Nostalgia & History > New Haven RR Multiple-Unit Commuter Train

New Haven RR Multiple-Unit Commuter Train at New Rochelle, NY the morning of February 4, 1969.

This was one month after Penn Central acquired the New Haven RR.  The pans are down because the train was going through SHELL Interlocking where the line splits southbound to go to either Penn Station or Grand Central Terminal.

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Thanks Marty !

> The pans are down because the train was
> going through SHELL Interlocking

Huh? Why lower pans for that? Do they still?

No catenary going to GCT. Third rail for most of that route. 

Cantenary used to extend all the way down to where the New Haven line to GCT connects to the former NY Central Harlem Division in the Bronx. Still comes down as far as the CT-NY state border.  NH stations at Mount Vernon (now referred to as Mount Vernon East to distinguish from former NY Central Mount Vernon West) and Pelham are in cantenary territory. 

Yeah, NH then had catenary to Woodlawn
(on all tracks?), but dunno where third rail started.
No doubt the NH timetables at wx4.org would say.

No reason the NH MUs would prefer to switch
to third rail before they had to?

I remember seeing trains of ex-NH heavyweight MU's with pans UP being pulled across the Jersey Meadows by a GG-1 into the Hudson tunnel. Guessing the pans were up for light and heat but for some reason not traction power, which was provided by the G.

There's a question: how were NH MUs lighted?
With 25 Hz AC under catenary and DC elsewhere?

The catenary extended all the way west to Woodlawn interlocking, where the New Haven joined the NYC Harlem Line. In the 1990s, the catenary was cut back to just west of Pelham Station, and third rail was extended to that point. Mount Vernon East station is now in third rail territory. 

The change was made because any time a westbound train had trouble changing over from AC catenary power to DC third rail power, the train would roll to a stop in the middle of Woodlawn Interlocking, tying up both the New Haven and Harlem Lines.

Now...as to this photo...I'll have to dig out my old timetables, but for as long as I've been around, there was never a reason to drop pans at New Rochelle. There's no gap in the wire in the photo. There is a phase gap west of Shell interlocking where pans would be dropped, but it's closer to Pelham than Shell. Given it was February in this photo, it's possible there was a derangement of the catenary and a temporary drop pan order was in effect. 

Jim