Erie Lackawanna MU Cars
| Lackawanna MU | |
|---|---|
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Erie Lackawanna No. 3596 at Orange, New Jersey in 1978
|
|
| In service | As MU: 1930-1984 |
| Manufacturer | |
| Replaced | August 24, 1984 |
| Constructed |
|
| Number built |
|
| Number preserved | 156 (97 trailers, 59 motors) |
| Number scrapped | 127 |
| Formation | Motor-trailer pair |
| Operator(s) |
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western, Erie Lackawanna, Conrail (under NJDOT), New Jersey Transit |
| Specifications | |
| Car body construction | carbon steel |
| Car length | ~70 ft 1 in (21.36 m) |
| Width | 9 ft 11 1⁄2 in (3.035 m) |
| Height | Motor: 12 ft 11 in (3.94 m) Low-roof trailers: 13 ft 0 in (3.96 m) High-roof trailers: 14 ft 3.75 in (4.3625 m),14 ft 6 in (4.42 m) |
| Floor height | 4 ft 0 in (1.22 m) |
| Doors | 2, end vestibule |
| Maximum speed |
|
| Weight | Motor: 134,000 lbs Trailer: 109,500 lbs. |
| Prime mover(s) | 4x255hp General Electric DC traction motors |
| Power output | 1,020 hp (760 kW) |
| Acceleration | 1.5 mph/sec |
| Deceleration | 1.75 mph/sec |
| Train heating | Electric heat, openable windows |
| Electric system(s) | 3000 V DC catenary |
| Current collection method | pantograph |
| AAR wheel arrangement | B-B |
| Braking system(s) | Pneumatic |
| Coupling system | AAR |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
The Erie Lackawanna MU Cars were a fleet of electric multiple unit commuter railcars used by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (D&LW) and successor railroads in the state of New Jersey. The D&LW undertook electrification of its Morristown Line and related branches in 1929–1930, and purchased 141 motor cars from Pullman to operate it. These were supplemented by 141 unpowered trailers of various types which were converted from existing rolling stock. The multiple units were successful and remained in service into the early 1980s.
The MUs were inaugurated with fanfare on September 3, 1930, when the aging inventor Thomas A. Edison, a key proponent of DC current (the source of electric power for the MUs), drove the first train for the first mile along its 13 mile trip from Hoboken to Montclair, New Jersey. The service was extended in phases to other towns that would have yards to store the trains: South Orange, Summit, Gladstone, Morristown and Dover. Plans to extend electrified service west, for freight service, possibly as far as Scranton, PA, was investigated by the Lackawanna. The plans were abandoned due to cost, particularly since the timing of the extension coincided with the arrival of the Great Depression. The MUs did travel beyond the electrified district on occasion, particularly after World War II when there was a shortage of rail cars available. Unpowered MUs, pulled by steam locomotives, travelled on the Sussex Branch to Branchville, New Jersey, for instance, during the immediate post-war timeframe.
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