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38-647: Due to concerns about diesel emissions in the East River Tunnels and the underground tracks of Grand Central Terminal and Penn Station , passenger trains entering New York City have long been required to use electrical power, as coal and later diesel exhaust would pose a hazard to human health in the confined underground spaces. At the same time, much of the New Haven's trackage was not electrified beyond New Haven. To allow passenger trains to travel to New York City from non-electrified lines without requiring

76-493: A Trailer-on-FlatCar (TOFC) train, with difficulty, in one direction between Cedar Hill Yard in New Haven and Oak Point Yard in The Bronx . Assigned to this train in the other direction, an EP5 locomotive could easily outrun automobile traffic on the adjacent Connecticut Turnpike . The FL9s were considered to be under-powered compared to the powerful electrics they replaced, which also had their problems. For other reasons,

114-468: A change of locomotives, the New Haven Railroad purchased a class of locomotive that could switch between diesel and electric power on the fly. EMD's answer was a new locomotive based on their existing FP9 , but lengthened to accommodate additional equipment, such as a larger train heating steam boiler and third rail contact shoes. Due to the additional weight, the locomotive was equipped with

152-686: A change to steam (before 1950) or diesel at New Haven. Meeting the weight limits of the Park Avenue Viaduct in Manhattan, the FL9 made it possible to eliminate the engine change and allow trains to reach Grand Central in less time. FL9s were used on the New Haven's premier name train, the Merchants Limited , which covered the 229.5 miles between Grand Central Terminal and South Station , Boston in 4 hours 15 minutes. Introduction of

190-469: A dual-power locomotive. A DC electric compressor provided air for the brake system until the diesel engine was started. Two batches of FL9s were built; an initial 30 (including the original test units 2000 and 2001, originally built with a Blomberg front truck , but later upgraded following testing) from October 1956 through November 1957 with the older 1,750 hp (1,305 kW) V16 EMD 567C engine; and an additional 30 between June and November 1960 with

228-695: A second direct route into Manhattan via the 63rd Street Tunnel ), Amtrak later pushed back the start date of the East River Tunnels' reconstruction to 2025, and increased the construction time to four years. In April 2023, Amtrak launched a request for qualifications for contractors to repair the tunnels. Amtrak hired Skanska E-J ERT Joint Venture in July 2024 to repair the tunnels for about $ 1.6 billion. The East River Tunnels are owned by Amtrak and are electrified by both third rail and overhead catenary . Diesel-powered locomotives are not allowed in

266-697: A silver, blue, and red scheme; some in a silver and blue scheme), and a large number of them, now in some cases over 25 years old, were rebuilt and modernized. Ten rebuilt for the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CDT) were painted in the original New Haven paint scheme in recognition of their original operator. This tradition has continued with other remanufactured locomotives in the CDT's Shore Line East service pool, as well as on four new GE Genesis II P32AC-DM dual-mode locomotives and six Brookville BL20GH Diesel-electric locomotives . By

304-555: A three-axle rear truck, giving it an uncommon B-A1A wheel arrangement . Flexicoil trucks were used due to this type of truck having more room for fitting the third rail shoes. For electric operation, the FL9 was capable of using either an over-running or under-running third rail by means of retractable shoes operated by pneumatic cylinders. The first 30 locomotives also had a small DC pantograph for use within New York City's Grand Central Terminal , where long gaps exist in

342-621: The East River to Long Island City in Queens . The tracks carry Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and Amtrak trains travelling to and from Penn Station and points to the north and east. The tracks also carry New Jersey Transit trains deadheading to Sunnyside Yard . They are part of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor , used by trains traveling between New York City and New England via the Hell Gate Bridge . The tunnels were built in

380-678: The ICC required the newly formed company to assume control of the bankrupt New Haven. Some were repainted in Penn Central schemes, while others remained in their former New Haven paint. When the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) began funding these commuter services in 1970, many were repainted blue with a bright yellow nose, although they remained Penn Central-owned. The locomotives passed to Conrail upon its formation in 1976 from

418-688: The Jamestown Exposition in Norfolk, Virginia , to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the nearby founding of the colony at Jamestown . The same tube, with an inscription indicating that it had been displayed at the Exposition, was later installed under water and remains in use. Construction was completed on the East River tunnels on March 18, 1908. The tubes opened along with Pennsylvania Station on September 8, 1910. As part of

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456-525: The Merchants Limited on December 14, 1903. The train offered first class parlor car seating only; amenities included a dining car and private rooms. The trains departed New York and Boston at 5 PM and made the trip between the two cities in five hours. This schedule would be reduced to 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 hours in 1935, 4 + 1 ⁄ 4 hours in 1940, and finally 4 hours flat in 1949. This proved unsustainable as conditions deteriorated on

494-576: The New York Connecting Railroad improvement project, a connection from the East River Tunnels to the New Haven Railroad tracks was also built. New Haven trains began running through the East River Tunnels, serving Penn Station, in 1917 after the Hell Gate Bridge opened. The East River Tunnels were flooded with 14 million US gallons (53,000,000 L) of water during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Even after

