Quest for Metro North’s Conrail heritage locomotive plus Harlem 125 heavy rail action. 8/24/23

We visit the super busy Harlem 125th Street station and catch everything but the kitchen sink on Metro North. We catch the “Conrail” heritage plus lots of the veteran M3A MU’s among other things. On the way home, we catch the “Conrail” engine #201 arriving GCT with train #880. This locomotive is stunning and the deep blue hue of the Conrail paint captivates. It will be around for awhile and more heritage locomotives to follow. A bit of satire is thrown in for good measure. Guess what my target of satire is here!

[@deaconmichael4255]

You give the best videos on train travel. Interesting on the Conrail equipment . Years back this railroad was Conrail before Metro North.

[@trainswithnickyt]

6:28 i'll never get enough of the M7 sound, no matter how many times I hear it

[@ariesarethebest271]

I love it when they echo.

[@trainswithnickyt]

@@ariesarethebest271 there's one later in the video where it's perfect, sound waves bouncing off the buildings

[@ariesarethebest271]

@@trainswithnickyt Nice. I'll try to search for it when I have the time. When I watch videos of LIRR, I usually time stamp where a M7 echos.

[@ariesarethebest271]

7:48 nice catch of the Metro-North Conrail heritage unit. On another note, with that paint scheme we now have an idea of what the P32 would look like on the LIRR. 😂

[@MrCubsfan3]

Loving the comments about the North White Plains "milk run" (or mail run)! As always, an entertaining, informative video, Tim!

[@TheBronxFanner]

Been waiting for you to see 201!!! Great catch!! Would love to see 208 next.

[@rawgem5356]

1:47 The casual roast of the Harlem Line Local, lol. 8:18 XD That's true! Another great roast, lol.

[@3985uprr]

It’s a good subject to roast

[@docphillips5153]

Great shots of 201 for modelers. Thanks for the ride

[@Ostermond]

Really was a gray day yesterday. Glad you got to catch the Conrail unit!

[@evangouldtransit]

15:27 i caught 9734/9735 on a test train at Stamford back in December. they had yet to enter service. that is a very new pair right there.

[@davelowenstein73]

Great location with a lot of interesting traffic. Thanks for another great video!

[@brenrob7403]

Nice heritage unit 😁

[@c.j.w.0863]

Cool, I have yet to see Metro North's Conrail heritage unit. And another close call to you, I was actually going to White Plains on Train 639 to Mount Kisco that day, the first train you filmed. Another close call to you, Tim!!!! I saw the Push pull train trailing me as we pulled out.

[@connorgoin]

@Retired Railfan Horn Guy let me know next time your on one of the Metro North branches, and I'll be there. I live very close to NYC.

[@Northeast_Railfan]

I like how he always tells you what the train id is

[@3985uprr]

If I don’t know it on the spot, I research it later and post captions. I don’t care to show mindless runby’s.

[@bryantarailfan]

41:47 I caught Conrail heritage unit and also I caught a beach ball 208 and New Haven 230!

[@3985uprr]

Still haven’t gotten 208. More of those coming

[@carlossanchez-kz4wh]

Great video Tim I enjoyed it 😊

[@Perseverance1987x]

Saved the best for last.

[@3985uprr]

Almost didn’t get it

[@scottyerkes1867]

Great review. Thanks Tim💚😀

[@user-id9fv6of6x]

In a previous comment, I mentioned how I hate planes but love trains. That being because I was surprised by your connection to the airline industry. Today, this posting simply confirmed your your love of trains & why I watch your adventures. Great cinema; as always. One final thought, why would the GE Locs filmed in this give off such a "dark" exhaust upon departure? Why are they imitating old diesel ALCO's???? I leave it to you to explain. Thanks again for this enjoyable posting!

[@3985uprr]

Basically their mechanics create smoke. They are somewhat old locos which aren’t as reliable as they once were. They are experiencing more breakdowns in recent times. Soon they will be replaced by Siemens Chargers

[@victoryleadership496]

The Conrail unit is pretty sharp. I think the yellow nose would fair better (more readable) with blue lettering instead of white. IMO.

[@vincentzablocki4930]

Good stuff Mister Retired Railfan Horn Guy...it's been awhile being given the chance to watch your videos due to work, work, work, work...I remember the FL9's painted in that Conrail scheme with quite a few of them having the yellow so 'sun' faded that it appeared white back when I was attending Cardinal Hayes high school from 1979-1983. And some were so beat up, the Penn Central emblem was seen on them. Thank you and be well, Vincent Zablocki

[@3985uprr]

I wish my granddaughter was as enthusiastic about this 😀😀

[@vincentzablocki4930]

If you are referring to Miss Alyssa, I will have Jeremy talk to her...Tee Hee !@@3985uprr

[@christophercancel934]

The M3s on the Hudson line should have their stripes painted green. That way I won't get confused thinking it's a Harlem Line. Also is Conrail a commuter train service like NJ Transit, Amtrak and Metro North?

