Of all the Metro-North content available for Train Simulator, there has been one class that has been left in the dust. We all know and love our M7 EMUs, as well as the venerable M3 cars, though a 3rd party reskin is the best we can get for now. But today, I’d like bring to the table a new EMU known as the ACMU. History: Our story begins in the 1950s, when the current Metro North system was under the control of the New York Central Railroad. The two main lines, the Hudson and Harlem divisions, were facing decline in ridership, as the current EMUs had been running since the start of electric service in 1905. These were literally based off heavyweight coaches with electrical controls, and they had a reputation for being dirty, unreliable, and noisy. Something had to be done. The New York Central saw this dilemma and decided to purchase an entirely new series of Electric Multiple Units, that would be clean, sleek, and comfortable, and most of all, air-conditioned,although they would utilize some older practices, such as manual doors. These would be the achilles’ heel for the EMUs later in their lives. The Saint Louis Car Company of Missouri would be tasked to build 100 of these ACMUs. The cars were an instant success, and the oldest and least-reliable heavyweights were finally able to retire. Some of the younger heavies would soldier on though. But hard times were ahead. The year was 1962, and the New York Central was in a dire financial state. Traffic levels in general were rapidly declining as both cheap airlines and the new automobile freeways had become the norm of travel in the USA. Track infrastructure was a mess, and rolling stock was mostly outdated. The heavies had become real nightmares, and many had to ride behind S and T-motors, which were just as old. The NYC was only able to scrap together enough money for 26 new cars in the 4600 series. These would be built by the Pullman Company. The Port Authority Of New York and New Jersey was able to assist in purchasing 27 4700-series cars from Pullman as well. In 1965, they bought 34 more cars, bringing the total to 87 new 4600/4700 series cars. They were able to retire a good chunk of heavies, but in 1968, the NYC merged with their long time rival, the Pennsylvania Railroad. The new company, Penn Central, was an instant failure and became Bankrupt in two years. In 1969, the new Budd M1 railcar was unveiled. It had new features, such as automatic doors, a beautiful design, and a top speed of 100mph, although they never went more than 80. They also had doors that could only board high-level Platforms, which meant all the stations in the Metro North system were renovated for this feature. The newly formed Metropolitan Transportation Authority decided to retire the 4500-series EMUs along with the last heavies. The 4500-series had had the worst hit during the days of negligence in maintainence, and were pretty banged up. The 4600/4700 series however, prevailed alongside the M1. In 1976, Conrail took over from Penn Central. In 1983, the MTA took full control and ownership from Conrail, and with it came the delivery of supplementary M3s. A new renessiance had come for the system. In the mid 1980s, Metro North decided to upgrade their routes with can signaling, so the ACMUs were sent to be overhauled by Morrison-Knudsen and some were retrofitted with cab signals, others did not. Therefore, signal-less cars were placed in the middle of trains for the rest of their service lives. In the mid-90s, the ACMUs were going strong, but Metro North was already pondering a replacement for both these cars and the M1. The ACMUs suffered from automatic doors and lack of ditch lights, which limited their usability. This replacement would be the M7. The rest of the ACMUs were retired as soon as they could be, among the arrival of the M7s in 2004. The M1 soldiered on about 5 more years, until 2009. We need these EMUs in TS, and we know the obvious place for them would be the Hudson Line. Please DTG, just the last missing piece of equipment.
These would be great! I wonder if the Danbury Railway Museum would open theirs for researching/modelling purposes?
Well, the M2 is a good example of that. They let FanRailer inside the cab and recorded the sounds of the switches, so maybe I could do the same thing.
