitten. I have no further details.

I am are having a discussion with a few guys in an Austalian based mailing
list about the Long Island double deck cars that were built in the late
1980's Apparently these cars were originally supposed to be built by an
Australian company called Comeng with a design based upon the Sydney
Interurban multiple unit cars aka "V set" And as a result of the company
being asset striped apparently they sold the design to one of the other
tenderers and they ended up being made in Japan to the Australian design.
These are the cars that I am talking about
http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/tr_lirr5002.jpg
Does anyone have any info as to the tendering process and
introduction into
service of these cars. And how the cars are going now and are they well
liked by the passengers.
--
Spam Bait

I would love to know what Ken Bitten does with all these. It is my understanding
that he still owns Liberty Limited equipment in storage in PA. I wonder if he
leases them out or what.

ChrisGW

[Philip Nasadowski]

Does anyone have any info as to the tendering process and introduction into
service of these cars.

They were introduced, late, with the EMD dual modes, which didn't work
right from day one and still don't. They're such disasters that
(unoficially) the LIRR is throwing in the towel on them - there's
serious talk of dumping dual mode operation (and no, Union agreements
are NOT the reason why)

And how the cars are going now and are they well liked by the passengers.

The cars work ok, but are pathtically heavy and thus you can only have 6
per loco, and even then, they're dismally slow. They work 'well
enough', but they are cramped inside, even with 2+2 seating, and have
useless luggage racks. Passengers don't really like them much.
Cramped, slow, and pulled by a notoriously unreliable locomotive...