M1/M3 (railcar)

The M1 and M3 are two similar series of electric multiple unit rail cars built by the Budd Company for the Long Island Rail Road, the Metro-North Railroad, and Metro-North's predecessors, Penn Central and Conrail. Originally branded by Budd as Metropolitans, the cars are more popularly known under their model names, M1 (late 1960s/early 1970s cars) and M3 (mid-1980s cars). The Metro-North cars were branded under the M1A and M3A series.

Overview


Even though the LIRR's fleet of some 900 MP54 electric MU cars constructed between 1908 and 1930 had been augmented between 1955 and 1963 by about 150 newer MP72 and MP75 EMUs, the roster still contained a large number of increasingly elderly pre-war cars, which the cash-strapped LIRR was unable to replace. In 1965, the nearly bankrupt commuter railroad was taken over by the state-owned Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Authority (later renamed the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in 1968), which was then able to provide large amounts of capital funding to bring the system to a state of good repair. One of the first items on the list was a massive order of brand new self-propelled electric railcars that could replace the remaining MP54s and provide modern levels of comfort and performance.

The Metropolitans, at the time of their introduction, were notable for their rounded ends and quarter-point sliding doors. The cars were fully air conditioned, accommodated only high-level boarding, used lightweight construction, and were built with a top speed of 100 mph and support for Automatic Train Operation. The Metropolitan cars were also the catalyst of change for their respective systems as the high-level boarding required all stations in the electrified zone to be rebuilt between 1966 and 1968, and the increased power demand forced the LIRR to update its third rail power supply from 650 V DC to 750 V DC to take advantage of the car's performance. On December 30, 1968, the M1s went into revenue service, with the first revenue train being an 8-car local from Babylon to Penn Station.

With a completely new look and feel both inside and out, the Metropolitan cars blurred the line between traditional commuter rail and rapid transit, with the later R44 and R46 series of cars for the sister New York City Subway adopting many of the same design elements. Compared to the older cars with their drop sash windows, slow speeds, rough suspension, and growling gearboxes, the Metropolitans ushered in a new era of commuting in the New York region.

M1/M1A series
The M1 series were funded by both New York State and the then-fledgling Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which gained operation of the lines partway through the order. The 770 M1s (9001–9770) built for the LIRR between 1968 and 1973 represented the largest single order of electric multiple units in North America up until that time. 620 cars were in the base order from 1968–71, with 150 option cars following in 1973. In addition, 178 M1As (8200–8377) were built for the former New York Central commuter operations from 1971 and 1973, allowing the railroad to replace its remaining pre-war MU cars and the 100 4500 series ACMUs (which were in need of a 20-year overhaul). Using Budd Pioneer III trucks and powered by four 148 hp GE 1255 A2 traction motors, each car had 592 hp. They were designed to achieve 100 mph running in service, achieving only 80 mph in service due to track and signaling limitations. The LIRR cars also featured support for Automatic Train Operation, although this, too, was never seen in service.

M3/M3A series
With electrification areas of both railroads expanding, the MTA placed an order for another series in 1982, the M3 series. Essentially compatible with, and (on the exterior) very similar to, the M1 series, the M3s had updated mechanical elements, such as the use of General Steel GSI 70 trucks and a few other small differences. Traction motor cooling was added to the M3 at the cost of added weight which was compensated for by the use of more powerful 160 hp GE 1261 motors. Even with the extra power, this created different acceleration and braking rates from the M1. While LIRR chose to mix M1s and M3s in the same consist, Metro-North chose not to and would always run with uniform trainsets. A total of 174 M3s (9771–9944, with 9891 and 9892 renumbered to 9945 and 9946 after the 1993 Long Island Rail Road shooting) were produced for the LIRR between 1984 and 1986, while 142 M3As (8000–8141) were produced for Metro-North, arriving between 1984 and early 1985.

This order would be the second-to-last handled by Budd, which in April 1987, left the railroad business after taking the name "TransitAmerica," under which the last M3s were produced, though their builders' plates kept the Budd name.

Refurbishment
With the arrival of the M3 series, the M1 and M1A cars each saw midlife rebuilds in the late 1980s in order to prolong their useful life. The overhauled interiors were very similar to those of the M3s. Still, time began to take its toll on the original M1 cars, and by the end of the 20th century, the time for the cars was running short.

Some Metro-North M3As received minor interior refreshes throughout 2006/2007. The LIRR M3s, however, have remained with their original, old-fashioned interior style of wood and faux leather.

In 1997, all M1s and M1As received headlights mounted on the center top of their front-ended fiberglass bonnets to illuminate the top areas. This modification was done following an incident in which a Metro-North engineer operating an M1A train was severely injured and blinded when a cinderblock tied below a fence of an underpass crashed through the windshield of the train.

M1
In 1999, the MTA awarded Bombardier Transportation the contract to build the replacement for the M1 series, the M7 series. With the arrival of the first M7s to the LIRR in 2002 and the first M7As to Metro-North in 2004, both roads began to retire the M1 series. LIRR retired the last M1 cars in January 2007, while a small number of M1As remained in service on Metro-North until March 2009. In preparation for the retirement of the M1s, the Sunrise Trail chapter of the National Railway Historical Society hosted a "Farewell to the M1s" fan trip on November 4, 2006.

The Railroad Museum of Long Island in Riverhead, NY, has preserved M1 pair 9547–9548. Pair 9411–9412 survive as training cars at the Nassau County Fire Service Academy in Bethpage. Pair 9745–9746 was held for preservation by the New York Transit Museum and was stored around the system until May 2018, when it was taken off property for scrapping. Some cars were sold to USDOT for crash testing.

M3
In the 1990s, car 9776 was wrecked in an accident and subsequently scrapped. Its mate, 9775, was stored out of service for many years until it was converted to a rail adhesion car and renumbered to E775. Car 9932, which lost its mate due to unknown reasons, was also converted to a rail adhesion car and renumbered to E932.

On January 22, 2013, car 9870 retired when it collided with a car at Brentwood station and then caught fire; the railcar was eventually scrapped. Its mate, 9869, was mated with 9772, which lost its mate, 9771, due to electrical failures in that car. By 2024, car 9869 was converted to a rail adhesion car and renumbered to E869, while car 9772 was scrapped.

In 2018, M3 pair 9901–9902 was converted to a pair of rail adhesion cars. The cars were renumbered to E901–E902. Meanwhile, the same year, pair 9801–9802 were donated to the Suffolk County Fire Academy in Yaphank, NY, as training cars. A few years later, in 2024, car 9794 was sent to the Nassau County Police Academy in Bethpage.

Cars E902 and E932 were retrofitted with high-powered lasers from Laser Precision Solutions from the Netherlands to incinerate leaf residue.

Between 2011 and 2013, twenty M3 cars were prematurely taken out of service and stripped of parts to keep the other cars running. They were taken off property to be scrapped in 2018.

By 2013, the MTA had spent nearly $2 billion to procure a replacement for the M3 series, the M9. The fleet is similar to the M7, and the first cars arrived in 2018. , there were 92 M9 cars planned, with options for up to 494 more. However, due to delays in the M9 contract, the Long Island Rail Road is keeping around 100 M3 cars in service; the cars are expected to be rebuilt to last through at least 2024. Metro-North also planned to overhaul their M3A units, but later stated that they "are working with LIRR to procure new M9A cars in the next Capital Program to provide additional capacity and replace M3s."