[@3985uprr]

No. It was just interim operator but mainly a freight railroad. As for the stripe, they run them on both Harlem and Hudson so they could be green on one side and blue on the other 😊

[@trainnut179]

Check out train 853, after leaving GCT, it’s first stop is Beacon!! Bypasses Harlem-125th 😎

[@3985uprr]

I left before it came.

[@CoastersBolts]

15:35 didn't know the M3s had front lights that could strobe.

[@AlexanderPerez-hv4nu]

Actually those weren’t strobe lights. If you look closely there was a sign at the end of the platform that blocked the light, which looked like the light went off/on, but the light was just blocked by a sign.

[@michaelscott7706]

Metro North M3As look way better than the LIRR M3s.

[@de-fault_de-fault]

LIRR should have kept the stripes on the sides of theirs. The shape of the cars is just better with the stripes (same goes for the similarly-shaped R46 for the subway, by the way).

[@ariesarethebest271]

​@@de-fault_de-faultAgreed.

[@johntitterton4840]

The Conrail locomotive color was referred to during the design of Conrail inconography as Bright Future Blue - a color that was not used by any of the main predecessor railroads that went into Conrail.

[@mygins5820]

13:54 It's honestly really weird and sacrilegious to me the operate dual power trains and diesel mode in electrified territory

[@3985uprr]

Those engines do not operate reliably in electric mode.

[@jmream2618]

@ 3:33 those coaches need a repaint

[@de-fault_de-fault]

All the Bombardier cars of this era are looking pretty sorry at this point (speaking from experience of riding NJT's similar Comet IIM and Comet IV regularly). Not sure when the Shoreliners were last painted, but the Comet IV have been repainted never (built in the mid-'90s) and the Comet IIM were last repainted when they were refurbished to Comet IV-like specs (hence the M) in the early 2000s...and it shows.

[@mattdiaz1006]

Mount Vernon East is on the New Haven Line. Mount Vernon West is on the Harlem, so those trains that you said going to North White Plains actually stop at Mount Vernon West first.

[@3985uprr]

Freudian slip

[@mattdiaz1006]

@@3985uprr Haha! It happens! Thanks as always for the fantastic content!

[@railfannerjs6308]

I feel as if they don’t need to retire M3As

[@mmanisr22]

Alot of M3a's out

[@harolds1559]

Your intro! 08:-:12 where did you film those shots from love the framing!

[@3985uprr]

Around Denville NJ

[@massbytrainmpw]

How much ridership does each of those Lower Harlem Line stations get? Could MNR theoretically consolidate without negatively impacting too many people?

[@jrbergsten]

Do you have all of these train numbers, sources, and destinations memorized?

[@3985uprr]

Some of them. Most I get tips from other fans or I research them after the fact.

[@jrbergsten]

@@3985uprr your dedication to your craft is awe inspiring. 😁

[@Mahees_230]

I remember the locals to North White Plains and Stamford from my days of hanging out in GCT and watching the Solari board. Seems like the local to Mount Vernon West no longer operates. Oh well. I still refer to Southeast as Brewster North. Some things will never change. Just like the express to Brewster North making White Plains the first stop. Yankees are below .500 for the first time this year and I'm not happy about it. And they got turtle waxed by the Red Sox. But that's okay. We'll return the favour before the season is over. I think MN M3's are better maintained than the LIRR version.

[@3985uprr]

I did an SLE ride from New London to New Haven in Summer 2021.

[@williamralph5442]

Busy is an understatement..how are the Acelas routed ? Thanks..

[@MrCubsfan3]

All Amtrak trains separate at an interlocking just south of New Canaan, then go over the Hell Gate bridge, then wind around through queens before ducking under the East River for the east/west through tracks at Penn Station. (GCT tracks 1-99 and 101-150 are terminus tracks)

[@user-iy2qm5md6c]

Where are the new cannan

[@nosaya3]

When do the pantographs rise?

[@3985uprr]

No pantographs. They glide thru gaps or sometimes use diesel

[@NewYorkRails]

What track is this on??

[@3985uprr]

Metro North main out of GCT

[@NewYorkRails]

Hudson line???

[@3985uprr]

@@NewYorkRails Hudson/Harlem/New Haven Lines services combined but considered Hudson Line as the interlockings do not have a 1 or a 2 in front of them. Interlocking are numbered based on milepost from GCT

[@mecca2k15]

201

[@RampageRod-kt8mj]

@3985uprr ( Retired Railfan Horn Guy) I was down in Beacon this very day catching it at night around 9:26. 230 also came buy. Also Amtrak Adirondack With 702 leading