532-572: The Shore Line between Boston and New York City . It was the New Haven's premier passenger train and the last all- parlor car train in the United States. The train entered service in 1903, and survived the turbulent Penn Central merger to become one of Amtrak 's Boston– Washington, D.C. services. The name disappeared from Amtrak's timetables in 1995 when most Northeast trains were rebranded " NortheastDirect ". The New Haven introduced

570-616: The 1950s. The New Haven was merged on January 1, 1969, into the Penn Central , formed the previous year by the New York Central Railroad and Pennsylvania Railroad . The Penn Central went bankrupt in 1970 and divested itself of its passenger trains in 1971. Amtrak , the new national operator, retained the Merchants Limited , although it would soon be extended through to Washington, D.C. Amtrak dropped individual names from its Northeast Corridor trains, save

608-500: The FL9 allowed the New Haven to scrap its entire fleet of pre-1955 electric locomotives, many of which were less than 25 years old. The FL9 had higher operating costs and lower performance than the electric locomotives it replaced, but was more flexible as it could go where electric locomotives could not. The only New Haven electrics surviving through the FL9 period were the General Electric EP5 "Jets" of 1955 as well as

646-620: The New Haven and would be raised to 4 + 1 ⁄ 4 hours in 1956. The New Haven considered the Merchants Limited its premier train and it always ran with the best equipment possible. When it received coaches in May 1949 it was the last all-parlor car train running in the United States . A second section, the Advance Merchants Limited , operated fifteen minutes ahead of the Merchants Limited at various times in

684-645: The New Haven never abandoned its electrification, negating the primary reason for purchasing the FL9s. Their ability to avoid the engine change in New Haven allowed them to remain in service on trains that travelled in non-electrified territory, and they could also be operated like conventional diesel locomotives. In 1969, the New Haven FL9 fleet passed to Penn Central upon the merger of the Pennsylvania Railroad and New York Central Railroad , as

722-452: The New Haven sought to reduce. The FL9s allowed through passenger trains from Grand Central Terminal to reach Boston, Springfield, and other non-electrified destinations without the need for an engine change at New Haven. They were purchased with the intent of allowing the eventual elimination of all New Haven electric locomotives and the abandonment of the electrification east of Stamford, Connecticut, 33 miles from Grand Central. The fact that

760-824: The New York City Board of Rapid Transit Commissioners, who objected that they would not have jurisdiction over the new tunnels, as well as from the Interborough Rapid Transit Company , which saw the New York Tunnel Extension as a potential competitor to its as-yet-incomplete rapid transit service. The project was approved by the New York City Board of Aldermen in December 1902, on a 41–36 vote. The North and East River tunnels were to be built under

798-502: The Queens shoreline. The four lines under the East River are numbered south to north, lines 1 and 2 running beneath 32nd Street and Lines 3 and 4 under 33rd Street. Eastward trains usually use lines 1 and 3, and westbound usually use lines 2 and 4. To bring the same-direction tunnels into adjacency, line 2 crosses beneath line 3 underground a few hundred feet west of the east end of the line 2 tunnel. Approaching Harold Interlocking from

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836-703: The bankrupt PC. Twelve FL9s were sold to Amtrak , six of which were remanufactured by Morrison-Knudsen starting in 1978 and remained in Amtrak service until at least 1996. In 1983, Conrail passed its commuter operations to state agencies. In New York State , the MTA formed Metro-North Railroad as a subsidiary company to operate these, and operations in Connecticut under contract with that state. The locomotives were repainted in Metro-North colors (more commonly in

874-577: The beginning of the 21st century, the worn-out FL9s were approaching a service life of 50 years and were gradually replaced by newer, more powerful locomotives. The FL9s were restricted to branch lines near the end of their lives since they lost the ability to operate on third rail power. Metro-North and Connecticut DOT, along with the Housatonic Railroad , operated a "Farewell to the FL9's" fan trip from Stamford, CT to Canaan, CT and return on October 23, 2005. The last FL9 to see passenger service

912-532: The entire New York to Boston line is now electrified shows the short-sightedness of this concept, which had been adopted by the McGinnis management to avoid the cost of modernizing the New Haven's Cos Cob, Connecticut power plant. The New Haven to Boston electrification was finally completed by Amtrak in 1999. Prior to the introduction of the FL9, all non-multiple unit New Haven passenger trains were hauled by electric locomotives between New York and New Haven, with

950-697: The first decade of the 20th century as part of the New York Tunnel Extension . The original plan for the extension which was published in June 1901, called for the construction of a bridge across the Hudson River between 45th and 50th Streets in Manhattan, as well as two closely spaced terminals for the LIRR and Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR). This would allow passengers to travel between Long Island and New Jersey without having to change trains; at

988-510: The freight service General Electric E33s purchased secondhand from the Virginian Railway in 1959. Even though one EP5 was as powerful as three FL9s, the powerful "Jets" were doomed by poor maintenance, and the last were retired in 1977, after having been regeared for freight service by inheritor Penn Central in 1973. In keeping with the New Haven's policy of dual service utilization of locomotives, FL9s were used at night to move

1026-572: The newer 1,800 hp (1,342 kW) V16 EMD 567D1 engine. All units were painted in the bright McGinnis scheme of red-orange, black and white and the Herbert Matter designed "NH" logo. FL9s were initially fitted with the Hancock air whistle , a trademark of New Haven units of this time, instead of the standard air horns on diesel locomotives. New Haven trackage between Woodlawn and New Haven, Connecticut, 72 miles east from Grand Central,

1064-407: The riverbed of their respective rivers. The PRR and LIRR lines would converge at New York Penn Station , an expansive Beaux-Arts edifice between 31st and 33rd Streets in Manhattan. The entire project was expected to cost over $ 100 million. The contract for building the East River Tunnels was awarded to S. Pearson & Son in 1903. Originally, the tunnel would have comprised two tubes, but this

1102-473: The third rail because of the complex trackage that includes numerous railroad switches . For operation into the Pennsylvania Railroad 's Pennsylvania Station , the FL9 used the Long Island Rail Road 's third rail system. The electrical supply available from the third rail—660 V DC—was identical to the requirements of diesel locomotive traction motors , enabling a fairly easy conversion to

1140-723: The time, LIRR trains ran to Long Island City, where passengers took ferries across the East River to the 34th Street Ferry Terminal in Manhattan. As part of the extension, the LIRR became a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad. In December 1901, because of the high cost of building a bridge, the plans were modified so that the PRR would construct the North River Tunnels under the Hudson River. The New York Tunnel Extension quickly gained opposition from

1178-409: The tunnels except in emergency situations because of ventilation concerns, so the LIRR uses DM30AC dual-mode locomotives to power a few trains from non-electrified lines into and out of Penn Station during rush hours. East of Penn Station, tracks 5–21 merge into two 3-track tunnels, which then merge into the East River Tunnels' four tracks. The tunnels end and the tracks rise to ground level east of

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1216-480: The tunnels were drained, corrosion continued to occur inside the tunnels, and the signal systems broke down with increasing frequency compared to before the storm. Amtrak , which owns the tunnels, originally proposed to start repairing the tunnels in 2019 at a cost of $ 1 billion, with each tunnel being closed for two years. However, due to delays in the East Side Access project (which would give LIRR riders

1254-520: The west, the four tracks are Lines 1-3-2-4 south to north (with three LIRR tracks between Lines 2 and 3, and Sunnyside Yard approach tracks scattered between the passenger tracks). East of Harold, Lines 1-3 become LIRR Main Line Tracks 4-2 south to north, while Lines 2-4 become LIRR Main Line Track 3 and the westward Port Washington main. (Harold was rearranged in 1990; until then Lines 2-4 became

1292-411: The westward Port Washington and the westward Hell Gate track). Amtrak's Superliner fleet cannot use the tunnels due to the inadequate clearances, so Amtrak instead uses Amfleet and Viewliner sets. Download coordinates as: Merchants Limited The Merchants Limited , sometimes shortened to Merchants , was a New York, New Haven and Hartford (the "New Haven") passenger train on

1330-550: Was electrified in the early 1900s at 11,000 volts, 25 Hz AC overhead. The New Haven was the pioneer of heavy mainline railroad electrification in the United States. Early plans to extend the catenary to Boston were never completed due to the perennial financial problems that plagued the New Haven almost continuously from the 1920s to its demise in 1969. This left a gap between New Haven and Boston, requiring trains between those cities to stop in New Haven to switch between diesel and electric locomotives. This extended travel time, which

1368-485: Was in late 2009, the same year Metro-North retired all its remaining FL9s. Six ConnDOT-owned locomotives were sold to other operators or museums by the end of 2018. The dual-power concept pioneered by the FL9 has been continued by the P32AC-DM and EMD DM30AC , both which remain on Amtrak, Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road . Several FL9s exist today, donated to several museums and railways. In 1978, FL9 #5048

1406-422: Was later expanded to four tubes. The project was led by Chief Engineer Alfred Noble. Work began in 1904. The four tunnels were built simultaneously, digging east from Penn Station, west from Long Island City, and east and west from shafts just east of First Avenue. The tunnel technology was so innovative that in 1907 the PRR shipped an actual 23-foot (7.0 m) diameter section of the new East River Tunnels to

1444-541: Was used in the filming of the original Superman movie starring Christopher Reeve . Still painted in New Haven livery, the unit was depicted pulling a commuter train past the entrance to Lex Luthor 's hideout during the villain's introduction scene. East River Tunnels The East River Tunnels are four single-track railroad passenger service tunnels that extend from the eastern end of Pennsylvania Station under 32nd and 33rd Streets in Manhattan and cross

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